Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1780 Friendships based on mutual benefit end when the benefit is gone.
Just as Sun Teng saw an old friend, memories flooded his mind, and his emotions became somewhat complicated, the weathered and shrewd Sun Wenheng, with a smile on his face, said:
"Nephew Seraj, you've become even more valiant and robust since I last saw you a few months ago!"

Hearing Sun Wenheng's praise, Seraj seemed quite pleased, a hint of smugness showing on his face. However, he maintained a humble demeanor and continued speaking in his broken Chinese:
"Uncle Sun, you flatter me!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Seraj, the eldest son of Agus, the chieftain of the Baya tribe, invited Sun Wenheng and his son Sun Teng into the mansion.

Since both sides were old acquaintances, and Sun Wenheng and Sun Teng had met Argus before, the father and son were quite familiar with the place. They left most of their guards in the manor and only brought a few trusted personal guards with them.

Located in Southeast Asia, Rai Island is a place where Eastern and Western civilizations meet. Therefore, in terms of architectural and decoration styles, the mansion of the Baya chieftain Argus can be considered a fusion of East and West, with shadows of Western Gothic architecture as well as Eastern landscape gardens. Argus himself was very satisfied with this, but in Sun Wenheng's eyes, it did seem incongruous, neither Chinese nor Western.

If he weren't currently in a precarious situation, Sun Wenheng would certainly have given Argus a good laugh. But now, being under someone else's roof, Sun Wenheng was indeed silently rehearsing his prepared remarks, preparing to shower Argus with compliments upon their meeting...
After a short while, the Sun father and son finally met Argus. Argus was very welcoming to the Sun father and son. He was chatting and laughing with a beautiful maid, but he immediately put the maid down, walked over barefoot, and greeted the Sun father and son with a big smile.

Feeling Argus's enthusiasm, Sun Wenheng was somewhat flattered.

Previously, when he was the general manager of Wanfu Pawnshop, Argus had asked him for favors and his attitude was extremely humble. However, after he lost power and fled to Lei Island, Argus's attitude towards him changed. Although he was still treated with courtesy, he no longer had the humility and enthusiasm of the past.

This change was within Sun Wenheng's expectations. After all, although the two sides had some acquaintance, it was based on mutual benefit. Once the benefit was gone, the friendship would end. The reason why Argus still treated him with courtesy was entirely because he still had value to Argus and could help him deal with his nemesis, the Mata tribe!
If he were of no use to anyone now, given Argus's character, he would not only immediately discard him like trash, but might even try to kill him for his money. Therefore, knowing this, Sun Wenheng had no psychological burden whatsoever about his plan to make the Baya and Mata tribes fight each other.

But at this moment, seeing Argus's beaming face and his hands tightly gripping his, Sun Wenheng felt a growing sense of unease...

As the saying goes, "If someone is unusually attentive, they are either up to no good or a thief." Sun Wenheng felt that Argus was acting out of character today, and his unusual attentiveness to him was most likely because he had no good intentions and was probably digging a pit for him somewhere.
Becoming wary, Sun Wenheng carefully dealt with Argus while also entering the room at Argus's invitation. At this time, Argus was unaware that Sun Wenheng was already wary of him. After inviting Sun Wenheng into the room, he subtly gave his son, Seraj, a wink.

Seraj, who had originally planned to follow his father into the room, immediately understood his father's signal and turned to leave.

Seeing that Seraj was about to leave, Sun Teng, who was following behind, said with some surprise:

"Brother Sai, aren't you going to discuss this matter with us?"

"Hmm! I suddenly remembered I have some other things to do. Brother Sun, you two talk first, I'll be right back!"

Hearing Seraj say this, Sun Teng was still somewhat suspicious, but he couldn't say anything more, so he just nodded and followed her into the room.

After entering the room, both sides took their seats as host and guest. Argus instructed his maids to serve tea to Sun Wenheng and his son Sun Teng. After a few more casual words, Argus got down to business and said in a serious tone: "Brother Sun, those dogs of the Mata tribe have really gone too far in bullying me. This time I have made up my mind to wipe out these bastards!"

Upon hearing Argus's words, Sun Wenheng's heart skipped a beat. His entire plan had been to exploit the conflict between the Baya and Mata tribes, allowing him to profit from their struggle. Therefore, the fierce fighting between them would perfectly complement his scheme. So, he immediately and righteously declared:

There is an old saying in Argus: "How can one allow another to sleep soundly beside one's bed?"

"We've known each other for decades. As long as you're determined, I will do everything in my power to help you win this battle..."

Hearing Sun Wenheng say this, Argus seemed very moved and immediately made many promises, such as how he would treat Sun Wenheng well if he defeated the Mata tribe. Argus tried his best to appear sincere and reliable. However, having known each other for so many years, Sun Wenheng knew Argus very well and didn't believe a word he said. He just gave him empty words.

After exchanging some pleasantries, Argus went straight to the point:
"Brother Sun, I've heard that you've been preparing your troops recently. I wonder how many soldiers you've trained so far?"

Faced with Argus's question, Sun Wenheng pondered for a moment before truthfully replying:
"There are probably more than three thousand people?"

Upon hearing this answer, Argus smiled and said:

"Brother Sun, you are truly wealthy! You've managed to assemble a force of three thousand men so quickly!"

Looking at Argus's enigmatic smile, Sun Wenheng felt a sudden, inexplicable unease, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Just then, Argus spoke directly:

"Brother Sun, you promised me before that you would bring me five thousand muskets. I wonder when I will be able to see these muskets?"

When Argus brought up the promises he had made to him, Sun Wenheng felt a bit of a headache, but in order to keep Argus calm, he still spoke up:
"These muskets are on their way, Argus brothers, please be patient!"

"Brother Sun, you have always been an honest businessman, and I trust you completely. However, with a major battle imminent, I think you should give me a deadline..."

As Argus finished speaking, just as Sun Wenheng was frowning, unsure how to deal with him, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Then the door was roughly opened, and Seraj walked straight into the room. In front of Sun Wenheng and Sun Teng, he whispered something in Argus's ear.