Chapter 12: Undercurrents 2

After they finished their tea, Nie and Jinhai went back to the house and didn't make any moves or spoke about anything in peculiar. They had secrets, secrets that they didn't want anyone else to know, so they became the ideal young master and his bodyguard as night came and the full moon hung high on the sky.

.............

On one of the busiest stress of the Half Moon city , where the inner part of the city and where the red district bordered each other, there was a famous pavilion called Cai Pavilion. It was a two story building made of wood and white rock, decorated with numerous lanterns that made it look as if it was day, and a serious looking guard every five meters. This was definitely a place that commoners would only dream to visit in their lifetime if they saved a lifetime, and precisely this place was the spot where scions of the Mo family gathered.

On the second floor of the building more than 5 big tables were filled with the most fresh and delicious food ranging from elk, to fish and even some kind of bird. All this food could feed 50 people, but besides the ten bodyguards and 8 servants, only the five members of the Cai family could attend this gathering, one of them being Mo Xiaoli.

"Hahhaha, brother Xiaoli, it's been such a long time since I saw you! How have you been, how about your son? " heartily laughed a large and round man who was sitting across Xiaoli on the table.

"It's been calm, elder brother Xin. Me and Nie have calmly lived on the countryside for the last 8 years with little difficulty; an eye opening experience to tell you the truth."

"I'm sure it would have been. Still, I hope that you haven't brought the customs of those commoners to this place. " spoke a tall an lean man to the side. His facial features sharp, his arm losel on the table and his thin eyebrows raised as he sipped on some wine. He had his hair tied in a small bun and a long and thin beard. 

"Oh, of course not brother Meng." respectfully answered Xiaoli as he smiled " Even though I wasn't granted the privileges of living in the city as you and lived with commoners, I haven't forgotten my roots, so if I were you I wouldn't lose any hair thinking over it."

"You....you...." was the only thing Mo Meng could say as he gritted his teeth. Of course he could understand what Xiaoli implied, and it was a strong jab at him at that.

"Hehe.... brother Xiaoli always was somewhat of a rowdy boy, but it seems even now you haven't changed." delicately laughed the woman next to Xiaoli as she looked at the mad Mo Meng. She looked about thirty years old with long and silky brown hair, bright eyes, white Skil and long eyelashes. She wore a heavily decorated, loose blue robe , the sleeve of which she used to cover her smiling face.

"Thanks sister Xue, I appreciate your appreciation."

"Hehe, you're welcome."

The atmosphere became somewhat strained as Xiaoli and Meng stared at each other, but the tension was soon cut by a loud slap of the table.

"Enough! That's enough of fooling around, bickering and drinking for today; brothers... sister!" seriously said the last attendant at the table. He was a very buff man with wild curly black hair he tried to contain, but failed to, was over 1,8 m in height, but his physique made him look much larger. He had a clean shaven, rough face, black eyes that seemed to see through you , and a thick neck that looked like a tree trunk.

He was the oldest of the Mo siblings, Mo Hai, and the one who had gathered them here.

You are reading story Dao’s Wheel at novel35.com

"My brothers.... sister, I haven't brought you here today to bicker with each other or lament the death of our father as there has been enough of that. No, I've brought you here as the Mo family hasn't been so divided in over 50 years as the old patriarch died and left the running of the Mo family to him.... but unfortunately our late father didn't have such foresight.

He has divided the rights to the business of the Mo family in five equal parts between the five of us, and although that is fair, it's also foolish. Our rivals, the Qin family will definitely benefit from our division." 

"Oh, is that so?" calmly said Meng who seemed to have forgotten Xiaoli's words " And , if I'm correct you have a solution for this I presume?"

"Indeed, brothers, sister; I propose we unify the assets of the Mo family once again and curb the problem without if festering. "

"Ohhh..... that sounds good, but I'm not hearing any details. You have to explain some more if you want to make sense, brother Hai." spoke Mo Xin as he brought his hands together, the golden rings on his hands rubbing against each other.

"Hehehe..... brother Xin is right. An explanation is needed."

"Indeed sister, and I'll of course explain. I'm suggesting that combine our assets , both of the Mo family and ours, forming an alliance to not only deter the Qin family , but to also deal a blow to their business. Brothers, sister.....I know that you've sacrificed and worked to create businesses not related to the Mo family, trying to become independent when our father died and passed the position of the family to one of us, but I didn't come to be.

So, what do you say?"

"Hmmm.... it sounds tempting, but words are easily spoken, older brother" said Meng as he looked at the others " We may as well be of the same blood, but our goals don't coincide. You have almost completely abandoned the family practice of medicine and focused on raising through the ranks of the military, sister is focusing on the red light district, brother Xin on becoming a merchant, and brother Xiaoli is powerless.

So, seeing it like that, I don't think you are suggesting we are all contributing equally."

"Indeed , that would be the case, but it's not. I'm really offering an equal agreement to all of you, and...

"I object!" was heard in the room as all eyes turned towards Xiaoli. He was smiling at all their reactions of surprise as he should he the last to speak.