Chapter 4437 — Wei Zhao Takes the Field
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
The escorts exchanged glances, but not one of them dared to step forward of his own accord—and it was not entirely for want of a reward, but rather for fear of shaming the agency once he was up there.
Concealing escort goods, and on top of that having to withstand the trials of a "bandit crew"—the difficulty of such a thing was no small matter. Without exceptional skill in this line, without the technique for it, never mind lasting the full three sticks of incense; even one stick was likely a vain hope. Whoever took the field then would not emerge a hero, but would only be left red-faced.
And this was not merely a matter of losing face—his standing in the agency thereafter would suffer for it as well. Who would dare step up rashly without sufficient confidence?
"Then let it be this way: whoever takes the field need only conceal the goods successfully, need only hold out for a full stick of incense, and the agency will reward him with fifty thousand spirit jades!" Helpless, Qi Wenmo at last fell back on the customary lure of fifty thousand spirit jades—and he asked for only one stick of incense, the barest minimum, which truly could not be called a high bar.
Yet even so, the escorts merely looked at one another, and still not a single one dared step forward.
It was not that they did not want those fifty thousand spirit jades—in truth, they would have risked their lives for them—but the trouble was that concealing goods was not a thing that grit alone could accomplish. It came down to skill!
Without the skill, no matter how high your resolve, no matter how desperately you strove, it was all for nothing.
"Hold out longer than one stick of incense, and for every additional stick I'll add thirty thousand more spirit jades!" Seeing this, Qi Wenmo could not help growing anxious. Whatever else happened, they could not go into the round with no one at all.
At once the crowd's breathing grew heavier still. By that reckoning, if a man could last the full three sticks, the reward would come to a full one hundred and ten thousand spirit jades—an astronomical sum from any angle!
And yet, though every man there was drooling, still no one dared step forward. Before this round of concealment, the old maxim that rich rewards breed brave men had suddenly lost all its effect.
There was no help for it: however high the reward, however tempting, if you could not last even a single stick of incense, what use was taking the field? Would that not be making a spectacle of yourself?
Now Qi Wenmo was utterly at a loss. If it truly came to it, he could only grit his teeth and go up himself—except that, young master of the agency though he was, his own experience on the road was hardly rich, and he had never shown the least gift for hiding things. What he might finally manage to conceal, he honestly had not the faintest idea.
Qi Wenmo reckoned that if he really did go up himself, there was at least an eighty percent chance he would not last even one stick of incense. Then he would score nothing at all and be left with a great goose egg.
"How about I give it a try?" At that moment, Wei Zhao, who had been standing to one side, suddenly spoke.
"Brother Ling, you're confident?" Qi Wenmo's spirits surged at once, as though he had caught hold of the last straw. The eyes of everyone else turned to Wei Zhao as well.
"I should manage well enough," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.
"Splendid! No need for formalities among our own—this round is in your hands, Brother Ling!" Qi Wenmo was overjoyed and settled the matter without a moment's hesitation.
The rest, apart from their surprise, raised no objection. After all, Wei Zhao's marvelous showing in the previous two rounds spoke for itself, proof enough that this honorary chief escort truly had a trick or two. One could only concede.
Before long, all thirty-two agencies had submitted their rosters, and the fourth round, the Hidden Escort in Peril, officially began.