Chapter 4380 — Preparing to Attend

Flanking the burly man were the young master, Qi Wenmo, and the steward Song from a moment ago. No need to guess—this man could only be the master of Qingtian Escort Agency, Qi Wenmo's father, Chief Escort Qi Mingyuan!

"Hahahaha, Young Hero Ling Yi! I have long heard your great name. A pity business has kept me tied down all this while; otherwise I would have flown back long ago to thank you in person, my great benefactor. On behalf of everyone in the agency, I, Qi Mingyuan, thank you, Young Hero Ling, for your great kindness and virtue—a debt we shall never dare forget for all eternity!" Qi Mingyuan cupped his hands in salute as he strode forward with a hearty laugh.

At the sight, Wei Zhao could not help but secretly admire him. The man might look like a crude and reckless brute, but there was a natural, openhearted gallantry in his bearing and movement; he could close the distance with a total stranger in the space of a few moments. That Qingtian Escort Agency had flourished under his hand and risen to rank among the five great agencies of Nanzhou was clearly no accident—there was good reason for it.

"I greet you, Chief Escort Qi. You are too kind with your words. I, too, have long admired you, Chief Escort, and today at last I have gotten my wish," Wei Zhao responded with a smile at once, and turning to Qi Wenmo beside him, he greeted him as well: "Brother Qi, it has been some days. I trust you have been well?"

"Well enough. My father returned today, and so I took the liberty of inviting Brother Ling over for a gathering. I hope it has not delayed any proper business of yours," Qi Wenmo said in apology.

"I am but an idler. What business could I have? Besides, with Chief Escort Qi returning, I, as a nominal escort of the agency, would have come to join the merrymaking even if you had not invited me, Brother Qi," Wei Zhao said with a smile and a shake of his head.

"Haha, Young Hero Ling is a straightforward man—just to my taste. If you were not already on terms of equals with Wenhan, I would want to swear brotherhood with you!" Qi Mingyuan joked from the side, and everyone in the hall burst out laughing along with him, the scene all joy and harmony.

Hearing this, Wei Zhao was caught between laughter and tears. This father of Qi Wenmo was a rare and delightful character—seemingly rough and bold, yet never jarring. There was not the least constraint in dealing with him; on the contrary, it was relaxed and pleasant, a quality seldom found.

"By the way, I have invited Young Hero Ling here today especially because there is an important matter I wish to announce to everyone in the agency," Qi Mingyuan suddenly called out in a clear voice to the crowd. All those present fell silent at once, waiting for what he would say next. Only then did he continue: "In my capacity as Chief Escort of Qingtian Escort Agency, I announce that from this day forth, Young Hero Ling is the eternal Honorary Chief Escort of our Qingtian Escort Agency!"

At these words, an uproar swept the hall. Throughout the whole of Qingtian Escort Agency, apart from Qi Mingyuan himself as Chief Escort, the escorts who could occupy the position of chief escort were few enough to count on one's fingers. Any chief escort was absolute core leadership within the agency, with status and treatment far beyond the reach of ordinary escorts.

As for what Qi Mingyuan was granting Wei Zhao—though the word "honorary" was prefixed to it, so that compared with a chief escort's real authority it was for the most part a halo of status—even so, it made everyone in the hall deeply envious and covetous.

For it represented not only exalted standing within the agency, but also meant that whenever Wei Zhao had need, he could summon the strength of Qingtian Escort Agency at any time and any place. The power of it was no small matter.

"How could this be acceptable?" Wei Zhao was likewise somewhat astonished. This was not like the honorary professorships at those universities in the mundane world—a mere empty title. If one truly chose to make use of it, there were enormous interests to be gained behind it. For Qingtian Escort Agency, this was a gift of no small weight, in the fullest sense of the word.

"Young Hero Ling, hear me out—do not be in such a hurry to refuse," Qi Mingyuan explained with a smile. "I am not doing this to bind you to anything by it. Given your strength and standing, I know full well that would be quite unrealistic. I do this purely to express our agency's gratitude to you. That Qingtian Escort Agency could restore its good name this time and recover its enormous losses was all thanks to your strength alone. For such great kindness and virtue, to give you only the title of honorary chief escort is already putting it very lightly."

"Quite so. This is our heartfelt wish, and it was no sudden whim, but a decision my father reached after careful deliberation. Brother Ling, please do not refuse," Qi Wenmo urged from the side.

"Then... very well. I shall not decline the honor." Seeing this, Wei Zhao could only nod. An honorary chief escort was, after all, only a nominal post; it did not require him to remain at Qingtian Escort Agency at all times, so it made little difference to him. He already held the title of Honorary Vice President of the Hong Clan Merchant Guild; now to add one more as Honorary Chief Escort of Qingtian Escort Agency was no great matter.

"Haha, excellent! Young Hero Ling is indeed a straightforward man—just as it should be!" Qi Mingyuan, Qi Wenmo, and the rest all lit up with delight, and warmly surrounding Wei Zhao on either side, they said, "Come, this way please. The banquet is already prepared; let us eat and drink our fill."

The company came to the banquet hall, where Wei Zhao was seated in the place of honor, with Qi Mingyuan and his son Qi Wenmo personally attending on either side. Upon the table were delicacies of every kind, each worth a city; a rough estimate put the dishes on this one table at no less than a thousand spirit jades.

"Heh, as the saying goes, one's mouth is softened by another's food and one's hand by another's gifts. Chief Escort Qi, it seems that this time I have no choice but to attend the grand gathering of the Nanzhou escort agencies," Wei Zhao said with a laugh.

"That is entirely for you to decide of your own will, Young Hero Ling. If it is convenient for you to lend a hand with this, we would of course ask nothing better; but if it is not convenient, that is no matter either—we would all understand. Young Hero Ling must not fret himself over such a thing, or we should truly feel we had done wrong by you," Qi Mingyuan said with a serious face.

These were his sincere words. A melon forced off the vine is not sweet—such a simple principle he naturally understood. If they pressed Wei Zhao to take the field, never mind how much of his strength he would be willing to bring to bear when the time came; the mere fact of making Wei Zhao uncomfortable would already mean they lost more than they gained.

"Yes, yes. Brother Ling, there is one more thing I must tell you—that matter you asked us to look into, there is a lead now," Qi Wenmo said from the side.

"Oh?" Wei Zhao's brows rose, and his eyes lit up at once. "How so?"

"That man Wu Baoliang is indeed still in the Weihu Sea region, and from what I know, he has not left since he arrived—he has been in Weihu City the whole time!" Qi Wenmo said.

"Truly?" Wei Zhao was slightly startled, and could not help asking, "Then why could no word of him be found before? A leopard cannot change its spots—given this man's habit of doing evil, one would think he would have been discovered very quickly." (To be continued...)