Chapter 4762 — Eyes Grown Dim with Age
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"This isn't some heavenly treasure, Master. Just open it and see for yourself!" Huo Yudie urged, pressing her eagerly.
With a helpless shake of his head, Liu Ziqi did as she said and lifted the lid. One glance at what lay inside, and the grand figure of Chenjiao Academy was struck dumb, blurting out in astonishment, "Thunder Profound Pills? Three of them?"
"That's right! Now we don't have to bother with that odious Ren Zhongyuan anymore, do we!" Huo Yudie clung to Liu Ziqi's arm and wrinkled her nose in smug delight. Those three Thunder Profound Pills Ren Zhongyuan had dangled were at best an expected gain—whether they ever arrived was another matter entirely—whereas here and now were three genuine pills in hand, a difference as vast as heaven and earth.
"What is the meaning of this? Die'er, where did you get these?" Liu Ziqi demanded, still shaken. Her first reaction upon seeing the Thunder Profound Pills was not joy but alarm; she had assumed her disciple had taken the Thunder Profound Vine and secretly traded it to Ning Xuefei for pills already refined.
In all the Western Isle, the only person with the means to produce three Thunder Profound Pills and close ties to Huo Yudie was Ning Xuefei, the princess of the Western Isle. The two girls had grown thick as thieves these past days—they even shared a bed at night.
True, these were strategic resources; strictly speaking, not even Ning Shanghe, the Isle Lord of the Western Isle, could dip into them lightly, and Ning Xuefei was the last person who would commit so grave a mistake. Yet a young girl, acting on a hot-headed impulse for the lifelong happiness of her dear friend, might well have pulled off some deception under everyone's nose...
At that thought, Liu Ziqi broke into a cold sweat. Whatever else happened, she must return those three Thunder Profound Pills as quickly as possible; otherwise, if the truth ever came out, there would be no explaining it away.
But Huo Yudie's next words stopped her dead in her tracks: "Wei Zhao refined them all!"
"Wei Zhao? He's an alchemist? A seventh-rank alchemist? How could that be?" Liu Ziqi was utterly dumbfounded, staring into Huo Yudie's eyes in disbelief. She thought her precious disciple must be joking, yet Huo Yudie's expression plainly told her it was all true.
"Yes! Wei Zhao never said a word about it before—isn't he amazing?" Huo Yudie's face was full of pride and happiness.
"Is this real? He actually refined three Thunder Profound Pills in one go, and formed them so quickly?" Liu Ziqi still could not conceive of it. That Wei Zhao was a seventh-rank alchemist was already beyond imagining; but even if that were true, there was no way he could have refined three Thunder Profound Pills so fast. How long had it been? A day and a bit at most, by the loosest reckoning.
"Wrong—not three, eight!" Huo Yudie corrected.
Thud! Liu Ziqi nearly toppled over, barely catching herself on the table, an expression beyond description on her face as the corner of her mouth twitched: "Eight?!"
"Yes. And I asked for three of them," Huo Yudie nodded.
Looking at Huo Yudie's earnest expression, then at the three Thunder Profound Pills in her hand, Liu Ziqi could not resist pinching herself. Only then was she finally certain she was not dreaming, and she gazed at her precious disciple, speechless.
Not because Huo Yudie had asked for too little—to trade such a meager bit of Thunder Profound Vine for three Thunder Profound Pills was an unthinkably good bargain! No sweeter windfall could be imagined.
Most seventh-rank alchemists would count themselves well satisfied to get back a single Thunder Profound Pill, and even then it would cost all manner of supplementary materials and tens of thousands of spirit jade in fees for their trouble!