Interlude: Long Robe, Jiavette, and the Fall

But as the saying went, adversity revealed true friends.

With everyone convinced he was "gravely ill and about to drop dead," Xia Lun had a rare chance to discover who had real integrity.

He had expected it from most of them. One person, though, took him by surprise.

At a semi-public fundraising gala for Whitewash City's Rail Transit Construction Project, Xia Lun ran into a Public Security Bureau officer who had often opposed him.

The gala was held at the Old Stock Exchange. Its facade had a classical three-part design, with imposing Doric columns rising above grand stone steps. Light streamed from its richly ornamented windows, and soft music mingled with laughter and quiet conversation.

As an important guest, Xia Lun was not ignored. But most conversations went no further than polite expressions of sympathy. Whenever he tried to discuss useful information or investment plans, no one dependable wanted to talk.

After all, apart from a will, any agreement made with a dying man was meaningless.

His attempt to regain influence had hit another obstacle, but Xia Lun remained unruffled. Frankly, he looked forward to seeing everyone's faces a few months from now, when he was still alive and kicking.

He kept talking to people, hoping to find a reliable partner. In the end, only an assortment of swindlers remained at his side, chattering away.

Perhaps the swindlers were unusually skilled, or perhaps some guests were unusually greedy and gullible. Either way, a few people at the gala believed them. Xia Lun offered a couple of discreet warnings, then found an opportunity to slip out of sight.

Even with his proficient Stealth skills, it took him a full half hour to shake those overenthusiastic, incessantly talking swindlers.

He left the brilliantly lit Main Hall and walked into a dim corridor.