Chapter 4184 — A Forceful Appointment

"You've come? And what about that fellow called Si Haitao?" Xu Lingchong asked directly.

"Si Haitao?" Kang Jingming could not help but look puzzled. "Young Master Xu, you know Steward Si too? But he wasn't one of us before, was he?"

"He wasn't before, but he is now. Go and bring him here," Xu Lingchong instructed flatly.

Kang Jingming did not dare delay. He answered at once and hurried out, going straight from the Central Chamber of Commerce to fetch Si Haitao.

Along the way, Si Haitao could not help feeling both baffled and uneasy. What did Xu Lingchong mean by suddenly summoning him?

Could it be that his secret alliance with Kang Jingming and the others these past days, and his efforts to draw them into the center's outer circle, had been discovered by Xu Lingchong? Was Xu Lingchong displeased at having his people poached, and now meant to make an example of him?

Though his heart was full of misgivings, Si Haitao ultimately decided to come and see for himself. Xu Lingchong had indeed returned in force, and ordinary people would do well to steer clear of him, but Si Haitao was no pushover either. In strength he was at least as good as, if not better than, a mid Golden Core cultivator, and in status he was the Central Chamber of Commerce's spokesman for North Island. There was no respect in which he need fear Xu Lingchong.

Whether Xu Lingchong would prove friend or foe in the end, and how he ought to face this young master of the Chongsheng Pavilion—he would have to come and confirm it in person.

Yet when he arrived at the Chongsheng Pavilion with such thoughts in mind, Xu Lingchong's reaction was utterly beyond Si Haitao's expectations.

"So you're Si Haitao? Very good. From now on, you'll work under me." Xu Lingchong glanced at him and gave a faint nod.

"What?!" Si Haitao was stunned, and his expression quickly turned ugly. Was this Young Master Xu out of his mind? He, a steward of the Central Chamber of Commerce in his own right, was on intimate terms with personages as lofty as Nantian Jiguang—so why on earth should he work for this man?

For a moment the atmosphere in the room turned tense. Kang Jingming and the others exchanged glances, not daring to make a sound.

"Young Master Xu, it's true that you are the managing senior disciple of the Chongsheng Pavilion, but I am the steward of the Central Chamber of Commerce's North Island branch. We belong to different organizations and are not on the same path at all. Aren't your words a bit too abrupt?" Si Haitao said in a low voice.

"Heh, is that so?" Xu Lingchong smiled, unperturbed, and then suddenly tossed out a photograph. On it was unmistakably the mysterious man in black, standing together with him. Thrown out along with it was a handwritten document, which clearly stated that Xu Lingchong was appointed deputy steward of the center's North Island, with full authority over all affairs of the North Island center!

"Deputy steward of the center's North Island? How can this be?" Si Haitao was greatly alarmed at the sight. This was far greater authority than that of the North Island intelligence group he secretly oversaw. And yet Xu Lingchong's strength was plainly not even as high as his own.

"Hmph, I have backing in the center. I am Master Pao's personal disciple—an existence even the mysterious man in black has to respect. Now you understand?" Xu Lingchong saw the other's bewilderment and spoke at once with a note of pride.

"What? Master Pao?" Si Haitao was both shocked and doubtful. He had no way to refute it, and could only lower his head and carefully examine the appointment document in his hand. It bore the center's unique emblem—that could not possibly be faked. Besides, he was in the intelligence business himself. Trying to pull the wool over his eyes was simply impossible.

In truth, the very first moment he laid eyes on that group photograph, he had already believed Xu Lingchong. The mysterious man in black on it still did not show his face, but his build and bearing were something no one else could imitate.

Moreover, Xu Lingchong's sudden disappearance and then sudden return, and his transformation into a mid Golden Core expert within a few short months—everything about it reeked of strangeness and defied all ordinary explanation. But if he had joined the center, then it made sense.

"Your subordinate obeys." Might makes right, and Si Haitao had no choice but to bow his head to Xu Lingchong. At the same time he shot a glance at Kang Jingming beside him. It seemed this fellow was about to rise in the world—he had latched onto a powerful patron.

"Excellent! I never imagined Young Master Xu was actually a top figure in our center. Congratulations, Young Master Xu—my best wishes to you!" Kang Jingming hurried to flatter him at the sight.

Zhong Yongliang chimed in as well, though inwardly he could not help muttering to himself. The young master of the Chongsheng Pavilion had in the blink of an eye become a high-ranking member of the center—Xu Lingchong had pulled off quite the transformation, a hen turning into a duck before one's very eyes. And this "Master Pao" he spoke of—why did it sound a little strange?

At that moment Xu Lingchong turned his head, his gaze passing over Si Haitao and coming to rest on Murong Zhen, who had come along with him today. That look gave Murong Zhen quite a start.

"Greetings, Young Master Xu. Last... last time I offended Miss Shangguan, and I beg your forgiveness here. I hope Young Master Xu, in his magnanimity, will not hold a small person's fault against her and will let me off this once," Murong Zhen said cautiously and in haste.

"Shangguan Lan'er?" Xu Lingchong waved a hand dismissively. "She's nothing but a woman. It doesn't matter. Since you've already thrown in your lot with the center, you're one of us. Let bygones be bygones."

Had this been before his disappearance, then to curry favor with Shangguan Lan'er, even if he did not actively make trouble for Murong Zhen, he would certainly never have been so magnanimous. But now that he had castrated himself, Shangguan Lan'er and the like naturally no longer mattered.

"Thank you, Young Master Xu!" Murong Zhen was overjoyed at his words. She had thought that this time, having run straight into Xu Lingchong's guns, she was bound for certain disaster. After all, apart from Shangguan Lan'er, he was one of the targets of her revenge. Never had she expected Xu Lingchong to be so magnanimous and simply wipe the slate clean.

In the past she had acted out of spite and hatred. Now, looking again at this Young Master Xu, he was not only powerful and of noble standing, but his whole person exuded an indefinable air of strength. Though he was a little effeminate, he still counted among the finest of men.

Murong Zhen could not help feeling a stir in her heart. This Young Master Xu was so magnanimous toward her—could it be that he too had taken a fancy to her beauty? If she could get involved with him, her prospects would be far brighter than trailing after an old lecher like Si Haitao.

"If Young Master Xu doesn't mind, shall I give your shoulders a rub? I've been specially trained, you know—I guarantee you'll be comfortable and satisfied!" Murong Zhen's eyes were silken with allure, her body voluptuous, and she swayed her waist as she walked toward Xu Lingchong.

"No need. Don't waste your effort—I'm not interested in you." Xu Lingchong saw through her intentions at a glance and refused coldly at once.

"Yes..." Murong Zhen's face turned bright red, and she could only weakly check her steps. Beside her, Kang Jingming and the others all wore sneering expressions, and Si Haitao in particular shot her a dark glare—this shameless, cheap woman!