Chapter 73 - 69 Hughes
"He refused the Leader’s proposal?" In a corner of a tavern in Luona, a man dressed in a black robe asked Hughes, who had just emerged from the Twin Star Grand Hall in the Imperial Capital.
"He says the Leader isn’t sincere. That old fox is too cunning." Hughes drained the ale from the table. The feeling of being manhandled and thrown out of the Grand Hall was not pleasant at all.
"Sincerity?" The black-robed man squinted. His entire body was enveloped in the robe, as if he were trying hard to hide something.
"That’s what the old fox said. He probably thinks the conditions we proposed aren’t generous enough."
After hearing Hughes’s words, the black-robed man drew in a sharp breath. He remained silent for a moment before saying in a hoarse voice, "We have been careless."
"Careless? I don’t understand what you’re thinking, Boss. In my view, why not just seize the old fox’s son and then negotiate? Wouldn’t all our problems be solved? We wouldn’t have to suffer such humiliation!" Those few words from the black-robed man—"We have been careless"—plunged Hughes back into his resentful thoughts of being manhandled and thrown out the main gate.
"Young man, you need to learn to think before jumping to conclusions," the black-robed man said profoundly.
"I just don’t understand why we have to be so respectful to that old fox. Can we really not establish ourselves in Luona without him?"
"Everything has two sides, just like this robe." The black-robed man pinched a corner of his robe. "You often only see the prestige on the outside, ignoring the mending and patching hidden within."
"Uh? I don’t quite understand what you mean, Boss."