Chapter 4070 — Plotting Revenge

Taking two beauties on a tour of North Island was, in anyone's eyes, an enviable, heaven-sent assignment, but Wei Zhao harbored no such sordid intentions. Still, having been on Cloud-Tier Island for over half a year, he had never actually enjoyed himself the way he was doing now—it was a rare chance to relax after his diligent cultivation.

Yet just as Wei Zhao was escorting the two girls here and there, a bombshell suddenly swept across North Island, becoming everyone's favorite new topic of conversation after meals.

Si Haitao, the former steward of the Hong Clan Merchant Guild who had publicly molested two princesses, had been crippled into a useless wreck—and now, incredibly, he had somehow transformed into the steward of the Central Merchant Guild!

"His meridians are all shattered, and the Hong Clan Merchant Guild dismissed him for good. How could he claw his way back up so fast? Si Haitao doesn't look like much—could he really have that kind of ability?" Wei Zhao could not help but wonder.

"That wicked old bastard, and somebody's still willing to hire him as steward? Is the Central Merchant Guild out of its mind?" Shangguan Lan'er huffed angrily. Even if her simple heart did not hold a grudge against Si Haitao, hearing news like this—how could she possibly be happy about it?

Ning Xuefei knitted her brows as well, though she seemed puzzled. "The Central Merchant Guild? That name sounds a little familiar. They seem to have been making quite a splash lately!"

"I don't know why, but I feel the same way," Wei Zhao said, also frowning. He knew nothing about any Central Merchant Guild, but the phrase gave him a nagging sense of déjà vu.

Though the three were surprised and perplexed, they were in the midst of enjoying themselves and did not take it too much to heart. Si Haitao had already paid a heavy price; as long as he did not come provoke them again, he was just an irrelevant passerby.

Meanwhile, the brothers Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan were beating their chests and stamping their feet in frustration. Drink truly ruined matters—Si Haitao had been such a fine patron, and they had only just begun to grow close to him, yet he had been stripped of everything in one stroke!

It was not merely the loss of a patron; both of them had also been soundly cursed out in a letter from their uncle, Nan Tian Liuguang. Si Haitao was someone he had spent a great price to finally install in power, and all because these two fools had taken him to a brothel for a night of fun, a perfectly good man had been played into a brain-addled idiot.

Now look at the mess—all their previous efforts had gone down the drain. They had smashed down a sky-high sum of spirit jade, and not even an echo came back.

The two brothers were wallowing in regret when, unexpectedly, word suddenly arrived: Si Haitao had, in the blink of an eye, miraculously risen to power once more!

Upon receiving the news, Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan hurried off to pay a visit, heading straight for the newly opened Central Merchant Guild. Sure enough, they found Si Haitao there, full of vigor and high spirits.

"Ah, Steward Si, we've finally found you! We've been searching everywhere for you these past two days—we were worried sick!" The brothers Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan plastered smiles on their faces and hurried over.

"Hmph. Did you really search everywhere for this old man?" Si Haitao's expression turned cold. His earlier miserable ordeal had become a shadow he could never shake off for the rest of his life.

That had been his most desperate, most helpless hour, yet these two had never once shown their faces from beginning to end. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter—how could he not hold a grudge?

Seeing this, the two brothers hastily explained and deflected blame: "It's true, it's true! Looking back, it was all our fault—we shouldn't have rashly taken you to a place like that to drink ourselves senseless, or none of this would have happened. Actually, after we sent you back to the Hong Clan Merchant Guild the night before last, we both drank ourselves into a blackout. We woke up back home and it was already yesterday evening. When we heard you'd run into trouble, we asked around everywhere for news of you, but we could never find you!"

Hearing them out, Si Haitao's expression softened considerably. By yesterday evening, he had already gone off with the mysterious figure—so it made sense that the brothers could not find him.

"Very well, this old man will believe you for now. We'll let this matter drop. It's only by great fortune that this old man had a benefactor's help; otherwise, this time you two would likely have been collecting my corpse." Si Haitao spoke half in lingering fear, half in relief.

"Yes, yes, Steward Si, you've always had heaven's favor!" Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan surreptitiously wiped the cold sweat from their brows. They had finally pulled the wool over the old bastard's eyes.

Their way of navigating the world had always been to fawn on the high and trample the low. When Si Haitao was prospering, they naturally wanted to draw close to him; as for whether they had gone looking for him when he fell on hard times—only they themselves knew the truth.

Seeing Si Haitao sitting in a specially made wheelchair, Nan Tianguan asked with a face full of concern, "How are your injuries, Steward Si? Shall the two of us go fetch you some miracle medicine for healing?"

"No need. This old man's injuries aren't especially severe—merely a few meridians severed. I've already taken a Fifth-Grade Great Meridian-Opening Pill; healing is only a matter of time. No need for you to trouble yourselves." Si Haitao paused, then ground his teeth and said, "Though these injuries will heal, this old man absolutely must have his revenge. Those two women aside, that Wei Zhao is the chief culprit behind this old man's tragedy. If I do not avenge this wrong, I swear I am no man!"

Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan nodded repeatedly and chimed in, "Indeed! We must find a way to do away with that brat Wei Zhao. It's utterly infuriating how the petty man has gotten his way. But we hear he's always at the side of Shangguan Lan'er and Ning Xuefei now, with those five skilled men from the Soaring Heaven Pavilion guarding him as well. It won't be easy to strike at him anytime soon."

"There's plenty of time. What's a few more days of waiting? This old man has that much patience." Si Haitao's gaze was venomous. Then he said, "Now that this old man has made his comeback, I haven't yet had a proper celebration. Here on North Island, apart from you two, I have no other acquaintances. How about we go have a drink together and enjoy ourselves?"

"At Steward Si's command, how would we dare refuse!" The two promptly beamed with delight.

The three immediately sought out a top-grade tavern, where they raised their cups and chatted and laughed with ease. This time, however, Si Haitao had learned his lesson—he did not dare bring up anything about finding women again.

After all, he had been forced to take poison. If he fooled around all day and neglected his proper business, provoking the displeasure of the mysterious figure behind him, he would be finished.

"You two are the local snakes of North Island, deeply versed in every aspect of its affairs. This old man has a question I'd like to ask: have you ever heard of anyone with potential but a crooked heart?" Si Haitao chose his words carefully.

Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan were taken aback, then blurted out, "Isn't that Yu Jiang?"

That wretch Yu Jiang had defied all morality by killing his own master with his own hands—his heart could hardly be more crooked. And as for potential, the boy's cultivation talent was not bad at all, especially that capacity for endurance that let him shut himself in the library for three years at a stretch—ordinary people could never match it. R1152