Chapter 102: Continuing Grievances
“What happened?” Hearing Chen Bin ask him to go to Singapore, w.a.n.g Chao knew straight away something important had happened. With the power the Chen siblings wielded and the fact that they were looking for w.a.n.g Chao specifically, that meant the matter was by no means small.
But no matter what the issue was, he still owed Chen Aiyang a favor in the end. If Chen Bin asked, then w.a.n.g Chao would go for sure.
“A few days ago, my brother lost in a match and was injured by a strike of Hidden Jin to his chest. It’s estimated that he’ll need a very long time to recover from it, but just recently, the Chinese Revival Society sent a written challenge to take place in 7 days. They wish to fight against my brother in a match to take revenge for the death of master Zhang Guangming and as well as taking back the foreign export routes for themselves. If my brother doesn’t accept this match, then they will take this chance to fight for it on the seas. Although we aren’t afraid, as a business, for the sake of peace and security, we must wear our shoes in fear of being barefoot instead. Plus, with the current power struggle in our family…that can wait. Talking about it over the phone for half an hour won’t make it clear. We’re currently in Singapore right now, please come here straight away…”
Chen Bin had sounded very pleading over the phone, the pitifulness came through loud and clear. The sounds had reached even the ears of Zhu Jia whose face immediately grew cold to the point where even Lin Yanan could see the difference.
“What? Master Chen was defeated by someone else? And by Hidden Jin? Impossible!” w.a.n.g Chao had been startled by Chen Bin’s words.
After experiencing Chen Aiyang’s Taichi for himself for several days, w.a.n.g Chao knew his strength all too well. Even with his current stage of being able to bring out the sounds of thunder, he would still be forcibly suppressed by the hands of Chen Aiyang.
But w.a.n.g Chao had confidence that in this world, there would definitely be someone stronger than Chen Aiyang. But when he had heard that Chen Aiyang lost, he still couldn’t help but feel surprised.
But what surprised him even more was that Chen Aiyang didn’t die despite losing, there was a chance of recovery! This had meant that his opponent was far too strong for him, there had been a noticeable difference for the opponent to hold back.
To be able to defeat Chen Aiyang and leave him alive was not something any regular expert could do.
“I can’t explain it well over the phone, but please come to Singapore within seven days. Please, I’m begging you…when you come, I’ll be sure to explain everything.”
“That’s fine, I’ll come for sure.” w.a.n.g Chao replied before hanging up the call.
What Chen Bin didn’t know was that w.a.n.g Chao belonged to a powerful group and had a special status within Mainland China. Some trifling like an international visa was of no matter to him.
“What happened?” Lin Yanan had heard several bits and pieces to the conversation and asked to clarify. As a partner to w.a.n.g Chao, she knew of the a.s.sociation between him and Chen Bin quite clearly.
“Things have gotten quite inconvenient, but I have to make a trip to Singapore. Can you arrange it for me?” w.a.n.g Chao asked.
“No problem, I’ll arrange them right away. Hold on.” Lin Yanan gave Zhu Jia a look before nodding and turning away.
She and w.a.n.g Chao had a secret arrangement that could not be found out by Zhu Jia. Her departure had signified that she would contact the organization in hopes that they would agree to such a thing.
w.a.n.g Chao wasn’t an employee with any fixed dues. He was an officer under the command and discipline of the organization, he couldn’t just simply go wherever he wanted, whenever he wished.
“Who was the girl on the phone?” Zhu Jia couldn’t help but ask.
“A friend of mine, I owe her brother a favor. I should start from the beginning with Zhao Jun about this.” w.a.n.g Chao began to speak with details about the entire story to Zhu Jia. From his match with Zhao Jun to his defeat of Zhang Wei and then his lung injury where Chen Aiyang had personally helped treat him. After time, ten minutes had pa.s.sed before he had finished.
“So that’s the story?” Zhu Jia smiled, “Then you should go. How about I accompany you to Singapore, I’m quite the experts on getting visas. With my ident.i.ty, I can have this entire situation done and over with a single word.”
Zhu Jia herself was a member of the Princesslings, so she too had such an ability.
Just at that moment, Lin Yanan had returned only to give w.a.n.g Chao a look and a nod.
