"Got a grudge against Wenzuofu?" A thoroughly satisfied Qiao Fei glanced sidelong at Chen Mu and asked lazily.
"Wenzuofu? The Kawashita Alliance?" Chen Mu's brow furrowed slightly. The name rang a faint bell. He had seen it in Bagnell's report on the factions in the Skal Region. Moreover, it had appeared again in the report he had hurriedly read that morning.
Hearing Qiao Fei's question, he immediately understood what she was implying. She must have gotten word from somewhere, but for a deeply rooted power like the Qiao Family, that was hardly surprising. Chen Mu was now certain that Wenzuofu had been behind last night's sneak attack, exactly as Bagnell had suspected.
Now their feud with the Kawashita Alliance had deepened considerably. Still, he knew that, given the alliance's way of doing things, the two sides were bound to reach this point eventually. But making a mortal enemy of the largest power here before they had even established a foothold was hardly cause for celebration.
Chen Mu could not help pondering why Qiao Fei had come.
The Qiao Family was the second-largest power in the Skal Region, and it was as incompatible with the Kawashita Alliance as fire and water. He had suffered a sneak attack just last night, and she had arrived today. The implications were rather intriguing.
An alliance? The Qiao Family possessed more than twenty small fortresses. How could his meager forces possibly catch their eye? Even with his limited experience, he knew that any alliance required the two sides to be reasonably close in strength. His forces were still too weak. To put it bluntly, he did not qualify to form an alliance with the Qiao Family, much less warrant a personal visit from its leading lady.
"That old bastard, exactly!" Qiao Fei made no attempt