Chapter 4352 — Riding a Tiger

"No wonder the brat's hopping mad. If it were me, I'd be hopping mad too." Qi Wenmo finally bared his teeth in a speechless grimace. To make an enemy like Wei Zhao—anyone in their right mind would be shaking in their boots. With the little courage Cheng Qitian had, if he didn't wipe out this threat soon, the man probably couldn't even sleep at night.

The two of them reached the front gate of the escort agency. A large crowd had already gathered outside, and both ends of the street were jammed solid with onlookers who had pushed their way over for the spectacle. Standing square in the middle of the gateway was Cheng Qitian, with a pack of Poison Eye Mercenary Corps toughs at his back, each radiating a cold, sharp menace—the kind of ruthless killers who wouldn't blink at taking a life.

Wei Zhao took one look and saw that among these Poison Eye Mercenary Corps elites, there were actually three whose strength he could not see through. Barring surprises, they were all Nascent Soul cultivators. Even Cheng Qitian could muster three Nascent Soul experts—that was a formidable foundation indeed. No wonder the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps could terrorize a whole corner of the Weihu Sea.

Wei Zhao was somewhat surprised at such a show of force, but on second thought, it made sense. Old Kong, a cultivator at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, had been crippled by him in a single exchange. If Cheng Qitian hadn't brought this many experts for protection, how would he dare come block the door?

Seeing Qi Wenmo and Wei Zhao emerge—and especially upon seeing Wei Zhao—Cheng Qitian instinctively shrank his neck. That ferocious scene on the docks earlier had scared him badly enough; to say he'd wet himself and fled would not be an exaggeration. The man was thoroughly traumatized.

But when he met Wei Zhao's mocking gaze, Cheng Qitian instantly stiffened his neck. Humiliation turned to fury, and he jabbed a finger at Wei Zhao with a blustering air: "Men! Seize this thing and drag him back!"

At the command, the experts behind him unleashed their full auras, setting off a wave of clamor among the crowd. Even the three Nascent Soul experts wore solemn expressions. Their opponent might be only a Golden Core cultivator, but Old Kong's fate was a warning written in blood—they dared not be careless, and prepared to join forces to take Wei Zhao down.

Courting death! Killing intent blazed in Wei Zhao's eyes as well. He had let Cheng Qitian off the hook at the docks earlier because he did not want to push things with the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps to the point of no return. But now that the man was being so obstinately foolish, Wei Zhao would not mind painting the ground red.

Wei Zhao had no wish to invite trouble, but he had never feared it either. Even if the opponent was a local tyrant whose name made people pale, all he needed was the right opening—one top-grade elixir-fire true qi bomb, and however many Poison Eye Mercenary Corps experts came, that was how many would die!

In an instant the scene turned razor-taut, ready to snap. Whoever made the slightest move would set off a storm of blood and slaughter—and in the Weihu Sea, such things were nothing out of the ordinary.

Yet under the gaze of the whole crowd, Qi Wenmo walked calmly to a spot one pace from Cheng Qitian and said coolly, "Seize him? Hmph. If you've got the guts, seize one and let me see it. The moment you lay a finger on him, I'll make sure not a single one of you ever gets home. Care to take that bet, Young Master Cheng?"

As his words fell, the escorts of the Qingtian Escort Agency abruptly released their auras—and among them were no few Nascent Soul experts. Compared with the men Cheng Qitian had brought, they were more than a match. After all, this was the Qingtian Escort Agency's home ground!

"You—don't get too cocky!" Cheng Qitian choked on his words, and under Qi Wenmo's aggressive glare he was actually forced back a step in front of everyone. Cursing inwardly, he thought: damn it, I'm the one who came here for revenge and to settle scores—how does this bastard seem even angrier than me?

Little did he know that Qi Wenmo had been stewing with pent-up fury ever since his dealings with Wei Zhao, and had found no outlet for it. Now this fool had come knocking to make trouble—whose fault was that?

"Cocky? You, Young Master Cheng, bring this many men to block the gate of my Qingtian Escort Agency, and you think I'm the cocky one?" Qi Wenmo sneered.

"Hmph. At the docks earlier, this Ling Yi of your agency injured Old Kong. I've brought men to arrest the culprit—what's improper about that? When you do wrong, you own up to it. Your Qingtian Escort Agency has always prided itself on righteousness—surely you wouldn't shield your own? I'll say this plainly, though it may not be pleasant to hear: your agency's good name was hard-won. You wouldn't destroy your own foundation over some nobody who doesn't matter, would you?" Cheng Qitian said in that sly, needling tone.

Every previous clash had ended with Qi Wenmo and his men pressing him down and pounding him, and Cheng Qitian still had lingering fears. Now, face to face with Qi Wenmo, he dared not force the issue and could only prod at him with such words.

"Your own strength is weak, your skills inferior, and you took a loss—who else can you blame? And you come to me talking about a culprit? Heh, the sun must have risen in the west today. Your illustrious Poison Eye Mercenary Corps—since when did it start reasoning with people?" Qi Wenmo was instantly amused, and the crowd burst into laughter with him. The Poison Eye Mercenary Corps had brought misery to the whole region; nearly everyone in Weihu City had been threatened or oppressed by them at some point. And now they had the nerve to talk about reason?

"I—" Cheng Qitian's face flushed crimson. He rounded on the crowd and snarled, "What's so funny? Laugh again and I'll cut out every one of your tongues! Daring to laugh at my Poison Eye Mercenary Corps—do you all think you've lived too comfortably?"

Under the sweep of Cheng Qitian's vicious, threatening glare, the crowd hastily stifled their laughter, each one burning with rage but not daring to speak, afraid of drawing his eye.

"Qi Wenmo, I advise you to think carefully before you speak. For the sake of such an insignificant nobody, to make an enemy of our entire Poison Eye Mercenary Corps—do you think that's worth it?" Cheng Qitian switched to threats.

"Hahahaha!" Qi Wenmo threw back his head and laughed at the sky, then fixed Cheng Qitian with the look one gives a utter fool. "Young Master Cheng, did you skip your medicine today, or did you take too much of it? Why are you spouting nothing but brainless nonsense? Our two houses have fought more battles, big and small, than I can count—eight or ten at least. Or do you think that isn't being enemies, but one big happy family?"

"You—!" Cheng Qitian nearly choked on his own blood. Qi Wenmo was simply his born nemesis. He couldn't beat him in a fight, and he couldn't beat him in a war of words either. Every time he ran into this bastard, nothing good ever came of it—before, and now, and always.

Can't win by fighting, can't win by talking—what was he supposed to do?

For a moment Cheng Qitian found himself riding a tiger, unable to get off. He could only glare venomously at Wei Zhao, yet, wary of Qi Wenmo, he never dared give the order to move. Inwardly he cursed his own poor judgment—had he known, he would have picked a different place.

True, he had brought no small number of experts today, but this was, after all, the Qingtian Escort Agency's home ground. If blows truly broke out, they would certainly be the losing side. (To be continued)