Chapter 1431 — What Reward Do You Want

Watching the three figures recede into the distance, Yu Xiaojin's eyes were full of doubt. When something is out of the ordinary, there is sure to be mischief afoot—she too had come out of a reclusive family, and she was no fool. But since the matter had been decreed by Old Master Zhao himself, she could hardly go and question him about it; for the moment she had no choice but to swallow her doubts.

"Qibing, when you see your grandfather in a moment, be sure to mind your manners. Whatever should not be said, do not let it slip out!" At the gate of Old Master Zhao's villa, Zhao Guangyin instructed Zhao Qibing.

"Don't worry, Father. I won't say anything out of turn," Zhao Qibing nodded and said cautiously.

Old Bi had already gone in ahead to inform Old Master Zhao, but he soon returned: "Young Patriarch, Qibing, the old master says we are to go in together!"

As of now, Zhao Qibing had not yet gained Old Master Zhao's acknowledgment, and so Old Bi addressed him by his given name alone. Only once he had truly been taken back into the clan would he be called Young Master Bing! However lofty Old Bi's standing might be, he was, after all, the Zhao family's chief steward, and the rules could not be set aside for him on that account.

Zhao Guangyin nodded and entered the villa with Zhao Qibing. This was the first time Zhao Qibing had met Old Master Zhao; before this, he had only met Zhao Guangyin.

The white-robed old man before him exerted an immense pressure on Zhao Qibing, making him scarcely dare to look him in the eye. Fortunately, he was seated in a wheelchair, giving him something to brace against, so he was not overly nervous.

"You must be Qibing? Lift your head and let your grandfather have a look!" Seeing Zhao Qibing, Old Master Zhao sighed faintly. The boy had grown so big, and yet this was the first time he had seen him in the flesh—before, he had seen only photographs.

"Yes, Grandfather!" Zhao Qibing raised his head respectfully. "Pray forgive me, Grandfather, but Qibing cannot stand to pay you his respects; the injury to my leg has not yet healed..."

"That does not matter." Old Master Zhao waved a hand. Unlike Old Bi, he showed no particular reaction to Zhao Qibing's courtesy. Old Master Zhao knew a little more about this grandson than Old Bi did, and knew that the boy had been rather wild out in the world, so he could not tell whether the humility before him was feigned or genuine. "I hear you have obtained a Qi Gathering Pill?"

"Yes, Grandfather, it is right here!" Zhao Qibing carefully drew the little bottle from his bosom, cupped it in both hands, and held it up before him. "Though your grandson has never met you, Grandfather, you have never been far from my thoughts. So when I heard that Yu Huoxing of the Yu family carried such a Qi Gathering Pill on his person, I tried every means and every scheme to obtain it for you, Grandfather!"

"Little Bi, the Qi Gathering Pill—have you examined it?" Old Master Zhao asked.

"No. Neither the young patriarch nor I have touched the Qi Gathering Pill; we thought to wait for you to inspect it yourself," Old Bi said cautiously.

One must understand that Old Bi too was an expert of peak late Mystic rank, a single step from advancing to Heaven rank. It was to avoid any suspicion that he had not laid a finger on the Qi Gathering Pill; if the pill turned out to be a fake, and he then fell under suspicion of having secretly swapped it out, that would be a wretched business.

"Bring it up, then." Old Master Zhao nodded. He understood Old Bi's thinking, but after so many years he still trusted Old Bi a great deal—every time some rare treasure of heaven and earth was found, Old Bi always gave it to him first.

"Yes!" Zhao Guangyin took the little bottle from Zhao Qibing's hands and handed it directly to Old Master Zhao.

Old Master Zhao took the bottle, and at once he grew somewhat excited. Gazing at the little bottle in his hand, he drew a deep breath, carefully opened it, and held it beneath his nose to sniff. His face immediately lit with delight. "That's it! This must be the Qi Gathering Pill!"

Old Master Zhao was on the verge of a breakthrough, and so he had studied the Qi Gathering Pill more deeply than most. He had searched far and wide for such a pill before, and thus knew its appearance and its scent exceedingly well. A single look was enough for him to be all but certain this was the Qi Gathering Pill!

"It is indeed the Qi Gathering Pill!" Old Master Zhao rose abruptly to his feet and looked at Zhao Qibing, overcome with excitement. "Haha! Who would have thought it, who would ever have thought it! Our Zhao family, so great and so full of able men, searched with all its strength for a Qi Gathering Pill and found nothing—and in the end it was the Zhao family's bastard son who found one! I never even mentioned the matter to him, and yet he had the heart for it himself! Look at him, all of you—Guangyin, you look too. This grandson is a good one!"

It was no wonder Old Master Zhao was so excited and so pleased. This was the elixir that would let him step into Heaven rank; you might say Zhao Qibing had become the Zhao family's greatest man of merit, and no one could compare with what he had accomplished.

"You praise me too much, Grandfather. Though Qibing is a bastard son, raised among common folk, Qibing never forgets for a moment that he is one of the Zhao family, and so the affairs of the Zhao family are Qibing's affairs! This was only what Qibing ought to do; there is nothing in it worthy of praise," Zhao Qibing said reverently.

"Good, you are very good!" This time Old Master Zhao finally gave Zhao Qibing a fair appraisal. "You have put your heart into it! This time, what reward would you like? Name it, and so long as your grandfather can manage it, I will grant it."

At his grandfather's words, a wild joy surged in Zhao Qibing's heart! He wanted to be the heir to the Zhao family, to become its future patriarch—but that was not something he could say aloud. He was no fool; his grandfather was only being courteous. If he really came out and asked to be patriarch, that would be presuming upon his own merit. Even if his grandfather said nothing to his face, he would certainly dislike him thereafter, and then he would never become the heir.

So Zhao Qibing kept his countenance unruffled and said, "Your grandson has said already that this was only what he ought to do, and no great service. Since it was only what ought to be done, what reward should your grandson want?"

"Haha!" Old Master Zhao laughed heartily. "Truly no reward? Name it—say you wish to cultivate, or you wish to return to the Zhao family, or even that you be raised as my heir?"

Old Master Zhao's words were tempting indeed, and set Zhao Qibing's heart stirring restlessly. But he knew that this was most likely a test. The first two offers, if he voiced them, his grandfather would surely grant. As for the last—being raised as heir—Zhao Qibing knew that if he really seized the chance and climbed, then the pill would have been given away for nothing!

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