Regardless of how things turned out, it was fortunate that Mu Hanyan was not the stubbornly dogmatic type one might have imagined. However difficult such people were to deal with, they were simply a bit greedy; there were always ways to handle them. Pang Dezong felt much more relieved and took a sip of tea to calm himself.
"Isn’t Senior Pang an Alchemy Master? In that case, just casually bringing out ten or eight Alchemy Treasures will do." Mu Hanyan was blunt in his request. Newest update provided by novel•fire.net
"Pfft!" Pang Dezong spewed out his tea. He hadn’t yet suppressed his initial shock, and here came an even greater one. Did he think alchemy was like forging iron, something you could just do on demand? Not to mention the precious Meteorite Gold Ore, the complexity and intricacies involved in refining were beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Ten or eight pieces? You might as well rob someone... Oh right, this lad’s sky-high demands were practically a robbery.
"Mu Hanyan, you have no shame, to actually try extorting my esteemed uncle," Zhao Sinin’s angry voice erupted just then.
Of course, he would not give up on Fourth Miss Zhao just because of a few evasive words from Mu Hanyan. He had been hiding outside all along, listening in. Seeing his most respected uncle repeatedly frustrated by Mu Hanyan, pushed to a helpless fury, he could no longer contain his rage and burst out.
"Sinin, why have you come in?" Seeing Zhao Sinin enter without his instruction, Pang Dezong wasn’t angry; instead, he spoke with a mild and pleasant tone.
"Uncle, pay him no mind. This Mu Hanyan is despicable and shameless, just name-dropping sky-high demands. If it comes to it, we might as well fight to the bitter end," Zhao Sinin said angrily.
"Sinin, step outside for a while; your uncle has his own plans for this matter," Pang Dezong said, somewhat overwhelmed.
Fight to the bitter end? If it were possible, he wouldn’t mind going to those lengths with Mu Hanyan. In fact, given the vast difference in their abilities, a small fry like Mu Hanyan could be dealt with effortlessly; his net wouldn’t break after a hundred such encounters. But if he couldn’t break it, Zhengying Academy would.
He’d struggled his whole life, and had only recently attained his current position. He was even acting as Lord of the Academy while the Dean was in seclusion. Should anything happen to the Dean, whether an accident or passing away in peace, he stood a good chance of taking over. In Anyun Country, the position of a Dean of the Four Great Acadies was exceedingly exalted, and even the king had to treat them with great respect; he certainly didn’t want to see Zhengying Academy ruined over this.
Zhao Sinin fell silent; he had spoken in a moment of impulse, not being a fool, and was aware of Pang Dezong’s thoughtful struggles.
Yet, if Mu Hanyan had his way, he could never be content.
"Uncle, there’s another matter I have yet to report to you," Zhao Sinin suddenly said, his eyes lighting up.
"Speak," Pang Dezong wanted nothing more than to be rid of Mu Hanyan quickly and wasn’t in the mood for idle talk. Still, he had always been indulgent towards Zhao Sinin and couldn’t bring himself to scold him, only managing to speak with a forced patience.
Leaning close to Pang Dezong’s ear, Zhao Sinin spoke in a low voice about the disappearance of Fourth Miss Zhao. He hadn’t considered the possibility of her encountering trouble before, so he hadn’t reported it to Pang Dezong in time. Now, unable to locate her and unwilling to let Mu Hanyan succeed, he hurriedly brought it up.
"Ling Xian came here to participate in the trials with an important goal of getting rid of Mu Hanyan. To help her, I even enlisted Yan Yuchu of the Yan Family. Now Ling Xian is missing, and Yan Yuchu has gotten mixed up with Mu Hanyan. If I am not mistaken, Mu Hanyan must have used some underhanded means to buy off Yan Yuchu, and Ling Xian has likely fallen victim to their foul play," Zhao Sinin concluded, his face full of sorrow and rage.