Chapter 602 — Li Cihua's Probe

"Hurry up. If Gu Pengzhan doesn't cooperate, give him a little nudge. We must get to the bottom of Wei Zhao's background as quickly as possible — I can barely contain my eagerness to put him in his grave!" Zhao Qibing urged.

"Don't worry, Young Master Qi Bing, I know what to do!" Li Cihua wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded obediently.

"And what about my Qibing Tower?" Zhao Qibing's thoughts drifted to the tower that Wei Zhao had razed to the ground, and waves of humiliation flashed through his mind. His tower — barely completed — had been leveled by Wei Zhao. Wasn't that a slap in the face? Not only had he lost face in front of all those scions of wealthy families, but it had also stalled the work schedule of Qibing Real Estate!

They didn't even have a corporate office left. What kind of buildings were they supposed to put up? True, the demolition and relocation phase hadn't been affected, but when it came to actually constructing the building, they had not a single staff member on site. What the hell kind of development was that?

"The Qibing Tower is completely destroyed. There's no hope of repairing it whatsoever..." Li Cihua said with bitter resentment. The tower had cost him and Jin Gubang a pretty penny, and now, the moment it was finished, someone had torn it down. The loss was far too great!

"Destroyed? So rebuild it, haven't you? Now — this instant, right this second — build me a new tower! Before I can leave this hospital room in a wheelchair, I want to see a brand-new Qibing Tower!" Zhao Qibing's anxiety was rising. Without the Qibing Tower, he would lose face spectacularly!

"Uh... Young Master Qi Bing, a tower isn't something that can be built overnight, you know? You're joking! A soaring building starts from flat ground — Rome wasn't built in a day!" Li Cihua forced an awkward smile, looking rather troubled.

"Haven't I already given you time? In another ten or twenty days I'll be able to go out in a wheelchair. You must rebuild the Qibing Tower for me by then!" Zhao Qibing issued his decree.

"Young Master Qi Bing, ten or twenty days isn't enough to build a tower. Isn't this... isn't this making things impossible for me..." Li Cihua said with a bitter laugh.

"Ten or twenty days is more than enough! I saw a video online — some tower was apparently built in just a few days! If they can do it, why can't you? Are you trying to brush me off?" Zhao Qibing's eyes snapped wide open as he barked in a harsh voice.

"Uh... I'll give it a try, then..." Li Cihua could only agree through gritted teeth. He'd track down someone later, see if he could find that video, hire a top-notch construction crew, and get the tower built.

"Now go handle it!" Zhao Qibing waved his hand impatiently and dismissed Li Cihua.

Li Cihua walked out of the Geili Fuyun bar in a rather foul mood. He was no longer the master of this establishment. Everyone inside outranked him now. Young Master Qi Bing was one thing — he was the boss's son, so naturally he held more sway. But Elder Zhu and the Medicine King? Those were people Li Cihua couldn't afford to offend either. He'd been reduced to a mere errand boy.

"Brother Cihua, what's wrong?" Su Jiaonang saw Li Cihua emerge with a dark expression and hurried over to ask.

"Don't ask. Come on, come with me to the Gu Group!" Li Cihua decided to deal with the Wei Zhao matter first. It was a bit easier than rebuilding a tower. If he could pull this one off, even if the tower wasn't finished on schedule, at least he could give Young Master Qi Bing an explanation.

"Alright!" Su Jiaonang didn't press further. He climbed into the car with Li Cihua, and they headed for the Gu Group.

Gu Pengzhan was somewhat surprised by Li Cihua's arrival, though not overly puzzled. After all, last night Wei Zhao had told him that the person he'd crossed was Zhao Qibing. Since Li Cihua was Zhao Qibing's subordinate, his showing up here wasn't exactly strange.

"Boss Li, I take it you have some business?" Gu Pengzhan didn't bother with pleasantries. They had no commercial dealings to speak of, and after what Li Cihua had done — orchestrating Jin Gubang's campaign against him recently — Gu Pengzhan had no inclination even to feign politeness.

"President Gu, there's no need to spell out what I do for a living. Relations between us haven't exactly been cordial, but that's all water under the bridge now," Li Cihua said coolly. "What happened before — let's set it aside. Since Jin Gubang failed, I have no further intention of coming after you."

"Oh? Then what brings Boss Li here this time?" Gu Pengzhan wasn't particularly surprised that Li Cihua spoke so bluntly about what he'd done. It was common knowledge either way.

"Let's not mince words. You've hired a bodyguard, have you not? His name is Wei Zhao?" Li Cihua wanted to get Zhao Qibing's errand done quickly, so he couldn't be bothered with small talk. From the moment he walked in, he struck a dominant posture.

In Li Cihua's view, even though he was no match for Wei Zhao, he was still a formidable figure in Songshan City. Gu Pengzhan, for all his talk, was nothing but a businessman. How could a businessman hold a candle to someone like him, a man with underworld connections?

"That's right. What about him?" Gu Pengzhan frowned. So Li Cihua had indeed come for Wei Zhao.

"Heh, there is indeed something I'd like to trouble President Gu with. I'm sure you've heard the news that Young Master Qi Bing was beaten up?" Li Cihua asked coolly.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Gu Pengzhan shot back.

"There's no good man at the Young Master's side. I wonder if Mr. Gu would be willing to part with what he cherishes and let us have Wei Zhao?" This time Li Cihua had resorted to a bit of scheming; he was probing whether Wei Zhao had also been injured, how badly, and whether the skill was still in him.

"Oh, Mr. Wei Zhao and I have a contract," Gu Pengzhan answered blandly.

"So that's how it is..." Li Cihua cursed Gu Pengzhan inwardly as an old fox. He had assumed that if Wei Zhao were injured, Gu Pengzhan would surely say Wei Zhao was hurt too and unfit to protect anyone else, or that if Wei Zhao had lost all his skill, Gu Pengzhan would surely say Wei Zhao could no longer guard anyone.

But what Gu Pengzhan said had to be about the contract! What on earth did that mean? Did it mean Wei Zhao still had his skill and Gu Pengzhan was unwilling to give him up, or that Wei Zhao had already lost his skill and was gravely injured, but Gu Pengzhan had not dismissed him purely because of the contract?

The words carried no particular tone, and Li Cihua truly found it hard to judge Gu Pengzhan's real intent!

"Since that's the case, I won't force a man against his will," Li Cihua said through gritted teeth, inwardly resentful. "I wonder where Mr. Gu found Wei Zhao? Was it from the Vanguard Company, or some formidable organization? Why not recommend it to me, so I can hire a bodyguard too?"