Chapter 162: Borrowing Manpower
Xia Fei and Pang Xing chatted until daylight. As he inched closer and closer to his departure to Black Abyss, Xia Fei could not help but pick up the pace so as to rid Avril of any danger she was under.
By the looks of it, Avril might be his first girl and possibly his only one. There was no reason for a man to skimp out on treating their girl well. Although the future was filled with uncertainty, Xia Fei felt that it was worth his time just from how well Avril treated him.
Pang Xing was just the first step in Xia Fei’s plan. With this close bodyguard from the Jian family helping him, the next step in his plan would proceed even easier. After all, outside of the people of the Jians, n.o.body knew the family better than the Pang father-son pair.
Pang Hai, who was different from the impulsive Pang Xing, was also an important piece of the puzzle. Be it his loyalty or ingenuity, the father was more impressive than the son in either aspect. Currently, Xia Fei was not confident enough that he could persuade Pang Hai to stand on his side; thus, he had to wait for when he gathered enough evidence to try and do so.
It took Xia Fei quite some effort just to convince Pang Xing, luckily the latter treated Avril as if she were his daughter, so he took the former seriously. Not only was Xia Fei logically and emotionally convincing, he would never hurt the young mistress, too. It was only under these circ.u.mstances that Pang Xing barely agreed to help him just once.
After sleeping for a while, Xia Fei got up and cleaned himself, brus.h.i.+ng his teeth and changing out of the hospital gown into a pure-wool suit from his spatial ring.
There were barely visible lines on the grey Zegna suit, a pure white Charvet s.h.i.+rt, and s.h.i.+ny polished Berluti leather dress shoes; he even wore a delicate Hermes plaid scarf around his neck.
He rotated in front of the mirror. The fitting s.h.i.+rt was a bit restrictive on his chest area, to which Xia Fei shook his head. “It’ll do.”
Xia Fei was not a particular person; sportswear and combat clothing would always be at the top of his list, rarely wearing suits. This suit was given to him by Andre two years ago for formal occasions, and today was his first time wearing it.
“Why are you all dressed up today?” This was the first time Phantom had seen Xia Fei dressing to the nines despite having known him for so long.
Xia Fei did not respond to his question. “Don’t I look more spirited compared to yesterday?”
Phantom nodded. “Didn’t your ancestors say something along the lines on how ‘clothes make the man’? You look like you have your life figured out like this.”
After taking a deep breath, Xia Fei exited the room. “There’s still the ticking time bomb hovering around Avril that I must deal with. I need to give them confidence to gain their trust. Moreover, I’m meeting someone important later.”
Just as he left the room, he saw Pang Xing standing in the hallway outside. This man, who had probably not slept for an entire night, was slightly shocked to see Xia Fei with his new look. It had only been a few hours, yet Xia Fei looked like a completely new person, giving off a very unpretentious aura.
Pang Xing was still quite hesitant. Although they did reach some sort of understanding last night, he felt unsure whether what he was doing was right or wrong, but Xia Fei appearing incredibly confident in front of him had thoroughly shocked him.
He could clearly feel Xia Fei’s powerful self-confidence as if he already had it in the bag and nothing could stop him.
That was how incredible human thoughts were. If someone’s teammate always complained and gave up on themselves, they would also become depressed. If someone had a confident and energetic teammate, they would also feel more confident.
Pang Xing suddenly felt that it was a good choice to work with Xia Fei, and all the doubts he had were washed away, exactly what Xia Fei was hoping to achieve.
Xia Fei gave Pang Xing a nod before arriving in front of Avril’s room. Girls always had a more troublesome morning routine, and Avril was still in the bathroom getting dressed. Xia Fei lit a cigarette by the window and quietly waited.
A few moments later, Avril was finally done. She exited her bathroom in a pink dress with a bow on her head, looking pure and cute.
“Wow!” Avril covered her mouth in shock as she saw Xia Fei. Her eyes sparkled as her cheeks grew red.
“Why are you all dressed like that?” Avril excitedly ran toward Xia Fei as she took in Xia Fei’s new look.
“What’s wrong? Does it look bad?” asked Xia Fei. He was not used to wearing suits, so Avril’s question made him even more uneasy.
“No.” Avril shook her head, putting both hands on his shoulders and smiling. “You’re much more handsome than yesterday. I like it when you dress like this.”
Xia Fei was left speechless. Formal wear was not what someone his age would usually wear; luckily, after a few experiences, Xia Fei looked much older than he did before. His salt and pepper hair, plus a well-defined body emanating the toughness a warrior should have, showed off his mature side.
After having breakfast at a restaurant, Xia Fei and Avril took a stroll in the garden as they chatted. At this moment, the person Xia Fei was waiting for finally came.
Thuram greeted Xia Fei while he was still a distance away. “I heard you were injured, but you look quite fine already by the looks of you. Is this your girlfriend?”
