Chapter 4397 — First, Return to the North Isle

"Senior Brother Lu, I am glad to hear you say that." Wei Zhao breathed a visible sigh of relief at his words, and could not help but regard Lu Bianren a little more highly. He had feared the man's pride would not allow it, yet Lu Bianren had agreed so readily. Nodding in approval, Wei Zhao said, "Since our strength falls short of what the task requires, we should bide our time for now, and wait for a better opportunity in the days to come."

"Mm, you are quite right, Junior Brother. I shall take my leave and return to the North Isle at once," Lu Bianren said, decisive now. He knew that every moment he lingered in Demon Cold City was another moment of risk and hidden peril. Having resolved to go, he would not hesitate—better to leave early, before the Central Chamber of Commerce could fully respond.

"Wait, Senior Brother Lu." Wei Zhao hurriedly called him back. "The Central Chamber of Commerce is stronger than you or I can imagine. Once they react, their people will be everywhere. If you simply walk out like this, you will be far too obvious a target. You likely will not even get past the docks—you would be walking straight back into the tiger's jaws."

Wei Zhao had been wearing the Thousand-Silk Mask all along. Now that he had removed it, he was a completely different person; he could walk out and nothing would happen to him.

But Lu Bianren was different. He had been locked in the dungeon for so long, and had only just escaped. The people of the Central Chamber of Commerce were sure to remember him. Once the docks were sealed, if Lu Bianren went out like that, he would be delivering himself straight into their hands—as certain as nails driven into a board.

"This..." Lu Bianren hesitated as well. It was not that he did not wish to drag Wei Zhao down with him, but neither had he reached the point of being so fearless as to go courting death—otherwise, why would Wei Zhao have gone to such lengths to rescue him?

Yet staying here carried no small risk either. To outsiders, the Central Chamber of Commerce was merely a newly risen merchant guild of considerable size, but Lu Bianren and others who had glimpsed its dark secrets understood its power far more deeply than most.

If the people of the Central Chamber of Commerce truly set their minds to hunting him down, and once they mustered their full forces, Lu Bianren would sooner or later be discovered if he kept hiding here. There was not the slightest room for luck in this.

To leave now, and he might well be blocked at the docks; to stay now, and they might yet come knocking at his door. For a time, Lu Bianren found himself caught between a rock and a hard place.

Just as he stood there in his quandary, hurried knocking suddenly sounded at the door. Wei Zhao and Lu Bianren were both startled, and the first thought to leap to mind was: had the Central Chamber of Commerce tracked them down this quickly?

"Who is it?" Wei Zhao shot Lu Bianren a look, motioning him to hide deeper in the room, while he himself, betraying nothing, asked in a low, steady voice.

"Brother Ling, it is me." Qi Wenmo's voice came from outside the door. Only then did Wei Zhao breathe easy. He went over, opened the door, and let Qi Wenmo in.

"Ah, Brother Ling, I finally found you! Why did you leave on your own? I thought you had suddenly vanished—you had me worried sick for nothing!" Qi Wenmo said, arriving in a rush, both delighted and reproachful.

Earlier, on the second floor of the Central Chamber of Commerce, he had only just asked a clerk a few questions when he turned around and Wei Zhao was gone. His first thought had been that Wei Zhao had gone up to the third floor. He tried to follow, but the clerk stopped him, saying the third floor was a private area, not open to anyone outside the Central Chamber of Commerce.

Qi Wenmo had not thought much of it at the time. Since the third floor was not open, Wei Zhao must have gone back down to the first floor—after all, the goods there were far more novel, and simply looking them over was more interesting.

Yet when Qi Wenmo went down and made a circuit of the first floor, there was still no sign of Wei Zhao. He even left the Central Chamber of Commerce and walked the whole length of Demon Cold City's main thoroughfare, and still found no trace of him. When he returned to the inn, there was still no sign of Wei Zhao. At this point, Qi Wenmo was truly anxious.

To the Sky-Piercing Escort Agency, Wei Zhao was not merely a great benefactor and an honorary chief escort—more crucially, for the upcoming Southern Isle Escort Gathering, they were counting on Wei Zhao to win the agency a good ranking. How could he simply vanish?

If Wei Zhao had merely gone out for some amusement on his own, that would be one thing. So long as no harm had come to him, all would be well. But the trouble was that, orderly as Demon Cold City might appear compared with Weihu City, it was still part of the Southern Isle waters, and at heart its chaotic nature could not be changed. A stranger like Wei Zhao appearing here might well draw the eye of any local serpent.

However mighty a dragon, it cannot overpower the local serpent. Strong as Wei Zhao was, he was still alone, and he had not reached the level of those Xuan Ascension giants who could casually subdue a whole region. If he were set upon from all sides, he would suffer badly.

If something were to happen to Wei Zhao here, then Qi Wenmo would truly be guilty beyond any excuse, and he probably could not even remain a young master of the house. After all, he had been the first to propose going out for some fun. If Wei Zhao came to harm over this, he would become the greatest criminal of the entire Sky-Piercing Escort Agency.

In the space of just two or three hours, news of Wei Zhao's disappearance had already stirred up a great commotion throughout the agency. Even Steward Song was preparing to organize everyone to go out and search—they were just short of summoning Chief Escort Qi Mingyuan back.

As for Qi Wenmo, he had rushed about frantically, searching again and again. He had walked the route between the Central Chamber of Commerce and the inn at least seven or eight times, so thoroughly frantic was he. If he still could not find Wei Zhao, he would have been ready to go and beg forgiveness from Qi Mingyuan.

Fortunately, a clerk had just told him that someone had returned to Wei Zhao's room. He had hurried over to see, and there stood Wei Zhao, safe and sound. Qi Wenmo's relief was immediate and total, the strength draining out of his whole body.

"I am sorry to have worried you, Brother Qi." Wei Zhao saw the man's anxiousness plainly, and felt a quiet stir of gratitude. Sudden as the affair had been and despite having no choice in the matter, he still felt some regret. He explained, "At the time, you were so absorbed in your looking that I went downstairs first by myself. I did not expect to run into an acquaintance, so after a few words I left ahead of you. Truly, I am sorry."

The reason he did not tell the truth was chiefly that he did not wish to drag the Sky-Piercing Escort Agency into it. The Central Chamber of Commerce was far too powerful; a mere Sky-Piercing Escort Agency was no match for it at all, and would only be caught up in the disaster.

"Ha, what is there to be sorry for? Old friends meeting must surely have much to talk over." Qi Wenmo waved a hand in dismissal, magnanimous. "So long as you are all right, that is what matters. I was only afraid you might have run into that Cheng Haonan and the rest of the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps—they might well have made trouble for you. After all, two fists cannot beat four hands."