Chapter 4354 — A Conspiracy in the Shadows

In Qi Wenmo's presence, Cheng Qitian had never once come out ahead. That he was no match for Qi Wenmo was something even his own arrogance could not deny. Yet seen in this light, every creature has its nemesis: the swaggering Qi Wenmo was just as helpless before that old fox Wei Zhaotong.

"Come, we're going to the Hong Clan Trading Company," Cheng Qitian decided on the spot.

"Yes, yes—but Young Master Cheng, what are we going to the Hong Clan Trading Company for? Should we bring men?" Chen Zitiao hurried to answer.

"Bring men? Bring what men? We're not going there to stand up for Qi Wenmo. What would we want men at the Hong Clan Trading Company for?" Cheng Qitian said with a curl of his lip.

"Then we're going to…" For a moment Chen Zitiao could not follow Cheng Qitian's line of thought.

"You're hopeless, utterly hopeless!" Cheng Qitian kicked him, sending him sprawling face-first onto the ground before the eyes of all, then put on an air of profound cunning. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This move of mine, young master here calls killing with a borrowed knife."

"Yes, yes, Young Master Cheng is brilliant as ever!" Chen Zitiao hurried to fawn, scrambling up from the ground in a sorry state, though in his heart he was full of contempt: with the little wit you've got, going to deal with an old fox like Wei Zhaotong, you won't even know you've been sold—you'll probably be grinning and counting their money for them, and you call it killing with a borrowed knife?

Enough talk. Cheng Qitian took Chen Zitiao with him, and the two went straight to the Hong Clan Trading Company. Upon entering, they asked for Wei Zhaotong by name. He was, after all, the young master of the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps, and the most troublesome local snake in these parts; the clerks dared not be negligent, and at once respectfully ushered the two into the reception hall.

"Well now, Young Master Cheng, what a rare guest!" A moment later Wei Zhaotong came out to greet them, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Haha. Manager Wei, we haven't met in many days. I trust you've been well." Cheng Qitian cupped his hands with a chuckle.

Even as he smiled and exchanged pleasantries, Wei Zhaotong was inwardly puzzled: what could this fellow want, coming to see him so suddenly?

In the Weihu Sea, the Hong Clan Trading Company was an outside power, and had always remained neutral, each side keeping to its own waters. And because the Hong Clan Trading Company had backing far too formidable, even a local snake like the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps did not dare lightly set its sights on it. So the two had neither any dealings nor any feud between them—they were, by and large, on nodding terms.

"Might I ask what brings Young Master Cheng to our Hong Clan Trading Company this time?" Wei Zhaotong came straight to the point once the pleasantries were done.

"Nothing much, really. It's just that word has spread far and wide outside that you, Manager Wei, have bled the Qingtian Escort Agency dry. So I made a special trip to pay a visit," Cheng Qitian answered without the least concealment.

At that reply, even Chen Zitiao behind him could not help but raise a hand to his forehead, let alone Wei Zhaotong himself. Is there a hole in this fellow's brain? If you're not here to pick a fight, is that how you talk to a man's face?

"What is Young Master Cheng driving at?" Sure enough, Wei Zhaotong's face fell at once, his expression dark and unreadable. "It was the Qingtian Escort Agency that broke its own contract. This old man has done everything in accordance with the agreement. Such street gossip was put about by the Qingtian Escort Agency itself—and Young Master Cheng believes it? Or are you perhaps here to stand up for them? No, that can't be. From what this old man knows, Young Master Cheng and that Qi Wenmo have always been sworn enemies!"

The grudge between the Qingtian Escort Agency and the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps—above all the feud between those two young masters, Qi Wenmo and Cheng Qitian—was something any local you stopped on the streets of Weihu City could talk about for three days and nights. It was known to one and all.

"Haha, Manager Wei has it right. Qi Wenmo and I are indeed sworn enemies—the kind whose hatred runs so deep that one of us must die, that only one of us can live!" Cheng Qitian laughed aloud.

At this Wei Zhaotong did not know whether to laugh or cry. One of you must die, only one of you can live—isn't it always you who has the last laugh? Everyone knows that the moment Young Master Cheng runs into Qi Wenmo he comes off the loser. Is this confidence, or plain stupidity…

"Then what exactly does Young Master Cheng wish to do, coming here this time?" Wei Zhaotong's expression had eased somewhat. The enemy of my enemy is my friend—even a specimen like Cheng Qitian understood that principle, and naturally he understood it too.

"Very simple. I want to join hands with Manager Wei and hatch a plan—to give that Qingtian Escort Agency another good screwing!" Cheng Qitian said with gusto.

Every time he had clashed with the Qingtian Escort Agency before, he had come off the worse at Qi Wenmo's hands; meeting them head-on was plainly a dead end. But this latest affair had given him an idea. To deal with the Qingtian Escort Agency and Qi Wenmo—and that Ling Yi into the bargain—he need not confront them openly at all. He could do just as Wei Zhaotong had done, and scheme in the shadows to strike a dirty blow!

"Oh?" Wei Zhaotong's eyes lit up at once, his interest roused. "Come, come, Young Master Cheng, into the inner hall. Let us discuss this properly."

By now, Wei Zhaotong's desire to bring down the Qingtian Escort Agency was greater even than Cheng Qitian's. Though he had fobbed off this latest affair for the moment, the other side still held solid living witnesses in their grasp, and that was no small hidden danger to him. If those witnesses fell into the hands of the Hong Shadow Group, it would mean real trouble.

It was only a pity that although the Hong Clan Trading Company wielded no small power in the Weihu Sea, it was, after all, a house of business. Even the skilled retainers stationed here had as their bounden duty only the guarding of the Hong Clan Trading Company. Wei Zhaotong might be the branch manager, but he could not lightly command them, still less send them to do deeds that could not bear the light of day.

And Wei Zhaotong himself was too conspicuous a target; every move he made drew watching eyes. If he wished to do a little tampering with his own hands, the difficulty was no small matter. Who would have thought Cheng Qitian would deliver himself to his door?

Behind this Young Master Cheng stood the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps—a local snake if ever there was one—and for striking a dirty blow in the shadows, they were the perfect partners!

The two had never had any friendship between them, yet in this way they came to feel something like kindred spirits, as though they had met too late, and at once could not wait to withdraw into the inner hall for a thorough talk.

From afternoon until evening they schemed a full three hours, and only then did they emerge beaming, Wei Zhaotong himself seeing his guest out with every courtesy. Cheng Qitian went home well satisfied.

Over the next few days, Wei Zhao had expected that after the storm that had passed, there would be follow-up moves from either Wei Zhaotong's side or Cheng Qitian's. Yet to his surprise, the days that followed were utterly calm, without the slightest sign of anything amiss.

Since the other side did not come looking for trouble, Wei Zhao could hardly go knocking on their door himself; he was content to enjoy the respite. (To be continued) R655