"So, you're planning to hire me?" Fang Qianyuan asked.
"I wouldn't presume to. A gifted expert like you will surely become a mighty figure in the years ahead. Our aim is to lay the groundwork early and strengthen our ties. Turning this into employment would be abandoning the root to chase the branches," Miao Wang said modestly.
"In that case, I agree." Fang Qianyuan smiled.
Talking to someone clever was always pleasant. Fang Qianyuan naturally wanted the benefits, but he also had an expert's pride. He was unwilling to accept rewards without earning them or take food tossed to him in contempt.
That made the cooperation Miao Wang had proposed the crux of the matter.
Only an arrangement both sides could accept was worth pursuing. Otherwise, however sweet the earlier words had sounded, they were merely flowers in a mirror and the moon upon water, utterly meaningless.
Fang Qianyuan had begun to realize that Miao Wang had not simply been rushing to hand him money earlier. He wanted to use this opportunity to get close to him.
Well, what a coincidence. I was just thinking of testing you, too, to see what your Cat Clan is really plotting...
With that thought, he casually asked, "I still don't know what you actually want to do. If it really is what people outside have been saying—dealing with Helmsman Cao—that could be difficult."
"Hehehe..." Miao Wang gave several shrill laughs, a trace of cunning malice in his voice. "This cat knows, of course. Young Master Fang belongs to the Righteous Path. There are some matters you can't openly involve yourself in."
"Exactly," Fang Qianyuan said. "I've killed people for their treasures and destroyed households and clans before, but always under orders from the Heavenly Dao Alliance, following the rules of the Righteous Path.