"Third Young Master Ji, let's find somewhere quiet to talk." Jiang Chen saw Third Young Master Ji waiting outside the door but keeping his distance, and sent his voice across.
Third Young Master Ji was idly fanning himself with a folding fan. Upon hearing Jiang Chen's voice transmission, his expression didn't change at all. After a brief pause, he sent back: "Wei Jie, I've booked a table at Idle Cloud Villa. You two can follow later."
Idle Cloud Villa was an exceptionally high-end establishment in the Glazed Royal City. Exquisitely refined and set in a serene, picturesque location, it maintained a staggeringly high standard of service. Ordinary people simply couldn't get a reservation.
Even the scions of great noble houses couldn't necessarily secure a table there — let alone the disciples of mere ninth-rank families.
Jiang Chen followed Wei Jie to Idle Cloud Villa and couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected such an elegant restaurant to exist in the Glazed Royal City, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold — seamlessly woven into the surrounding mountains and waters, it offered an extraordinarily pleasant atmosphere.
From the way Wei Jie behaved, it was clear he hadn't visited Idle Cloud Villa many times before either.
The moment they reached the entrance, a steward with a professional smile stepped forward. "Are you two young masters friends of Third Young Master Ji?"
Wei Jie nodded. "Has the Third Young Master arrived?"
"The Third Young Master is already upstairs waiting. Please, follow me." This steward clearly held a position of some standing at Idle Cloud Villa — his personal reception was quite the courtesy.
But Wei Jie understood this courtesy wasn't directed at him. It was for Third Young Master Ji's sake.
The premier great house of the Glazed Royal City still carried considerable weight.
In a private room on the upper floor, the wine and dishes were already prepared. Third Young Master Ji stood tall, a trace of anxiety visible in his bearing.
Clearly, he took the Longevity Pill very seriously.
Upon seeing Jiang Chen and Wei Jie arrive together, Third Young Master Ji immediately instructed the Idle Cloud Villa staff: "We won't need service here. We'll manage on our own."
The steward was tactful enough to recognize this was a private meeting and their presence wasn't required. He smiled and said, "Please enjoy your meal and drinks. Take your time."
After all the Idle Cloud Villa personnel had withdrawn, Third Young Master Ji waved his hand. "Wei Jie, how shall I address your friend?"
Wei Jie still felt somewhat ill at ease in Third Young Master Ji's presence.
At the question, he quickly answered: "This is our Wei family's newly hired Pill King. The Third Young Master may call him Pill King Zhen."
Third Young Master Ji nodded, studying Jiang Chen with a complex gaze for several moments before speaking: "I, Ji, have been a bit out of the loop — Pill King Zhen's distinguished name is one I'm hearing for the first time. Might I ask who your master is?"
Third Young Master Ji's tone carried, to some degree, an intent to sound him out. But Jiang Chen didn't mind — at the very least, Third Young Master Ji hadn't hypocritically gone on about how he'd long admired his reputation.
From this perspective, at least Third Young Master Ji was a straightforward and forthright person, with none of the usual roundabout games.
"Third Young Master, there are no outsiders here," Jiang Chen said with a smile. "Let's not dance around and probe each other. Even if I told you who my master is, you certainly wouldn't have heard of them."
With that, Jiang Chen didn't stand on ceremony. He settled himself boldly in the guest seat and produced the superior-grade Longevity Pill he'd prepared well in advance.
With a gentle push, the pill bottle slid straight across to Third Young Master Ji.
No words were as persuasive as hard evidence. Third Young Master Ji had been probing back and forth, but all his doubts ultimately came down to one question: did Jiang Chen truly possess a Longevity Pill?
In that case, simply presenting the pill was more convincing than anything else.
Sure enough, Third Young Master Ji's brow twitched, a flicker of emotion crossing his face. He hurriedly picked up the pill bottle, took a light sniff, and joy immediately bloomed across his features.
At the very least, the fragrance was correct. Moreover, this pill was clearly of a higher grade than the ones auctioned at Lianshan Auction House.
Unable to contain himself, Third Young Master Ji tipped the superior-grade Longevity Pill into his palm, rolling it over and examining it carefully, using his spiritual sense to inspect it ceaselessly.
The more he looked, the more his previously grave expression softened, and the brighter the joy on his face became.
"Good, good, good! This pill is genuine — it truly is a Longevity Pill, and of even higher quality than the ones from Lianshan Auction House. Pill King Zhen, you truly haven't broken your word."
Third Young Master Ji's previously tight expression brightened like clouds parting to reveal the sun, and his smile became warm and courteous. "Wei Jie, it seems the Wei family has finally found a reliable Pill King — congratulations are in order."
This remark eased some of the stiffness that had existed between them.
Wei Jie quickly added, "Pill King Zhen has been the single greatest contributor to our Wei family's recent resolution of internal strife. His talent in alchemy is truly unfathomable."
Third Young Master Ji smiled and nodded, still cradling the Longevity Pill in his hand with evident delight — like a child savoring a delicious fruit for the very first time.
"Pill King Zhen, since three middle-grade Longevity Pills fetched one hundred and twenty million — forty million apiece — then this superior-grade one of yours must be worth at least fifty million. Here, take your Heaven Pillaging Cauldron. Consider it a fair trade. Saves us from going back and forth with money — how tedious!"
Third Young Master Ji proved remarkably generous, producing the Heaven Pillaging Cauldron and sliding it straight toward Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen glanced at the Heaven Pillaging Cauldron and felt a measure of admiration for Third Young Master Ji's boldness. The Heaven Pillaging Cauldron had gone for fifty-six million Holy Spirit Stones at auction.
Yet the actual value of a single superior-grade Longevity Pill was only around two or three million Holy Spirit Stones.
The astronomical price it had fetched before was solely because the great houses of the Royal Court had deliberately exploited Third Young Master Ji's urgency, with both sides driving the price up through competitive bidding.