Driven by Common Interests

"That may be so, but this matter is of great importance after all, and please forgive this official for not being able to make a hasty decision. Perhaps Your Excellency could reveal a bit more detail about your plan to deal with that Luo Kui..."

At this, a flash of worry crossed Gu Hanguang's eyes, and he continued, "If there are no flaws in the plan, this official will naturally cooperate to the fullest. Otherwise, you must forgive me for being unable to comply."

Before Yi An could produce conditions that convinced him, he was not going to take such a risk.

To put it bluntly, he still could not trust Yi An. If he were the kind of person to blindly trust anyone who walked up to him, he would not have survived until this day.

"Old fox."

Yi An cursed inwardly, but fortunately, he had anticipated that Gu Hanguang would ask this and explained, "Lord Gu can actually set aside his worries about what he dreads. My subsequent plan will not involve Lord Gu at all. You only need to sit back, watch quietly, and wait for the matter to reach a smooth conclusion."

Hearing this, Gu Hanguang let out a long sigh and said, "It is not that this official distrusts Your Excellency, but rather that I am completely in the dark and truly feel uneasy at heart."

Yi An smiled slightly, cursing inwardly all the while. While the other party spoke of trust, his face showed not the slightest trace of it. Still, revealing a little something to him would do no harm; after all, the words were his to spin, and whether any particular statement was true or false was known only to himself.

As for whether Gu Hanguang believed it or not, that was his own affair.

Yet Yi An believed that faced with such a windfall—a pie dropping straight from the sky—Gu Hanguang would not refuse.

Regardless of the outcome, there was no loss for him, was there?

With the man's shrewdness, Yi An was certain he understood this better than anyone else.

"What Luo Kui relies upon are nothing more than those high-ranking officials he has bought off with wealth. Without the support of those officials, with Lord Gu's abilities, would you still fear him?"

Yi An directly pointed out the crux of the matter. The reason Gu Hanguang hesitated was simply because his own authority was insufficient.

If Luo Kui lost those backers, then in Gu Hanguang's eyes, how would Luo Kui differ from a fish on a chopping block, ready to be sliced at will?

"You mean... you have a way to deal with those people shielding him?" A sharp gleam flashed in Gu Hanguang's eyes. Solving a problem at its root was indeed the best approach.

Only... could this possibly be done?

He remained skeptical of the claim. The difficulty of dealing with the people behind Luo Kui was even greater than simply killing Luo Kui directly.

"Lord Gu, can the person behind Luo Kui cover the sky with a single hand in this ghost city?" Yi An retorted.

"No."

"That settles it then. Since they cannot cover the sky with a single hand, what if Luo Kui happens to do something that makes it impossible for even them to clean up the mess for him?" Yi An said.

Hearing this, understanding dawned on Gu Hanguang's face, followed by a faint smile. Even the gaze he directed at Yi An grew a bit warmer, and he chuckled, "That being the case, Your Excellency must have already laid out a trap. However, the affair at the Dianzhuang Pavilion alone is not enough to shake Luo Kui in the least. I wonder from which angle Your Excellency intends to frame Luo Kui?"

Before Yi An could offer an explanation, Gu Hanguang began to analyze further: "I do know a thing or two about that fellow Luo Kui; his actions are airtight, and I fear it will be very difficult to make him fall for a trap."

Yi An remained expressionless and said, "Whether he takes the bait is not important. What matters is whether the people of the world believe it or not. When the spear points straight at him at that time, even if he didn't do it, he will have a hundred mouths and still be unable to clear his name."

Gu Hanguang's eyelids twitched.

He had already caught a whiff of something unusual. Judging by the other party's posture, it was blatantly an intention to frame and cast blame.

Such a daring and reckless notion was simply startling. He was taken aback by Yi An's idea.

Yet, upon careful consideration, he found that Yi An's words actually made a great deal of sense.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly pressed on, "What are you going to do?"

His initial dismissive attitude began to shift into one of serious regard.

If this matter truly held great promise, he naturally wouldn't mind adding fuel to the fire and striving to bring it to fruition.

"Unsayable... unsayable. Once spoken aloud, it loses its magic. Please forgive me, Lord Gu." Yi An shook his head. As for what was truly on his mind, only he himself knew.

Hearing this, Gu Hanguang was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself: *What 'unsayable'? It's clearly just that you don't want to tell me.*

Though somewhat displeased, he could not show it. After all, they were ultimately just strangers who had crossed paths by chance, each unable to trust the other. He had never truly expected the other party to bare their heart to him anyway.

After a long silence, Gu Hanguang ultimately could not bear to refuse. He said, "Then this official shall risk his life to accompany Your Excellency. I hope our upcoming cooperation will be a pleasant one."

"Lord Gu exaggerates. Even if my plan fails, the fire will not burn Lord Gu, will it?" Yi An smiled. He was not surprised by Gu Hanguang's choice; from the moment the man showed interest, this outcome had already been predetermined.

Gu Hanguang gave a dry laugh without refuting the point. If this matter genuinely involved dragging him into the fire, he likely wouldn't have agreed so readily.

Precisely because he had nothing to lose, he had merely assessed the feasibility of the matter roughly before agreeing straightaway.

"If there is anything where you need assistance, you may certainly tell me. Within the limits of my ability, this official will surely give my full support."

As for how broad those limits were, wouldn't they still be up to him to decide?

To reiterate, as long as he himself was not implicated, he was quite happy to go with the flow, especially when it came to eradicating Luo Kui—a treacherous scoundrel he hated to the bone; toward that endeavor, he would show even greater enthusiasm.

"That won't be necessary. Lord Gu only needs to stall Luo Kui as much as possible; leave all the remaining matters to me," Yi An said.

"Nothing more than neither agreeing nor refusing, keeping him dangling to whet his appetite, leaving the fellow completely baffled while quietly awaiting your good news," Gu Hanguang immediately grasped the implication.

Yi An nodded in agreement. "Precisely so. Lord Gu is truly brilliant."

Gu Hanguang nodded with a rather pleased expression. The two of them had finally reached a preliminary cooperation. Although their mutual trust was low, they were driven by shared interests to give it a try.

Yet the moment either side displayed unreliability, their short-lived alliance would instantly collapse.

Their secret meeting had begun unexpectedly and ended quickly. The surrounding area was heavily guarded by Gu Hanguang's underworld bailiffs, so they had no fear of anyone eavesdropping.

Watching Yi An's receding figure for a moment, Gu Hanguang's expression remained calm and unruffled. After a long while, he withdrew his gaze, beckoned to his bailiff subordinates, and commanded:

"Let us go inside."