"Ning Zhuo, my young friend." Chen Cha cupped his hands, forcing a smile.
"Old Chen, there's no need for such courtesy. Please, come in."
Ning Zhuo led Chen Cha into the room, invited him to sit, and brewed him some tea.
Getting straight to the point, Ning Zhuo asked, "Old Chen, what brings you here?"
Old Chen's lips moved, but he still could not muster enough courage. He could only say, "There is some good news."
Old Chen gave a brief account: Chi Dun had pursued the Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator, who had fled into the Fire Persimmon Forest. The forest's layers upon layers of formations had all been activated, temporarily sealing him inside. To minimize losses, the city lord's side intended to mass-produce Mechanical Fire Apes to replace human labor in harvesting Fire Persimmons.
"This is wealth falling from the heavens, Ning Zhuo, my young friend. Your luck is truly good!" Chen Cha said, unable to help sighing with feeling.
"Only..." Chen Cha felt as though a massive boulder were pressing down on his tongue. Even forcing out a single word was difficult.
Reading his expression, Ning Zhuo took the initiative. "Old Chen, is there something else that is difficult for you to say? Please, speak freely. My Mechanical Monkeys were able to reach the ears of those above entirely because of your recommendation, Old Chen. If there is anything I can do for you, I will not refuse!"
Seeing how understanding Ning Zhuo was, Chen Cha felt even more ashamed, guilty, and sinful.
"Ashamed... this old man is ashamed beyond measure." He threw back his head with a long sigh, then bowed his head and explained the whole story, hoping Ning Zhuo could privately transfer the credit for developing the Mechanical Fire Ape to him.
A faint, eerie glint flashed through Ning Zhuo's eyes.
"Fei Si... that Golden Core Cultivator had always loved claiming credit and showing off. He was perfectly capable of doing this."
Ning Zhuo knew quite a bit about Fei Si. Since the age of two, he had been plotting around the Magma Immortal Palace. The Four Great Powers had been the targets of his greatest vigilance, and Fei Si was naturally among them.
In Chen Cha's mind, a young man like Ning Zhuo would crave wealth and aspire even more to make a name for himself. He must have poured immense effort into designing the Mechanical Fire Ape, suffering untold hardship. Yet now, someone else was about to pluck the fruit. He would surely be unwilling and furious beyond measure.
Chen Cha had greatly overestimated the difficulty of this matter.
He could never have imagined that the hidden matters involved would be so complicated and dangerous, even entangled with the earlier bombing of the Immortal Palace.
The reason Ning Zhuo had met with Chen Cha was not merely to design Mechanical Monkeys. He had also intended to deliberately expose the Mechanical Fire Ape.
For every step he took, he calculated at least three steps ahead.
Blowing up the Immortal Palace had merely been the first step. Afterward, how should he guard against the investigation? This was something Ning Zhuo had considered long ago.
"Previously, I had already drawn Chen Cha in and used the Flying Disc Workshop to produce quite a few Mechanical Monkeys for sale."
"Now, Fei Si was stepping in and making me transfer the Mechanical Monkeys. Wasn't that the same as shielding me?"
"Very good. That gave me another layer of cover."
Having thought this through, Ning Zhuo decided to agree.
Naturally, he would not simply nod at once. After hearing Chen Cha's words, his expression changed dramatically.
Disbelief, fury, hatred, unwillingness, reverence... all manner of emotions appeared on his face, tangled into a particularly complex expression.
Chen Cha could clearly sense that several times, Ning Zhuo had nearly slammed the table and risen in furious rebuke!
Chen Cha had already prepared himself. He would simply bow his head and take the scolding; it was what he deserved.
But in the end, Ning Zhuo still did not do so.
His face alternated between green and red. Staring at Chen Cha, his lips moved, yet only a few indistinct syllables came out, as if he were cursing.
Chen Cha was consumed with guilt. The sense of sin in his heart nearly crushed the breath from him.