“So?” w.a.n.g Chao asked.
“It’s possible, Let’s book a place for tonight, we’ll make the preparations then.”
That night at a hotel in the airport.
Lin Yanan had waited for a moment where Zhu Jia wouldn’t be around before speaking immediately, “I’ve already made my report to the higher ups. They’ve agreed to your request to go to Singapore since the Chenshi Corporation is a very important link in the southeastern part of Asia. However, you and I will go on separate paths from here.”
“How will you get to Singapore?” w.a.n.g Chao asked.
“The situation in the southeastern part of Asia is quite complicated. For the sake of your safety, I’ve arranged for Boulder and the others to take my place.”
“That many people? Won’t it be hard to travel abroad then?”
“That’s why I made the arrangements. I’ve just heard the news that I’ve been promoted to commander, and you a lieutenant commander. I’ll be heading to Hainan and make contact with the military there. Boulder and the others will take the South Sea Fleet along with some veterans and we’ll meet up with you in Singapore discreetly. But, you have to say to Zhu Jia that I returned to Shandong.” Originally, when Lin Yanan made the preparations with the organization, she had truly thought of everything.
“The military of Hainan! South Sea Fleet! Veterans?” w.a.n.g Chao was shocked, “Is it necessary to make such a huge mobilization?”
“We have been looking for an opportunity to investigate the situation of the Chenshi Corporation and their connections in Singapore, but we were never able to find a good time. But this is undeniably a good chance. We don’t have much time either, so we have to bring out the bigger plays in order to cooperate with you. Don’t you know, you’re already regaled as a very important character.” Lin Yanan smiled.
“Alright, make your preparations then. When I arrive at Singapore, we’ll meet up. With how complicated Southeast Asia is and how formidable the power struggle within the Chen family is, it will be difficult for me to go against several people by myself. With Boulder and the others along with the South Sea Fleet, I can rest a.s.sured.” w.a.n.g Chao nodded with a sudden feeling that this was all necessary.
“Don’t worry, I’ve arranged everything nicely.” Lin Yanan revealed a nice smile before shaking his hand. “I’ll be going back to Qingdao then, everything will be up to you now.”
Zhu Jia’s ability had been great, true enough. After an unknown amount of phone calls, she had been able to bring out two international visas into their hands by the second day. After several hours, they had been on an airplane heading straight for Hong Kong, and on the third day, they were headed straight for Singapore.
After their departure, w.a.n.g Chao had given Chen Bin another call. Because they would be landing shortly, Chen Bin would have to be at the airport to personally pick them up.
Today, Chen Bin wore an elegant woman’s suit that showed off her fair skin and detailed curves. Her n.o.ble personality had carried a dignified air within her calm which served to be extremely eye-catching.
Whether it was because of this home ground advantage, Zhu Jia herself had tried her best as well. As fitting as a news reporter for CCTV, her own appearance had been stunning as well, but there was a slight difference to Chen Bin.
“And you are?” Chen Bin’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw Zhu Jia standing right besides w.a.n.g Chao.
“This is my friend.” w.a.n.g Chao was about to introduce her when Zhu Jia took the initiative to hold out her hand and spoke, “Zhu Jia, CCTV’s international news reporter. Miss Chen, it’s nice to meet you.”
Chen Bin revealed a perfect smile, “Chen Bin, executive chairman of the Chenshi Corporation of overseas transport.”
When the two eyes met, w.a.n.g Chao could faintly feel several sparks fly in between the two.
“Where’s your brother, did something happen?” w.a.n.g Chao had simply wanted to know what happened to Chen Aiyang and asked quickly.
“Let’s get on the car first.”
After the three got on the car, Chen Bin began to speak, “My brother is currently within our family’s hospital to recuperate his strength. No one is allowed to see him. Even if I, his own sister wanted to see him, I would need the elder’s permission first! As for his compet.i.tion, I was in Hong Kong at the time so it wasn’t clear to me either. The elder had forbidden anyone from speaking of the matter as well, so even I don’t know the details of how my brother lost.”
“How can he do that? The way your elder is working, isn’t this the same as house arrest?” w.a.n.g Chao’s eyebrows narrowed together. “Even if he lost a compet.i.tion, he shouldn’t be subjected to such an ordeal.”
