Chapter 3068 — Hiring a Guardian

But Feng Shihua could not possibly leave the Feng family now. If he did, those who did not know better would assume he had fled out of guilt. So Feng Tianqi had no choice but to help Xu Shilan find a guardian through other channels.

Feng Tianqi knew a thing or two about Dongfang Buruo's temperament. The boy was a hell-raising little profligate; whatever he set his sights on, if he failed to get it, he would pester and pursue it without end. So if there was no formidable guardian at Xu Shilan's side, she would truly be in danger.

But where was one to find a Heaven-rank expert to serve as a guardian? Heaven-rank experts, after all, had their pride. What Heaven-rank expert would stoop to serving as guardian to a secular-world pop star? Even if that pop star was the illegitimate daughter of the ancient Feng family, it still would not do.

Those Heaven-rank experts were all retainers of certain families—summon them for an occasional mission, offer them suitable benefits, and that was that. But to have one stay at a person's side as a permanent guardian—that, at least, Feng Shihua could not manage.

Perhaps only if Old Master Feng gave the order himself would a few of the family's Heaven-rank elders be willing to serve as guardians. Feng Tianqi certainly did not have that kind of clout.

Still, with no other options, Feng Tianqi was reduced to grasping at straws. He knew of a secular-world assignment platform; with a let's-give-it-a-try attitude, he posted his requirements there.

"Guardian wanted: Heaven-rank expert. The protected party may accompany the guardian as convenient and move about in whatever city the guardian operates in. Remuneration: one hundred million per month."

After deliberating for ages, Feng Tianqi revised it again and again, making the terms as loose as possible. He knew that Heaven-rank experts had their pride and their tempers; expecting one of them to trail after Xu Shilan as a guardian was unrealistic. The only way was for Xu Shilan to follow the expert, to relocate all her work to whatever city was convenient for the Heaven-rank expert to operate in. That, too, was a mark of respect for a Heaven-rank expert.

And the monthly fee of one hundred million—an astronomical figure at first glance—was in fact not high at all. Which family's Heaven-rank retainer did not consume cultivation resources exceeding that sum? A hundred million was putting it mildly.

Only, whether any Heaven-rank expert would even see a posting on a secular-world assignment platform was impossible to know. But Feng Tianqi was desperately anxious, and this was the only way he could post a commission.

After all, at the ancient level, the only ones one could hire were the Blood Robe Yellow Springs Sect. But hiring them to kill was fine; hiring them as guardians was utterly out of the question.

Yet to Feng Tianqi's astonishment, less than half an hour after his posting went up, there was a response—the mobile number he had left actually rang! Barring the possibility of a wrong number, this call had to be from someone taking the job!

This was a number he seldom used; almost no one knew it. And for a call to come in shortly after he turned the phone on, it could only be through the assignment platform.

At that thought, Feng Tianqi picked up the phone excitedly: "Hello, good day!"

"Mr. Xu, isn't it?" A low male voice came from the other end.

"Yes, that's me!" Feng Tianqi grew even more excited. Mr. Xu was the surname he had randomly made up on the assignment website—so the other party really was calling about this matter.

"I can accept the terms you proposed, but the monthly fee is a bit low. Raise it," the other party said bluntly, coming straight to the point.

"That..." Feng Tianqi knew a hundred million really was not much to a Heaven-rank expert, but his own private savings were not much either—surely he could not have the ancient Feng family foot the bill? So, after a moment's hesitation, he said, "How about one hundred and fifty million?"

"Fine, one hundred and fifty million. But add some cultivation resources—whatever I need, you must do your utmost to help me find." The other party thought it over and agreed.

"That's no problem. As long as you do your utmost to protect my daughter, finding some cultivation resources will be no trouble," Feng Tianqi agreed readily. To him, hunting down cultivation resources was easier than coughing up another fifty million.

"Then it's settled. I'll take your job right now," the other party said.

"Wait—how do I trust you? Are you a Heaven-rank expert?" Feng Tianqi asked hesitantly. It was not that he was overly suspicious; the matter had simply gone too smoothly. He had barely posted the job when someone applied, and moreover met the conditions!

After all, what Feng Tianqi was looking for was a Heaven-rank expert, not some common assassin—and he had found one just like that? It struck him as somewhat unbelievable.

"I am not a Heaven-rank expert, but the person I send will be an early-stage Heaven-rank expert," the other party said.

"Oh? That works. But let's be clear: if it's not an early-stage Heaven-rank expert, I won't honor the agreement!" Feng Tianqi, fearing a swindler, declared this in advance. Feng Sanmang, though hardly a formidable expert, could tell a Heaven-rank expert when he saw one. If the other party was an impostor and Feng Sanmang did not confirm it, Feng Tianqi would not transfer a cent.

"Agreed. Payment upon meeting will do," the other party said with utmost readiness.

"Good. Then how do we get in touch?" Feng Tianqi asked.

"I'll have him call you to arrange a place," the other party said. "All right, I've taken your job!"

With that, the other party hung up. Feng Tianqi saw on the computer that his posted commission had indeed been accepted by someone! Instinctively he clicked on the taker's rank and credit rating—and what he saw gave him a start.

The completion rate was a full hundred percent, and the taker was a Crown-level assassin, the highest rank on the commission network!

Could it be real? Though Feng Tianqi found it a little hard to believe that a Heaven-rank expert could turn up on a secular-world commission network, this person did not look like a swindler—such a high rank, a hundred-percent completion rate. There was no reason to ruin such a reputation over a job like his.

After all, one hundred and fifty million was not small, but neither was it all that large. Plenty of assassination jobs here could fetch ten million in fees. Since this person had such a high completion rate, he was surely no stranger to money. So Feng Tianqi was instantly filled with confidence in this guardian.

With such a major matter settled, Feng Tianqi meant to discuss it further with Feng Shihua.

(Fourth update of the day—summoning [Monthly] votes, tips, subscriptions, and likes! To be continued.)