Things had come to this. Even Elder Hong, slow-witted as he was, finally figured out why Head Official Zhao had come.
It was supposedly to accept the Blazing Fire Merchant Association's wager, but in truth, Xu Yi had brought him here to prove his own identity and thwart the association's last chance to fight back.
The logic was simple. If Head Official Zhao hadn't come, the Blazing Fire Merchant Association could have simply killed Xu Yi and insisted that no guest advisor surnamed Xu existed. No matter how displeased Hong Yun Hall was, it would have had nothing to say.
After all, without evidence, Hong Yun Hall had no way to force the Blazing Fire Merchant Association to admit that it had a guest advisor surnamed Xu.
Even after Head Official Zhao's visit, if Elder Hong had been quick-witted enough to keep denying Xu Yi's status as a guest advisor, he would have completely severed Xu Yi's ties to the Blazing Fire Merchant Association, leaving room to salvage the situation.
But Xu Yi had simply gone with the flow, and Elder Hong had taken the bait. The moment he did, even without explicitly denying anything, he had effectively admitted it.
From that point on, there was no way he could deny that Xu Yi was a guest advisor to the Blazing Fire Merchant Association.
Unfortunately, he had figured it out too late. Xu Yi's scheme had succeeded completely, and he could no longer go back on his word in front of Head Official Zhao.
The mighty Hong Yun Hall was far beyond the Blazing Fire Merchant Association's power to twist and knead as it pleased.
Now, even after seeing Head Official Zhao off, Elder Hong's aged face remained ashen, its color half green and half white.
"Brother Hong, you've looked