Chapter 4430 — Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
So with tomorrow's and the day after's contests in mind, much as the Qi father and son might wish otherwise, they ultimately dared not give Wei Zhao too much now. Otherwise, when the time came and they could not produce the prize money, they would truly become the laughingstock of the gathering.
"Very well, since it has come to this, I shall do as I am bid." With the matter put in such terms, Wei Zhao had no choice but to nod. Besides, accepting the hundred thousand spirit jade did no harm—before he left, he would refine a batch of pills especially for the Skyshaker Escort Agency and leave them behind, which would more than repay the debt.
"Now that's the spirit!" Qi Mingyuan and Qi Wenmo were instantly overjoyed. At once they raised their cups and toasted Wei Zhao and the assembled escorts. "That we could win this opening victory today is all thanks to Young Hero Ling and every one of you giving your all. My son and I thank you all! In the contests to come, we hope you will press on and scale new heights for the Skyshaker Escort Agency. I have a victory feast prepared—when we return to Weihu City, no one goes home sober!"
"No one goes home sober!" The whole company raised their cups in celebration, their cheers shaking the heavens.
Over on the Skyshaker Escort Agency's side, all was jubilation. By contrast, the atmosphere among the other agencies was nowhere near so warm—especially the Four Seas Escort Agency, fighting on home ground and regarded by all, within the trade and without, as the overwhelming favorite. At this moment the mood throughout that agency was grave and stifling, every face clouded with gloom.
In the agency's inner hall, Hai Wuliang sat in the seat of honor, his face dark as a storm cloud. Before him knelt Wang Baitiao, beaten at some unknown hour until his whole body was a mass of wounds, not one patch of him left unmarked.
"Since you have already tasted the family discipline, I will grant you whelp a chance to live. Speak—what exactly happened?" After a long silence, Hai Wuliang finally spoke, his face as heavy as still water.
"Yes, sir." Wang Baitiao dared not be slow. Trembling, he recounted the whole course of the contest from beginning to end in careful detail, holding back nothing—after all, if he could not move Hai Wuliang, his little life would be forfeit.
"You mean to say that fellow called Ling Yi from the Skyshaker Escort Agency is... peculiar?" Hai Wuliang's heart gave a jolt as he finished listening.
"Peculiar beyond all doubt. Master Hai, you know as well as anyone that only I know the way through that stretch of sea. No one else has any idea of it. If that whelp truly followed me—well, setting aside how thick the sea fog was, even the finest navigator would have struggled to keep close. And even if he did keep close, why was it that at the Whirlpool Bait he avoided it so neatly? Surely it can't be that he just happened to step in luck?" Wang Baitiao said hurriedly.
"Go on," Hai Wuliang said, lost in thought.
"Yes, sir. And then, when he was being pursued by me, he suddenly chose the hardest route of all—one I myself had no confidence of getting through—yet he forced his way back within a single stick of incense. And I took another, easier route, only to run smack into the fixed-point pirates. Master Hai, don't you find the whole business utterly uncanny?" Wang Baitiao gazed at Hai Wuliang with pleading eyes.
"Interesting. Once might be luck, but it can't be luck twice in a row..." A glint flashed in Hai Wuliang's eyes. He stroked his chin. "I've heard it said before that the Skyshaker Escort Agency managed sixty points in the first round of the seizure contest precisely because this man commanded them on the spot. It seems this fellow called Ling Yi is indeed no simple character!"