Nothing in this world came for free. To make Hu Xiaotian yield and join forces with him, Liu Yuzhang must have offered terms he could not refuse. Hu Buwei's heart surged with turmoil. There were no everlasting friends in this world, only everlasting interests, and he and Liu Yuzhang had merely been using each other all along. Though he did not know Liu Yuzhang's ultimate motive, Liu Yuzhang had surely gained more from using him than the other way around. If Liu Yuzhang chose to cooperate with Hu Xiaotian, did that mean he had outlived his usefulness? No! If that were true, he would not have come to see me. Could he still want something from me?
"I promised to give him Western Sichuan!" Liu Yuzhang said.
Hu Buwei was shaken to his core. Western Sichuan was plainly under his control. Although Liu Yuzhang had played a part in securing it, his contribution could hardly be called decisive. Now he actually intended to give Western Sichuan to Hu Xiaotian. Did he truly believe everything lay within his power? Outwardly, however, Hu Buwei remained perfectly calm. "Don't you think that is far too great a price to pay, sir?" he asked with a smile.
Liu Yuzhang laughed heartily. "How could we persuade him to cooperate willingly without showing a little sincerity?"
"Do you mean for me to surrender Western Sichuan of my own accord, sir?" Hu Buwei asked.
Liu Yuzhang shook his head. "There is no hurry. It is only a promise. We need not necessarily fulfill it." Then he changed the subject. "But you must hand that skull over to me."
Without the slightest hesitation, Hu Buwei nodded. "Very well. It serves no purpose sitting here with me anyway."
The moonlight lay like frost, tracing a silver outline around the