Avril was a young girl in love, after all. Although she had the thought inside her mind, she was still embarra.s.sed when others brought it up, so at this moment, her pale face had turned red.
Avril knew that Xia Fei had something to talk to Thuram, hence found an excuse to leave the two of them. Thuram’s secretary also quietly departed, leaving Xia Fei and Thuram alone in the garden.
“Boy, you’re quite the lucky one, huh. By the looks of it, that girl from the Jian family likes you very much; when will I be invited to your wedding?” Thuram teased.
Xia Fei smiled. “Alright, you’ll be the first to know if I decide to have a wedding, as long as you don’t decline it because you’re too busy.”
“That’s settled, then,” Thuram said with a hearty laugh. “I’ll be there even if you don’t invite me.”
A few moments later, Thuram quickly changed the topic. “Anyway, why do you want to have me here?”
Xia Fei said deeply as he lit a cigarette, “I need some manpower.”
“Manpower?”
“Yes”—Xia Fei nodded—”I haven’t figured out Avril’s case yet, so I’m still quite on edge. I’m not familiar with the capital ring, nor do I know the right people, so I’d like to ask you for help.”
Thuram stroked his goatee. “Did Qin Mang tell you to look for me?”
“Yes, I spoke to the old man two days ago, and he said that I can ask you for help if there’s anything. He even told me that you are the head instructor at the Headquarters and have disciples everywhere, so anything you do will certainly be a success,” admitted Xia Fei.
In truth, Xia Fei was being quite flattering with his words. Qin Mang’s original words were quite simple: “If you have any problems, get that old b.a.s.t.a.r.d Thuram. That guy still owes me his life many times, so there’s no way he can decline to help you.”
Xia Fei did not dare to say what Qin Mang had said, word for word. Through his paraphrasing, it became something along the lines of him having disciples everywhere and that anything he set out to do would surely succeed.
Following in Xia Fei’s steps, Thuram lit a cigarette for himself. “I heard that Qin Mang is also into this stuff?”
Xia Fei nodded. He knew that Thuram had changed the topic to buy some thinking time. It was not a simple matter to lend manpower from the Adjudicator Union to Xia Fei. Since he used to teach martial arts to many of the elite Adjudicators, it was not difficult for him to find someone. Moreover, he had been at the top of the Adjudicator Union, so there was no doubting that he had power in his hands.
Xia Fei did not know what positions Thuram had been in, nor had Qin Mang told him, but it was certainly higher than the head of weapons and equipment department.
“Cough—”
Thuram choked on the smoke not long after he lit a cigarette, throwing it onto the ground and stamping it out viciously, scowling. “What is this?! Why did the crazy Qin Mang get into this when he’s that old?”
Xia Fei was left embarra.s.sed with that comment, inadvertently hit by the other’s curses.
After regaining his composure, Thuram asked, “Xia Fei, what are you planning?”
Xia Fei calmly replied, “I’m asking you for help because I don’t have any plan yet. I would’ve acted long ago if I had any plan.
“There’s nothing to go off of. Right now I need a large number of people to gather clues for me. I can’t command those under the Jian family, and I’m unable to even if I was given some because they’re not that reliable. I don’t really have any choice other than asking you for help.”
“Who do you want to investigate?” asked Thuram.
“Everyone is suspicious, but I want to start from Avril’s second uncle.”
“Barty?” You think Barty had a part in this? From what I know, he’s stopped caring about the family business ever since he got crippled. Now, he only cares about traveling and messing around, living carefree days. I don’t think he’s someone with much of an ambition.
“Plus, he’s Avril’s uncle as you said. He’ll gain nothing from his niece’s death.”
Gently flicking the soot off his cigarette, Xia Fei said, “If you were Avril’s father or elders, would you want to see me with her?”
Thuram shook his head. “Obviously, if I were Avril’s father, I wouldn’t be too happy with it. I’d at least observe you for a few years to judge your sincerity. The gap in social standing between you and Avril is just that big.”
Xia Fei smiled, not minding what the other said. “I think so, too, but Barty is actually encouraging our relations.h.i.+p. Don’t you think that it’s weird? Plus, he’s only seen me once.”
“That’s…” Thuram thought for a bit. “That is weird. Barty doesn’t know you; though he isn’t Avril’s father and doesn’t care about his niece’s future, he should at least remain neutral on neutral grounds, neither helping nor supporting you.”
“You know that I’m heading to Black Abyss soon too. If this doesn’t get sorted out, I will never be able to sleep peacefully at night,” Xia Fei said sternly, eying Thuram with antic.i.p.ation.
Thuram lowered his head and thought for a few moments before slapping the table. “Alright! I’ll chalk this up as me repaying Qin Mang a favor. I’ll get three people to come here in a bit. Those guys will be helping you privately as opposed to this being part of Union business; you understand that, right?”
Xia Fei nodded. “Understood, but isn’t it a bit stingy to only provide me with three people despite having begged you for so long?”
Thuram smiled mysteriously. “Trust me; three is enough.”