He took up the teapot himself and refilled Ning Zhuo's cup with hot tea. "Ning Zhuo, my young friend, it is my fault. It is all my fault. You may beat or curse me as you please!"
Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth and finally rose in anger. As a young man facing such treatment, how could he possibly endure it? He first shot Chen Cha a fierce glare, but in the end, he did not curse aloud. Instead, he paced back and forth around the small room before Chen Cha.
His entire face was flushed red, his hands clenched into fists, and his strides were wide, as if he wanted to vent every bit of the stifled resentment and rage in his heart through his pacing.
Seeing this, Chen Cha was at a loss, wanting to offer consolation but unable to find any fitting words. His guilt made him wish he could burrow into a crack in the ground on the spot.
After pacing back and forth several times, Ning Zhuo stopped before the wall and suddenly drove a fist into it.
With his head lowered, he left Chen Cha only a stubborn, lonely silhouette. His thin shoulders and the fist embedded in the wall, gradually bleeding, left Chen Cha speechless, his heart heavy as a mountain.
Ning Zhuo stood like a stone statue, maintaining that posture without moving.
Time seemed to have frozen. The atmosphere in the room was truly oppressive. Chen Cha could hear only Ning Zhuo's angry breathing.
No one knew how long passed before Ning Zhuo finally pulled back his fist and slowly turned around. It was as if his bones had been pulled from him; all his former spirit had collapsed. His face was filled with sorrow and helplessness.
His once-clear eyes were now filled with despair.
His voice had turned hoarse as he spoke with difficulty. "So, Old Chen, this matter cannot be undone, can it?"
Old Chen's Adam's apple bobbed. He wanted to comfort Ning Zhuo, but he could not say a word.
Suddenly, he raised his hand and fiercely slapped himself several times.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
He used all his strength, each strike whipping his face violently to one side.
Afterward, he rose to his feet, cupped his hands toward Ning Zhuo, and bowed deeply without rising again.
Ning Zhuo drew several deep breaths, gritted his teeth, and let out a few indistinct, muffled sounds. They seemed like sobs, yet also like hoarse cries.
The sound made Chen Cha's heart ache beyond measure!
Then Ning Zhuo loosened the fists he had kept clenched all this time, took steps as heavy as lead, and slowly raised his hand to support Chen Cha's forearm, helping him up.
Only then did Chen Cha straighten. In that short time, his cheeks had already become visibly red and swollen.
But when Chen Cha saw Ning Zhuo, his pupils suddenly contracted.
He saw the youth's reddened eye sockets and the two clear tear tracks on his cheeks.
I truly deserve to die! Chen Cha cursed himself inwardly.
Ning Zhuo spoke. "Old Chen, there is no need for you to blame yourself. Though I have known you for only a very short time, I believe you are absolutely not such a petty man!"
"Since things have come to this..."
"Since things have come to this, I can only accept it, can't I?"
Ning Zhuo threw back his head with a long sigh, took a step back, and staggered, nearly falling.
Chen Cha hurried forward and supported him.
Chen Cha helped Ning Zhuo all the way back to his seat.
For a long while afterward, neither spoke. They merely sat facing each other in silence.
Ning Zhuo had been calculating the time all along. Feeling the timing was about right, he broke the dead silence in the room with a hoarse voice.
"I agree."
Old Chen's heart clenched violently.
"I agree," Ning Zhuo said again.
Old Chen bit down painfully.
His eyes reddened as well. He looked up at Ning Zhuo, then took a jade slip from his robes.
He placed the jade slip on the table, then quickly pulled out a small cloth pouch.
He set the pouch beside the jade slip.
Finally, he took out a bag of spirit stones and placed it on the table as well.
After doing all this, he cupped his hands and gave Ning Zhuo another deep bow. Then, too ashamed to remain any longer, he said nothing, turned, and left Ning Zhuo's residence.
Left alone, Ning Zhuo took a long while to recover as well.
He had just been too immersed in the act. The intense emotions still lingered, their aftertaste not yet dispersed.
Before you continue