Wu Jie was not foolish; his position as vice president of the Antique Association was a testament to his intelligence.
In that moment, with a little thought, he saw the whole picture.
Someone not only wanted to use him to deal with Lin Xiaotian but was now targeting his own family.
It was highly likely that Lin Xiaotian was far more complex than he appeared. This person killed like slaughtering chickens, not at all the harmless individual they had investigated.
The person who incited him didn't dare to confront Lin Xiaotian directly, yet he had become the sacrificial lamb.
And this was clearly an attempt to escalate their animosity to a point of no return.
"Bastard, you dared to play me!"
"You even wanted to sacrifice my nephew's life as a fuse."
"What a clever scheme you have!"
His anger was palpable, his words squeezed through gritted teeth.
Lin Xiaotian's face also broke into a brilliant smile: "Old Wu, someone wants to sit back and watch us fight. The best thing for us to do now is to unite and deal with that guy ruthlessly."
"You have the connections, the network, and the influence, while I have the strength."
"Just tell me who he is, and we'll go find him right now. If he's the one behind this, I'll give him a good thrashing, and even if his mouth is sealed shut, he'll spill the truth."
Wu Jie hesitated for a moment, then said directly, "Fine, I'll take you to see him now."
"The three of us will meet. If you truly get information from him."
"And confirm that he was the one scheming behind this, then I will make him pay a thousandfold."
Lin Xiaotian nodded with a smile.
Just then, Wu Jie suddenly remembered something and turned his gaze to Lin Xiaotian: "You said earlier that you could cure my nephew."
"Is that true?"
"I want the truth."
"If you can cure my nephew, then even if you've done anything against our Wu family in this matter, I can overlook it."
"Although I, Wu Jie, am not a good person, I always keep my word and stand by what I say."
Lin Xiaotian didn't believe a single word of his, not even the punctuation. Their current cooperation was merely for a shared objective.
However, he hadn't directly killed Wu Yuxuan for a reason.
People like Wu Jie were like venomous snakes; they could turn and bite at any moment.
The ancestors had long told the story of the farmer and the snake.
The malicious snake was a cold-blooded creature, incapable of gratitude.
He smiled and said, "No problem. I can even go and cure Wu Yuxuan first."
"But I suspect that now that we've met, that person might have received some news. You'd better act quickly, or if he gets wind of this, he'll react and adjust in time."
"At that point, we might even turn against each other."
Wu Jie nodded: "Alright, then let's go find him first."
"You get in my car and come with me."
"Then have your bodyguards take my car back to Chu Group," Lin Xiaotian said with a smile, getting into the car. He then turned his head and said, "Since our misunderstanding has largely been resolved."
"Then there shouldn't be any obstacles to Chu Group joining the Antique Association, right?"
Wu Jie shook his head and said indifferently, "I'm just a vice president."
"Whether you can join is not something I can decide alone. They are all sharpening their knives, eager to take a piece out of you."
"After all, you've brought out so many priceless antiques. Any one of them is worth hundreds of millions, even over a billion. The most precious one, the Zhong Kui Subduing Ghosts painting, is of immeasurable value."
"Their eyes are practically green with envy. If you want to join them, aren't you walking straight into a wolf's den?"
"I know you must be short on supply right now, but I can't offer you anything. Since we've reached a cooperative relationship, I won't beat around the bush. I'll give you the bottom line."
"I'll provide you with three thousand antiques per month. The quality can't be guaranteed, but I can assure you that there won't be more than twenty percent fakes."
Lin Xiaotian smiled and said, "Old Wu, you're not being very sincere!"
"I saved your nephew's life, and now I'm going to treat him, and you offer me such terms?"
Wu Jie slowly shook his head: "Our Wu family needs to survive, and we need to make money. We should all be understanding of each other."
"Enough, let's not discuss this anymore. I believe you'll make a clear judgment later. After all, besides our Wu family, no one can provide you with such a large quantity of goods."
With that, he closed his eyes to rest.
Lin Xiaotian's smiling eyes showed no emotion. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and slowly smoked. His plan was rapidly taking shape.
He had originally intended to give Wu Jie a chance, but Wu Jie was too greedy.
This was like a wolf that could never be satisfied. Cooperating with such a person was akin to seeking a tiger's skin.
It was better to proceed according to his own plan.
Time passed slowly. When they arrived at the city center, the car stopped in front of an office building.
Lin Xiaotian glanced at the signboard on the building.
His eyes narrowed.
"The Liu family?"
Wu Jie nodded: "More precisely, Liu Jing."
"She manages some of the Liu Corporation's industries, and among them, she cooperates with our Wu family. That's why she contacted me immediately, as she knew we would get involved with you."
"I gave her a chance before, but I didn't expect her to not appreciate me," Lin Xiaotian said with a smile, and then pushed open the car door and got out.
Wu Jie had naturally heard about the conflict between the Liu family and Chu Group.
After they entered the building, without waiting for any introductions, Wu Jie directly led Lin Xiaotian to Liu Jing's office.
Liu Jing saw the door suddenly pushed open and frowned. A look of anger appeared on her not-so-beautiful features: "Vice President Wu, have you also become so impolite?"
"You viperous woman are talking to me about politeness?" Wu Jie's eyes blazed with anger.
"You wanted our help, and I agreed to your terms, but you turned around and arranged for someone to harm my nephew."
"Even with my help, you weren't satisfied and wanted to use a life to provoke our animosity."
"Today, I've brought Lin Xiaotian here. The three of us will meet and lay all our conflicts and hatreds bare."
Liu Jing's pupils contracted sharply as she saw Lin Xiaotian leaning against the doorway.
She couldn't help but recall past pain and fear.
Terror began to spread in her heart.