Chapter 2553 — Kang Zhaolong's Idea

"Young Master You, I saw you leave with Wei Zhao just now—nothing wrong, I hope?" Kang Zhaolong asked with concern.

"It's nothing..." You Panhu shook his head. "We're both Leader Bai's students. Wei Zhao can only threaten and bluff me—he wouldn't dare actually do anything to me!"

Kang Zhaolong nodded. He had once been Leader Bai's student too, so naturally he knew the rule. Leader Bai was unusually—almost incomprehensibly—averse to and disgusted by squabbles among his students. He could not tolerate conflict between them; anyone who broke that rule was out of luck: they could only pack up and leave.

"Then Young Master You must have called us here for a reason?" Huangmao asked. He did not believe You Panhu would gather everyone for a meal for no reason. Lately, both You Panhu and Kang Zhaolong had kept a very low profile; since arriving at the school, the two of them rarely left campus, and even for lunch they usually ate in the school cafeteria.

"There certainly is!" You Panhu nodded and said, "Leader Bai gave Wei Zhao a packet of alchemist's materials. I wanted to trade him for it, but this time Wei Zhao won't budge—soft or hard, nothing works. No matter what I say, he refuses, and he just tells me he wants Qi-Gathering Pills, that without Qi-Gathering Pills there's no trade! Isn't that deliberately making things difficult for me?"

"Young Master You, are you sure those materials are definitely good ones?" Huangmao knew about the several times You Panhu had come off worse before, so he wanted to remind him to be careful and not fall for a trick.

"This time I can be absolutely certain!" You Panhu said. "This time, Leader Bai said it himself—the materials were left to him by his master—and Wei Zhao admitted as much too."

"Oh? Could it be that Wei Zhao is playing hard to get?" Zimao thought for a moment and said, "Hasn't he pulled that kind of trick several times before?"

"I thought the same thing before—that Wei Zhao might be playing hard to get. But when he told me he wanted Qi-Gathering Pills, I figured it probably isn't a trick!" You Panhu shook his head, dismissing the idea.

"I see..." Zimao hesitated, then nodded and said, "That makes sense. If he were playing hard to get, he wouldn't have been so adamant..."

"Exactly, and that's the headache. Brother Kang, you're a doctorate holder—full of wisdom and stratagems. Do you have any good suggestions?" You Panhu turned to look at Kang Zhaolong.

"My suggestion..." Kang Zhaolong mused for a moment. You Panhu's flattery had put him in fine spirits—he was indeed the most highly educated of them all. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I feel you should start with Han Jingyi!"

"Oh? Han Jingyi?" You Panhu was slightly taken aback, then his eyes lit up as something occurred to him! The medicinal cauldrons and alchemy ingredients he had given Wei Zhao before had all ended up with Han Jingyi. Which meant Han Jingyi was the one who ultimately benefited. Since Wei Zhao did not want to trade, then go to Han Jingyi!

When the time came, whatever Han Jingyi needed, if he could provide it, then Wei Zhao would surely help Han Jingyi make the trade! He had to admit, Kang Zhaolong's idea was truly a good one—it could turn things around at the last moment!

"However, I suggest you'd best not ask her directly. You can first analyze and predict what Han Jingyi needs most right now. Take that thing with you, then go show it off in front of Han Jingyi, say a few provocative things, and ideally get Han Jingyi to want it herself. That way you hold the initiative and it'll be easier to negotiate. Otherwise, if you let Han Jingyi name her price, she might open her mouth wide and demand an astronomical sum, landing you in a trap..." Kang Zhaolong warned.

"Brother Kang is right—no wonder you're a doctorate holder, coming up with a solution just like that!" You Panhu nodded, overjoyed. "All right, I'll ask for leave this afternoon and go back to the Hidden You family, then discuss it with my uncle and grandfather to see what Han Jingyi needs most at this stage. I'll get some of it and show it off in front of her!"

Having made up his mind, You Panhu went straight to Leader Bai to ask for leave. He no longer dared to leave without permission—last time he had nearly been thoroughly reprimanded.

Meanwhile, Wei Zhao took the materials Leader Bai had given him and went to find Han Jingyi. Since Wei Zhao had gone to Leader Bai's office, Han Jingyi and Wang Xinyan had not eaten in the cafeteria either; they bought three boxed lunches and returned to the classroom to wait for Wei Zhao.

"Wei Zhao, I told Yaoyao and Xiaoshu that you'd gone to Teacher Bai's office, so we bought the food and came back instead of going to the cafeteria," Wang Xinyan said to him when she saw Wei Zhao walk in.

"All right. You two didn't start eating first?" Wei Zhao looked at the three boxed lunches on the table—not one of them had been touched.

"No, there was no rush. We just waited for you," Wang Xinyan said.

"Then let's eat now." Wei Zhao walked over and handed the materials in his hand to Han Jingyi. "Jingjing, take a look at these materials while you eat. They were left by Teacher Bai's master—see if there's anything worth learning."

"All right." Han Jingyi took the materials and began to read.

After the three of them finished lunch, Han Jingyi had also finished reading. She shook her head and said to Wei Zhao, "Brother Wei Zhao, everything in these materials is already in the packet you gave me, and yours is far more complete. This is only a tiny fraction, and it's incomplete and fragmentary. Some parts have been filled in by someone, but there's clearly a huge gap compared to that other packet."

"Oh? So you're saying these materials aren't actually very useful?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Not very useful," Han Jingyi said truthfully.

"All right, then I understand." Wei Zhao nodded. "If You Panhu asks you, just say the materials are excellent and extremely useful. If he asks what you want to trade for them, don't say anything—let him list his terms, and you just stay silent or say you'll ask me."

"Mm-hm, Jingjing understands." Han Jingyi nodded.

You Panhu hurried back to the Hidden You family and went straight into a secret chamber with his uncle You Zhentian and the old master You, convening a family meeting of the Hidden You family.

"Panhu, you're saying that this time, the materials Leader Bai gave Wei Zhao really were left to him by his master, and there's no mistake?" You Zhentian asked.

"That's right, Uncle. This time there's definitely no mistake—Leader Bai said it himself, I heard it crystal clear, and Wei Zhao admitted it too!" As he spoke, You Panhu recounted to his uncle and grandfather how Wei Zhao had flatly refused the trade.