"Patir, why aren’t you talking?" Hong Ban diligently refilled Patir’s water. This kind of thing had to be done personally to show sincerity. "Do you like today’s tea that much?"

Patir really wanted to kick him to death. This brainless idiot—she was drinking water precisely because she didn’t want to talk.

"The ones who got played this time are people from Dragon Capital. While we’re laughing at them, others are laughing at us. Has Dragon Capital really got no one left? How can we let a con artist come and go as he pleases?" Patir said.

"Miss Patir is absolutely right, your vision is on a whole different level. That con artist is way too arrogant, we must catch him!" Hong Ban immediately chimed in.

"If you can actually catch him, I’ll seriously be impressed," Patir said with a smile.

"It’s a bit late now. If I’d been there from the start, I’d definitely have seen through him!" Hong Ban wasn’t actually stupid; where was he supposed to catch anyone at this point? "Yan Tianguang, that guy isn’t coming?"

"He’s cultivating in the Holy Land. How would a Preparatory Angel be hanging around with us?"

"We’ll end up there sooner or later too, what’s the rush? He just took one step ahead of us, that’s all."

"You’re all talk. Say that to his face next time."

Seeing the topic drifting away, Patir quietly let out a breath of relief, not realizing that Feili had taken all of this in.

There were only a few families in Dragon Capital who had the power to snap up that house in such a short time, and who could Lu Shuai have gone to? He really didn’t know Patir, but that sneaky woman was capable of anything. Could it be that she bought it and wanted to use it to mock her?

The reason she didn’t call her out on the spot was, of course, because she wanted to make use of her. Used properly, she could directly turn Patir into a decorative vase, never again a rival for the vice president seat of Black Rose.

For most people who work hard, Monday vanishes in the blink of an eye; for some, though, it drags on like a year.

For a whole week, Dragon Capital was still buzzing about this incident. People had actually raised a decent amount of money, but the biggest problem was the Magic Potion Materials. Tears of the Dead and Fire Beetle Blood were treasures you could only stumble upon, not seek out. Even if someone had them, they would be reluctant to bring them out, and they also needed a Great Alchemist to personally step in.

At home, Li Xin, Lin Fei, Kathy, and Xueyin were all there.

After taking part in the donation effort, Xueyin was also extremely invested in the matter.

"Sister Kathy, you’re the most amazing. Can you find a Great Alchemist and the Magic Potion Materials? Doesn’t the Church Court have basically everything?" Xueyin said.

Kathy looked at Xueyin and patted her head. "You think I own the Church Court or something? You’ll have to wait until I become a Red-robed Archbishop for that. The Church Court really doesn’t have these two Magic Potion Materials; they’re truly rare. If I try to purchase them in the name of the Church Court, they won’t approve it. But I did manage to get in touch with a Great Alchemist."

At that, everyone perked up. "Sister Kathy, seriously, how can you wait until now to mention something this important!"

"I’m just a little Secretary doing odd jobs for the Archbishops. You really think I’m omnipotent? A Great Alchemist holds a revered status, on equal footing with a Bishop, no subordinate relationship at all; you can only invite them. My face isn’t worth that much. I wasn’t holding out much hope—maybe he was moved by the child’s background, but he actually agreed," Kathy said with a smile.

Everyone let out a breath and broke into smiles. "Thank goodness, thank goodness. With a Great Alchemist taking action, there’s definitely a chance."

"Don’t celebrate too soon. We still can’t be short on Magic Potion Materials. Li Xin, can you get more?"

Everyone turned to look at Li Xin. Only now did they realize he’d been the one to find the materials.

Li Xin gave a wry smile. "I’m afraid the chances are slim. Last time was pure luck."

Damn that con artist. If he’d known, he’d have kept one more drop of Tears of the Dead, at least half of it would still be there. And where was he supposed to get more now? As for the Fire Beetle Blood, Miss Aries had also spent quite a bit of time getting it last time.

"I’ll give it a try. The odds really are low, though. Those materials are useless to that con artist—he must’ve sold them for cash. Maybe we can ask around in the Black Market?" Li Xin suddenly thought of this.

"We all thought of that. How could he not? He just didn’t expect things to blow up this badly; he’s definitely gone into hiding now, no way he dares show his face," Kathy said.

Five hundred gold—enough to last several lifetimes. Whether he sold the Magic Potion Materials or not didn’t even matter.

Everyone could only rack their brains for ideas, but realistically, only Kathy and Li Xin had any real chance.

Safe house.

Lu Shuai already had a scruffy beard and a weathered face. Every day he just read the newspaper, drank, and argued with Huerta. Only when it came down to an actual fight did he realize he really couldn’t beat Huerta—Huerta was a fair bit stronger than him.

"Old Hu, let me out. Everyone is out there giving their all, what am I hiding in here for?"

"You just stay put. Things outside still haven’t cooled down. Brother Li said that Secretary Kathy managed to find the real Great Alchemist and he’s willing to take the job. That means we’re already halfway there. Money isn’t the toughest problem. As long as we make up the Magic Potion Materials, Tanggao can be saved," Huerta said.

"Then I should be out there helping even more. Besides, Miss Tang is coming back," Lu Shuai said.

"Miss Tang is still on assignment. When she comes back, I’ll let you know—and she should come looking for you anyway," Huerta said.

"Old Hu, you’re driving me crazy."

Huerta didn’t care. There was really no way Lu Shuai could go out now. The slander and attacks outside were still intense. If not for Citizen Daily’s reasoned defense, this might have already escalated into a public trial of Lu Shuai.

But Lu Shuai didn’t care at all. A week had gone by and he was still thinking about his Miss Tang.

"Big Shuai, get a grip. She’s using you!"

Lu Shuai just smiled and waved his hand. "You don’t get it. I may not be as good as you in cultivation, but you think I can’t tell if a woman is sincere with me?"

"She’s a seductive woman," Huerta said angrily.

Huerta’s words left Lu Shuai speechless. The very ability of a seductive woman was to trap the target in love they couldn’t extricate themselves from, a self-righteous, passionate love.

"Fine, I’m willing, okay? Now let me out!"

"If you keep this up, I’m going to tie you up!" Huerta’s mission was to keep Lu Shuai in. With his current emotional state, going out would only inflame the conflict.

...

At the Canon Law School committee, Chen Rutang was chairing the meeting. The agenda had only one item: whether or not to expel Lu Shuai.

Even though Citizen Daily had argued the case from all angles, people were still seething. The con artist hadn’t been caught, so someone had to be held accountable. All of the anger had obviously fallen on Lu Shuai. Who else were they going to go after? That pitiful yet dutiful young girl? Or the poor child? Or the old lady?

Of course, if Lu Shuai hadn’t kept his conduct clean, they wouldn’t be talking about something as mild as expulsion.

Inside the Canon Law School things were a bit better. Under the influence of Citizen Daily, the students gradually calmed down. Most people were able to rein in their emotions and look at the matter more rationally. At worst, they just thought Lu Shuai was stupid.

After understanding the whole story, Chen Rutang did not support expulsion. But most of the committee members believed that Lu Shuai had already seriously damaged the reputation of the tranquil Canon Law School and that only by expelling him could the institution distance itself.

The meeting was in a shouting deadlock, and in the end the ball was thrown back to Chen Rutang. He was the dean; whether they expelled Lu Shuai or not, he would be the one bearing the responsibility.