Chen Bin sighed, “The way things are right now, my family has someone named Chen Xin who mysteriously disappeared a while ago. The elder is concerned for my brother, after all, that Chen Xin has the right to challenge for the right to be the successor of the Chenshi Corporation. The elder has put my brother in house arrest partially because of Chen Xin, and the other part due to his injuries. He’s afraid someone will try to a.s.sa.s.sinate him. That is what is most important.”
“Then what do you take of that Chinese Revival Society compet.i.tion?” w.a.n.g Chao asked.
Chen Bin sighed once more, “Misfortune never comes by itself, and fortune never appears in twos. I don’t know either; my brother’s biggest achievement had been his victory over Zhang Guangming in the match with the Chinese Revival Society. Zhang Guangming was a traditional master of Baji Quan whose skill reached the ‘Hengha’ sounds to temper his marrow. This time, a younger disciple of the same teacher was invited by the Chinese Revival Society all the way from Canada to take revenge. After a written challenge, they have decided to challenge my brother!’
“Who is the fellow disciple of Zhang Guangming?”
“He is a master from the Canadian Chinese a.s.sociation, Cheng Shanming. Whatever his martial arts is like, I’m not sure. The North American Chinese a.s.sociation is too far away for me to be familiar with.” Chen Bin sighed, her entire body exuded some sort of perfume.
“The Canadian Chinese a.s.sociation….” Even w.a.n.g Chao wasn’t familiar with this.
Liao Junhua had said that the Chinese were everywhere in the world. Every nation had their own rings, a.s.sociations, the white, the black, and the gray zones. Everything formed together to be a total mess, even an Immortal from Daoism wouldn’t be able to keep track of everyone.
Even just the Chinese a.s.sociation in New York’s Chinatown was differentiated into several different factions.
“We originally took the foreign exports industry from the Chinese Revival Society. After fighting for it on the seas, both sides lost plenty of people. In the end, we both came to an agreement to use a compet.i.tion to resolve everything. In these years, our business has been becoming more and more stable, but if the other side were to challenge us now, we wouldn’t be able to handle it. Their reason to challenge us now is to destroy our business.”
Chen Bin continued to speak, “Although they wish to destroy our business, I’m not afraid of their threats. If anything, we can hire several mercenaries to fight it out overseas. But if this goes on, it’ll affect our business greatly. At this critical moment, the power struggle within the family is far too harsh. In my jurisdiction, if things don’t go well, then I’ll be accused by the family and that would make my life a lot harder.”
“So what you’re saying is with your brother’s current injuries, he cannot partake in the compet.i.tion. Am I to be the subst.i.tute then?” w.a.n.g Chao looked at Chen Bin.
“N…N-no…that’s not what I meant.” Chen Bin had felt extremely apologetic and bent her head down. Both of her eyelashes twitched as her face grew red and her words came out with a stutter. With an extremely silent voice, she spoke, “If…if it’s possible. This compet.i.tion will be extremely dangerous….”
Zhu Jia’s eyes stared icily from the side. As a spectator, she hadn’t any intentions on disturbing the conversation between w.a.n.g Chao and Chen Bin.
After muttering for a while, Chen Bin lifted her head, “Actually, I had wanted to try out my own strength. My Taichi is about fourth fifths of my brothers I’d hope, so I shouldn’t lose. You’ve seen my strength, but I’ve never formally been on a match to kill before. My heart hasn’t the depth, and neither am I able to even see my brother’s depth. I wanted you to help me speak of the experiences, after all, you’ve been through this multiple times. I wish to have you guide me.”
w.a.n.g Chao’s eyes looked at Chen Bin without ever moving. As soon as Chen Bin had finished saying her speech without any qualms in her heart or any fear in her eyes, w.a.n.g Chao’s eyes had finally met with hers.
“Ai…” w.a.n.g Chao looked away and took in a deep breath, “The other side is prepared for this, and his martial arts should be no weaker than Zhang Guangming if he is coming here to take revenge. You have no experience, if you were to go on the platform as you are now, then you would die for sure. I owe your brother a favor, this match is one I will help you accept.”
“Thank you very much.” Chen Bin hung her head down and began to play with her fingertips.