Duan Haiping slapped the Eight Immortals table and said coldly, "Gentlemen, we've been gathered here for several days now. The waves have washed away the sand, and those whose resolve wasn't firm have already scattered. Isn't it time we came up with a plan?"
"I'm afraid I can't agree with you there, Old Duan. That Lei fellow is arrogant and overbearing, and because of him, how many people's efforts have gone to waste? I'd love to tear that beast limb from limb. But we may not need to act ourselves to deal with him. As far as I know, the three-month deadline is almost up. Wouldn't it be better to sit back and wait for Lei Chiyan to fail on his own?"
The old man who spoke was Wu Mingli, a former senior official who had retired from the post of Si Bo. He now made his living primarily as a high-level broker, trading on the connections he had built during his years in officialdom.
Previously, when Kong Xiang and the others, who had been appointed alongside Xu Yi, were working every angle to secure their posts, people like Wu Mingli had served as the glue holding everything together.
After Xu Yi struck the Scorching Thunder Drum, the matter reached Heaven's ear, and his official post was settled. All the appointments for Kong Xiang and the others were canceled.
Wu Mingli had taken no small amount of benefits from the matter, and this turn of events had left him red-faced. Not one of those capable of arranging official appointments came from an ordinary family.
Though none had come to demand their benefits back, as an old bureaucrat who understood the ways of the world, he had to take care of appearances. He had immediately returned every gift he had received.