Chapter 165 — Threats and Counter-Threats

"So can I."

"I told you my master is the king of assassins," Wei Zhao said. "Believe it or not?"

"..." Li Cihua naturally did not believe a word of it. He rolled his eyes. "All right, enough of that. Let's talk about you. What are you doing at Gu Mengyao's side now? Money, isn't it? As for her looks... heh. Sure, Gu Mengyao is very pretty, but what does a green little girl like that know about serving a man, compared to a grown woman? Once you have money, what kind of woman can't you have?"

"Heh..." Wei Zhao listened as Li Cihua rambled on.

"Let's talk business, about working together," Li Cihua said. "Our boss has never been short of money! If you work with us, what you get won't be money alone. Once it's done, beautiful women and status will be yours for the taking! Just like me."

You think you're something, do you? Wei Zhao wanted to laugh, but the laugh would not come. How pitiful. The man was truly pitiful, thinking himself so impressive just because he had become someone's chess piece. Wei Zhao could not even be bothered to puncture his bubble.

"Work together how? Come help you? Or play double agent?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Either. Whatever you like," Li Cihua said. "Your skills can't be any weaker than Li Yao's, surely?"

"Who's Li Yao?" Wei Zhao did not know the pretty boy's name.

"The one whose arm you snapped earlier," Li Cihua explained.

"Heh, maybe." Wei Zhao did not answer the question directly.

"Your skills rank among the very best in Songshan City. If you're willing to come over and help me, I think once the boss hears of it, he'll pay a high price," Li Cihua said. "Of course, you could also stay at Gu Mengyao's side as a mole, keep enjoying your moneyed, woman-filled life, and we'll pay you something on the side. All you need to do is play the crucial part at the crucial moment."

"Sounds nice... but it would be very hard to pull off." Wei Zhao refused outright once he had heard him out. "First, I'm content with my life as it is. Gu Pengzhan pays me plenty; it's enough for me. Second, I'm comfortable right now. I don't want to take risks or play high-difficulty games like going undercover. So I'm sorry, I don't accept your proposal."

"Mr. Lin, I hope you'll think it over before you speak," Li Cihua said. "Now that I've laid it all out like this, do you really think you still have a choice?"

"Are you threatening me?" Wei Zhao raised his head and looked at Li Cihua.

"You can take it that way." Li Cihua smiled faintly. "Call it advice, or call it a threat."

"All right, understood." Wei Zhao rose to his feet. "Anything else? If not, I'm off. Going home to sleep."

"So is that a yes or a no?" Li Cihua asked. "Or do you want to think it over?"

"No need to think it over. And I won't agree." Wei Zhao said, "I've made myself perfectly clear. Until we meet again."

"When you walk out that door, if you haven't changed your mind, I hope you won't regret it." Li Cihua frowned. He had not expected Wei Zhao to be immune to both the carrot and the stick. In his view, Wei Zhao must have been bewitched by that little girl Gu Mengyao. Wei Zhao's earlier remark about "going home to sleep" must surely have been a hint to that effect.

One had to say, Li Cihua's mind was truly filthy, positively wallowing in obscenity. "Heh." Wei Zhao pushed the door open, ready to leave. Li Cihua's expression twisted.

Earlier, brimming with confidence, he had summoned Wei Zhao to see him, and had even gone so far as to confess that he himself had been behind the bank kidnapping, all for the sake of recruiting Wei Zhao and getting him aboard his ship.

In his eyes, everyone had their value. As long as the benefits he could offer were rich enough, Wei Zhao would surely abandon Gu Mengyao's side and turn to his camp.

But Wei Zhao had refused outright without even asking the price! Li Cihua did not know whether he had overestimated Wei Zhao or underestimated him.

Overestimated him, thinking him too loyal? Or underestimated him, thinking he was merely after Gu Mengyao's beauty?

"In that case, Mr. Lin had better watch himself." Li Cihua knew that saying more now would accomplish nothing; it could no longer change Wei Zhao's mind. This man would never be of use to him.

"I will. But I'd also advise you to watch yourself, Brother Cihua, and not do anything foolish," said Wei Zhao. He turned, pushed open the door, and left Li Cihua's office. He had now more or less established one fact: the ones going after Gu Pengzhan were the people standing behind Li Cihua. As for who those people were, Wei Zhao did not yet know.

As for the bank, it had been arranged through Li Cihua's hired hands. But judging by his current confidence and fearlessness, the police most likely would not be able to obtain substantive evidence to bring him to justice.

In other words, at best they would catch those bank robbers, and the case would end right there.

Wei Zhao was not one to play by the rules, but Li Cihua had not yet crossed his bottom line. Since Gu Pengzhan had not yet made any moves in response, Wei Zhao decided to let Li Cihua off for the time being.

Taking Li Cihua out would be a simple matter. Just as Li Cihua himself had said, if he killed him, no evidence would be left behind.

At the door, Li Yao and Su Jiaonang made no move to stop Wei Zhao, letting him leave as he pleased. Presumably, without Li Cihua's orders, the two of them would not act rashly.

Wei Zhao made his way out of the bar, climbed into Shen Yushu's yellow Beetle, and drove off from Geili Fuyun Bar.

Gu Mengyao's Audi had long since driven away, presumably sent back by Uncle Qing's orders.

"Damn him, he dares to threaten me?" Only after Wei Zhao had left the bar entirely did Li Cihua wave the skull-faced man over. "Zhang Long, you and Li Yao together, take this man out. If he won't be of use to me, keeping him around will only be trouble sooner or later."

"Yes!" Zhang Long was a man of few words; he answered simply and walked out of the room.

This Zhang Long was the top-tier fighter at the peak of the late Yellow Rank that the boss had recently assigned to Li Cihua. He too bore a domineering name - Zhang Long, the same as Zhang Long of the Seven Heroes and Five Gallants.

Though Zhang Long said nothing, he still felt that Wei Zhao alone was beneath him and didn't need Li Yao to come along. But since he was now taking orders from Li Cihua, Zhang Long agreed all the same.

With Zhang Long and Li Yao together, Li Yao naturally assumed the role of driver. It couldn't be helped - who told Zhang Long to be stronger than Li Yao?

Wei Zhao's route home was fixed, so there was no need to search for him; Li Yao simply followed behind Wei Zhao's Beetle.