Xin looked at the two men in front of him.
"Let's speak about my stake first."
Lei rolled his eyes. Feng Chonglin decided to speak up to calm him down.
"Fine, kid. Let's do this. Lei, do as I tell you, I have your best interests in heart."
"We'll see about that. What did you want, Xin?"
"I want twenty percent of this business. This situation is very, very dangerous. I am seriously considering just quitting."
"We heard that, kid. You can't play this card too many times. Lei, are you willing to make concessions?"
"Are you telling me to make them, granpa Chonglin?"
"Am I, Lei?" He looked at him intensely. "I was under the impression that Xin is biting off more than he can chew."
"That applies to all of us. Twenty percent." Xin looked determined.
"Ten and fuck off." Lei suddenly threw him a bone.
"Are you expecting to meet me half-way? I said twenty, don't like it? Fuck off."
"I think I should offer a compromise, you two." Feng Chonglin intervened. Now that Xin was also losing composure, the situation was bound to escalate. "Xin, how about that. You don't get a stake, you don't get any voting power either. Right now, me and Lei are fifty-fifty, this business could be ruined if we start voting against each other. Imagine if you started an alliance with Lei against me, or me and Lei used our stakes to bully you. This is stupid, I offer a different solution."
"Shoot it." Xin was losing his patience. Is he about to try and swindle me again?
"Fifteen percent of the company resale is yours. You keep your salary, and your working day is reduced by one hour. No dividends."
"Deal." Xin's pupils expanded, he suddenly grabbed the opportunity. "Let's visit the lawyers."
"We don't have to do it on the company side, we'll both just sign a personal 15% obligation and include it into company documents."
Suspicious? No, let's keep it under the table. I know enough incriminating information to keep myself safe from being scammed.
"Sure. Can we shake hands?"
"Yes." Xin shook Feng Chonglin's hand. His own hand felt wet in comparison. He was sweaty and his heart was pumping blood as if he just got laid. He then shook Lei's wooden hand.
"Happy now?" Lei was upset with Feng Chonglin indulging Xin's rebellion.
"Drop it. You two are brothers, this matter is settled. Let it go. Xin, so what did you want to say? I'll pour us some tea."
Several minutes later, Xin was already holding a teacup.
"Thing is, Ti will absolutely try to kill Lei if he finds out. Remember when he mentioned that he does dirty jobs? How about asking him to kill the inspector?"
Lei chuckled.
"Fucks sake, are you crazy? First of all, the inspector will wipe the floor with him. Yes, he is just rank one as well, but there is a huge gap in their cultivation. And you won't be able to ambush him, he's got a perception type dao shard, I was about to mention, but you went on with your monologue."
"Oh, so that's how he was able to analyse our laboratory so fast? In fact, uncle Ti dying to the inspector is even better. This sets up an idea I had."
"What is it?"
"The inspector was actually extorting uncle Ti! That's the story we plant for the Xuanwu clan! He decided to make the Appendix into his turf, and sabotaged the investigation! He also tried to extort uncle Ti and his sister, but uncle Ti tried to kill him instead, and that's how he died!"
"Kid, how do you make sure that uncle Ti dies in this attack? If the inspector is indeed stronger, he could just take him hostage and interrogate him instead."
"What is one thing this man values? What could drive him crazy? I have a wild guess."
"Killing his dog." Lei predicted.
"Right! If uncle Ti kills the inspector's dog as his opening move, the inspector will just kill him in a fit of rage."
"And how would you achieve this?" Feng Chonglin was rubbing his chin.
"I've studied some stuff about totems and shamans, I could fabricate a believable lie. As we are hiring this assassin, we can also brief him, giving him false info. Something like 'This inspector is an animal path master. Kill his dog first, and the mental connection they have will stun the victim, allowing you to finish him quickly.'"
"Xin, what the fuck? You've had a criminal's mind this whole time?" Lei was wide-eyed, he considered himself more brutal out of their pair.
"Look, I have no compassion left for any of those people. They are all fucking cunts, I'll do whatever it takes to survive. Tealstone was a wake-up call for me. Remember, I promised that I've got your back. Here I am, having your back."
"Thanks, ruffian. Keep going."
"This creates another problem. The inspector is dead, and the Xuanwu clan sends another investigator. He gets a tip about the instruments, it gives them a hint about the inspector's and uncle Ti's death. It's over for us. We are fucked."
"Less swearing, more logic, kids. Keep going."
"So, the sister has got to go, too. That's the only way to cut this thread. And you know who killed her? The inspector, of course."
"And how are you going to lead the other investigators to this conclusion?"
"I can help with this." Lei took the initiative. "We've got a guy inside the city guard, he could plant an incriminating letter into his locker room. It will cost us, of course. But what should this letter be?"
"How about this: the grandma complained to the guard anonymously, and the note mentions that the inspector was waving the Xuanwu clan name as he extorted, pretending that it was done on their behalf. This discredits the inspector but also incentivizes the Xuanwu clan to distance themselves from him if the situation is given public attention.
The narrative we are creating is that the inspector found out about the anonymous tip, killed the granma, then uncle Ti went out to avenge her, and hopefully died. If the inspector survives, he'll try to blame it on us, but will have no hard proof. By that time, the instruments are also disposed of, just in case."
"In the meantime, we'll forge some papers confirming that the lab equipment was bought off a roaming trader. If we get caught, we can claim that we were under the impression it was so cheap because it was marauded in Tealstone, and didn't know of its true nature. This will get us fined and the equipment confiscated, but won't directly tie us to the criminal investigation, unless they manage to find other hard evidence." Lei added.
"Hmmm..." - Xin hated being reminded of Tealstone, but liked the idea. "Make sure this is thought through properly, it can be a loose end. Can't we just replace the equipment?"
"We don't know what intel he has about the instruments. Need to think through all the options. Our plan sounds believable, but it can still go wrong at any point. I don't like how shaky it is."
"There is also this alchemist woman. The amulet this man wore, it was a guardian amulet, I don't have to tell you that. I assume she wears one, too?" Feng Chonglin made a wild guess, impressing Lei.
"Exactly, so what do we do about her?"
"She's got to go. Lei, find out about the investigator's methods, don't draw attention to yourself. It's time to start planning. I'll handle stalling the negotiations for now."
"Yes, master."
"Xin, you worked excellently today. Go rest a bit, and you can leave two hours early. We'll deal with the contract tomorrow."
"Thank you, master. This whole situation... disgusting."
"I know. Nothing I could say changes this."
Xin could feel a vibration in his chest pocket. Was his totem... purring?