Chapter 44: Chapter Forty-Four: I Am Here

"Fine, but I wonder if Big Boss Wu Nai is willing to put up a stake?"

"What kind of stake do you propose?"

Wu Zhuge had been watching with a cold face, feeling more and more that Liu Jianbao, by virtue of being able to maneuver between him and Pig Boss, was becoming increasingly arrogant.

"How about this: the stake is that if there is truly movement at Qingyang Station this time, only our two families will act... but the split must be changed!"

"Ho, you went in a big circle just to wait for me here? Then how do you want to split it?"

Wu Zhuge took a deep breath, trying to keep his tone flat, yet he could not hide the anger in his eyes.

The Liu brothers were increasingly disregarding him; back then, Cao Er in the stronghold had suggested he clean up Mao'er Ba early, but he had been self-righteous, insisting that the Liu brothers could be supported, preferably recruited for his own use to counter Guanzi Mountain in the north.

So Mao'er Ba had developed smoothly under his very nose, gradually growing powerful, mainly due to his own small calculations and indulgence.

But now it was clearly backfiring, giving him more hidden worries; this worry came from the gentry of Mianxian, for the Longmen Stronghold was established only because the gentry of Mianxian acted as intermediaries and pushed it forward single-handedly.

To put it plainly, at his core he was merely a dog in the hands of the Mianxian gentry, but now he was slowly growing old; what if the gentry wanted to replace him with a mad dog with better teeth?

"The Liu brothers must be killed!" Wu Zhuge made his decision instantly.

"Ai, Master Wu, don't be angry; let our two families compete fairly to see who is stronger... if we lose, we of Mao'er Ba will take less, so that our own brothers will be convinced; if we win, we will take more, otherwise they always say they contributed more but take less... you say we two brothers also have to manage this household, isn't that so?"

Liu Jianchen felt that Wu Zhuge's cultivation of patience was truly inadequate, so he quickly interjected with a smile to add.

"Hmph, just say it; your grandfather is not a petty-minded person!" Wu Zhuge snorted coldly.

"Straightforward! If we win, we split it ***; if we lose, then we follow the previous method." Liu Jianbao always wore that grinning, ghostly expression.

"You six? I four? Which cooperation ever had more people from my Longmen Stronghold going out?"

Wu Zhuge was truly stunned by Liu Jianbao's outrageous demand, and since losing meant sticking to the original split, Mao'er Ba would suffer no loss at all; wasn't this simply treating him like a monkey to be fooled?

"Haha... Master Wu, don't you think carefully? Which time was it not us who got the latest news? I can join forces with your Longmen Stronghold on this news, or I can join forces with Pig Boss of Qiguan Mountain... Ai, don't be angry, just say it... isn't that so?"

Wu Zhuge drank a mouthful of strong wine, forcibly suppressing his rage, and mocked: "Is your mother really a camel trader from the Nine Kingdoms? Ha, stop using that so-called 'linked' news as an excuse; which family doesn't have ears scattered outside? Even if you think you keep your mouth shut tighter, do you think our stronghold won't know?"

"Then besides this time at Qingyang Station where your Gu Laosan had news, weren't the matters at Shiguan, Feixian Ridge, and Houtou Pass all told to you by us Liu brothers?"

Liu Jianchen sneered repeatedly: "More people doesn't necessarily mean more effort... besides, Master Wu, can't I really find Pig Boss of Guanzi Mountain to partner with? Must I come to you?"

Wu Zhuge's face shifted between gloom and agitation; he did not want to continue retreating on this topic, so he changed his train of thought and immediately agreed: "Good! Then let us compete!"

"Good, let our subordinates show their skills; brothers, Master Wu has agreed, do you dare to compete? If you lose, shut your stinking mouths; that means the brothers of our Longmen Stronghold contributed more, did you hear?"

Liu Jianbao immediately shouted loudly, and the table of Mao'er Ba men behind him instantly cheered, each roaring to compete; simply in terms of momentum, they already overshadowed Longmen Stronghold here.

"Usually the Great Ming court's martial examinations are all pretentious, filthy nonsense, too troublesome; let's do something simple, just three items: mounted archery, swords and knives, and long spears, how about that?"

Liu Jianbao proposed to the crowd.

Wu Zhuge then realized that today he had only brought his personal guards, Miao Xianzu, Wang Qiong, Zhang Cang, and Wu Nai.