Chapter 4477 — Delaying

Under the tournament rules, agencies like Sihai Escort Agency, which had no Gold Core-stage higher-ups, were indeed sitting in an unassailable position—but they would also find it nearly impossible to seize a share of the spoils. Unless a victor like Longzhou Escort Agency voluntarily gave up its right to challenge and entered the redraw, and then happened to draw the right to challenge, would such an opportunity ever arise.

The odds of that happening, however, were vanishingly small. So as things stood, agencies like Sihai could only stand by with folded arms and watch Longzhou's points climb higher and higher, until the upstart was shitting and pissing on their heads—and there was not a thing they could do about it.

Clearly, Sihai Escort Agency, now knocked out of the top five, had already become the first casualty. Next in line would be Xuanying Escort Agency, Tianhong Escort Agency, Shenfeng Escort Agency...

At this, even Zhao Bufan and the others nearby began to eye Hai Wuliang with unfriendly looks.

They were not being hounded relentlessly the way Qingtian Escort Agency was; their points and rankings might take a hit, but not enough to cause any great upheaval. The problem was that Qingtian's meteoric rise and its trampling over them was one thing—but now even Longzhou Escort Agency was climbing on their faces. Who could stomach that?

They were the mighty Five Great Escort Agencies, lofty traditional blue-blooded houses—how could they tolerate these rootless, grass-roots agencies stepping on their heads one after another? Where was their dignity?

The crowd suddenly realized: this fellow Hai Wuliang had not only dropped a rock on his own foot—he had smashed theirs right along with it.

"Heh. To insist that I'm targeting your Qingtian Escort Agency, Chief Escort Qi, is rather overthinking things, don't you think? Whatever you may believe, my conscience is clear. The rules are right here for all to see, and they're fair to everyone. As long as you have the strength, everyone has a chance to rise. If you feel you've been wronged, that can only mean one thing: your own strength falls short, and you have no one to blame but yourself." Hai Wuliang remained as righteous and earnest as ever.

"Hmph. Since Chief Escort Hai is so unyielding, I have nothing more to say. One piece of advice, though: justice lies in the hearts of the people, and a capering clown will never amount to anything in the end." Qi Mingyuan gave Hai Wuliang a long, deep look, then said no more.

"I'll return those words to your Qingtian Escort Agency—a flash in the pan, I'd say that fits rather well." Hai Wuliang sneered.

Seeing the hostile expressions on Qi Mingyuan's and Zhao Bufan's faces, the gloom that had weighed on Hai Wuliang just moments before dissolved entirely. He laughed coldly to himself: a pack of ignorant fools. Did you really think Longzhou Escort Agency could laugh last? Did you really think this chief escort had water on the brain?

With Longzhou Escort Agency's fatal weakness gripped in his hand, Hai Wuliang was not the least bit afraid of them piling up points. Pile them as high as you like—what good would it do? When he dropped that bombshell, all of Longzhou's qualifications would be stripped away entirely. They were nothing to worry about.

Only—at present his Sihai Escort Agency stood in sixth place. Even if both Qingtian and Longzhou above them were eliminated, he would at best climb back to fourth, and the agencies above would still be reaping the lion's share of the benefit. Before that happened, he would have to think of a proper countermeasure. Doing the bridal sewing for someone else for nothing—that was one fool's errand Hai Wuliang would not undertake.

"Uncle Song, I'll leave the agency's affairs in your hands. I'm going up to have a word with this Wu Baoliang." Qi Wenmo's expression was frosty. After giving these instructions to Steward Song beside him, he at once made ready to step onto the platform and answer the challenge.

Wei Zhao was injured and could not fight, so that left only him. If he did not go up, who would?

And so this time, neither Qi Mingyuan, seated among the panel of judges, nor Steward Song at his side said a word to stop him. Even knowing the danger, even knowing he might well be beaten to death, he had to go. The people of Qingtian Escort Agency had never been shrinking turtles—and he, Qi Wenmo, was the young master besides!

The wind sighed and the Yi River ran cold. With something close to the resolve of a man marching to his own death, Qi Wenmo walked toward the platform step by step, firm and unwavering. Yet just as he was about to set foot on it, Wei Zhao's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Brother Qi, wait."

"Brother Ling?" Qi Wenmo was overjoyed. He halted at once and turned back to look at Wei Zhao with concern, asking one question after another: "How are your injuries, Brother Ling? Are they serious?"

"Not too bad—nothing life-threatening." Wei Zhao grinned. After the treatment with true qi just now, the injuries Wu Baoliang had dealt him were mostly healed, and the rest would soon be rooted out clean.

"Good, good." Qi Wenmo let out a breath of relief. If anything had truly happened to Wei Zhao this time, his own nature would have driven him to blame himself to death. Fortunately, Wei Zhao's condition and complexion looked decent enough—not the sort of thing a man could fake by force.

Nodding to Wei Zhao, Qi Wenmo turned and once more headed toward the platform, the stone weighing on his heart at last set down. His stride now carried a bit more composure and fearlessness—so much so that even Wu Baoliang on the platform raised an eyebrow slightly at the sight.

"Brother Qi, I want to win this round back myself. Don't take it from me." Wei Zhao's voice came suddenly from behind him.

Qi Wenmo's steps halted at once. He turned to look at Wei Zhao, his face troubled. Had Wei Zhao used any other argument, he would not have hesitated a moment before refusing outright.

After all, he was the young master of the agency and had the right to decide who fought and who did not. Wei Zhao had already given so much for Qingtian Escort Agency, and he was still carrying no small injury—how could he let this benefactor go into battle wounded again? Returning kindness with ingratitude was simply not something Qi Wenmo could bring himself to do.

But Wei Zhao had now said he wanted to win this round back himself—the implication being that this was a personal grudge between him and Wu Baoliang. Especially since he had been preparing to strike at Wu Baoliang all along, and had waited until today. Under such circumstances, even Qi Wenmo found it hard to interfere.

"But..." Qi Wenmo frowned, at a loss for how to put it for a moment. Yet if it came down to letting Wei Zhao take the field wounded again, he would absolutely refuse.

"No buts, Brother Qi. This time you must listen to me." Wei Zhao cut him off at once. He had no time to argue Qi Wenmo around; this was the only way to settle the matter—by going his own way.

Seeing the utter determination in Wei Zhao's expression, plainly resolved to give up only when his goal was met, Qi Wenmo was finally at his wit's end. He could not let Wei Zhao fight, yet he could hardly defy Wei Zhao's wishes either. For a moment he was caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.

"Hey, how much longer are you two going to dawdle? Are you coming up or not? Is everyone in Qingtian Escort Agency this gutless, without even the courage to step onto the platform and face a challenge?" Wu Baoliang stood on the platform with his arms folded, making snide remarks. (To be continued) R655