Chapter 644 — Wei Zhao Collapses: "Really?" He Looked Somewhat Incredulous: "There's Nothing Wrong with the Glasses, Is There?"

"My dear little brother Wei Zhao, you really are cautious!" An Liwen laughed, shaking his head. "But never mind — if you think there's something wrong with your glass, let's swap. You use mine, I use yours? Better yet, let's not even bother swapping; I'll just drink from your glass instead. How about that?"

"That works too..." With that, Wei Zhao rose to his feet with his wineglass in hand and walked over to An Liwen. Leaning in, he rested his free hand on An Liwen, as though steadying himself for fear of losing his balance. He studied the glass in front of An Liwen for a good long while before finally swapping his own glass with An Liwen's, then returned to his seat.

"Little brother Wei Zhao, you wound your big brother's pride by doing this. I have no wish to harm you, yet you think of me like this. Say no more — let me drain this cup as a show of respect!" An Liwen lifted the wineglass Wei Zhao had just exchanged and downed it in one gulp.

In truth, An Liwen had slipped a dose of sleeping draught into the bottle itself, but he had taken the antidote beforehand, so the drug in the wine had no effect on him whatsoever.

"Seems I was being overly careful." Wei Zhao gave a self-deprecating smile and reached for his glass. But between his two fingers, he held something that looked like a pill — he had just poured it from a small bottle he had palmed from An Liwen's pocket.

Wei Zhao first licked the pill held between his fingers to confirm it was indeed the antidote; only then did he slip it into his mouth along with the wine.

This, as it happened, spared Wei Zhao a great deal of trouble. With the antidote in hand, he no longer needed to devise any other means — otherwise he might well have had to secretly jab a few needles into himself while pretending to drink.

The antidote, no — but the silver needles were something Wei Zhao always carried on his person.

Seeing that Wei Zhao was finally willing to drink, An Liwen smiled inwardly. You may be cunning, but you never imagined I had learned a thing or two, did you? I didn't slip the drug into your glass alone — I drugged everything! It's only that I took the antidote first!

"Little brother Wei Zhao, you know as well as anyone that I like Gu Mengyao. I won't belabor it. I invited you out today because I want you to give me a straight answer: exactly what is the nature of your relationship with Gu Mengyao?" Although An Liwen had already made up his mind to deal with Wei Zhao, he still wanted to pin down precisely what stood between Wei Zhao and Gu Mengyao.

"Heh, as I've said before, she's my employer," Wei Zhao replied coolly.

"But yesterday, why did Shen Yushu say Yao Yao and you were..." Hearing Wei Zhao deny it, An Liwen grew displeased at once. Yesterday, though Gu Mengyao had neither confirmed nor denied Shen Yushu's words, in An Liwen's eyes the matter between Wei Zhao and Gu Mengyao was all but settled.

"She has always been like that — don't you know?" Wei Zhao shrugged and shot back.

"Is that so? It seems little brother Wei Zhao still thinks of me as an outsider, unwilling to tell me the truth!" An Liwen's irritation deepened at Wei Zhao's denial. "I'm a reasonable man. If something really does exist between you and Gu Mengyao, as long as she's willing, then I give you my blessing!"

"Then I thank you. For the time being, there is nothing between us — and what may come in the future, I cannot say." Wei Zhao saw no need to lie to An Liwen.

"Heh, never mind — let's drink!" An Liwen raised his glass once more.

Wei Zhao clinked his against it and downed it in a single draught as well. Timing it as best he could — the drug should be kicking in any moment now — Wei Zhao clutched his forehead. "Brother An, this wine's going straight to my head. Why am I feeling dizzy?"

"That can't be right — isn't this just the Lafite we drank yesterday? How could it go to your head?" The moment An Liwen saw Wei Zhao's state, he knew the drug had taken effect, and he could barely contain his delight. Outwardly, however, he put on an air of puzzled concern.

In that instant, An Liwen very much wanted to point right at Wei Zhao and crow: you with your sly little schemes, you with your attempts to steal Gu Mengyao from me — I'm going to cut out your kidneys, let's see you fight me now! But An Liwen did not dare. He knew what Wei Zhao was capable of — at least at the level of a Yellow-tier master — and he feared that in the instant before losing consciousness Wei Zhao might suddenly lash out and land a blow on him. That would be a terrible trade.

"But I really am getting dizzy..." Before he had even finished speaking, Wei Zhao collapsed face-down on the table.

Wei Zhao was well versed in pharmacology and knew the symptoms of poisoning by a sleeping draught inside and out, so when he put on the act now, it left An Liwen not the slightest flaw to seize upon. Moreover, since An Liwen had administered the drug himself, he had not the faintest suspicion that Wei Zhao was feigning unconsciousness.

The moment he saw Wei Zhao had passed out, An Liwen was overjoyed. He snatched up his phone and dialed the number of the tattooed man who had been standing watch outside the private room.

"Come in. He's out cold — help me carry him out!" That one instruction was all An Liwen gave before hanging up.

Moments later, the tattooed man pushed open the door and stepped into the private room. "Brother Wen, is it done?"

"Mm, it's done. Help me get him out." An Liwen rose to his feet and pointed at Wei Zhao, who lay slumped across the table.

The tattooed man nodded, and he and An Liwen each took one of Wei Zhao's arms, hauling him out of the private room between them.

Though the hotel was crowded with guests and waiters coming and going, no one paid any attention to An Liwen and the tattooed man. After all, drunks were everywhere in a place like this — some carried out by friends, some dragged, some slung over a shoulder; nobody cared whether Wei Zhao had passed out or simply drunk himself senseless.

"Wei Zhao, bet you didn't see this coming, did you? You think you can cross me? Let's see how you like losing a kidney!" Once they were in the car, An Liwen turned and glared viciously at Wei Zhao sprawled across the back seat.

"Brother Wen, are we sure there won't be any trouble cutting out his kidney? What if he goes to the police once he finds out what we've done?" the tattooed man asked, somewhat uneasy. After all, Wei Zhao knew An Liwen; if he turned up missing a kidney, An Liwen would be the first person he suspected.

"He won't. This kid's no saint either — he's got blood on his hands. He can't go to the police," An Liwen said, unconvinced that Wei Zhao would ever report them. Li Cihua had told him that two Yellow-rank experts under his command had already fallen at Wei Zhao's hands. "Besides, if he asks, we'll just say he got drunk and we left him at the hotel. As for who cut out his kidney, he's got no evidence!"

The tattooed man nodded. Since An Liwen said there was nothing to worry about, he would not make trouble over it. He started the car and drove toward headquarters.

Wei Zhao had been awake the whole time, listening to every word between An Liwen and the tattooed man. So An Liwen really did have ties to the kidney-harvesting ring — and his plan to drag Wei Zhao off played right into Wei Zhao's hands!