Chapter 4504 — Not a Single One Came
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"Heh heh, Zhao—" Hai Wuliang walked over and forced out a smile, but before he could get the words out, Zhao Bufan suddenly left with his people, leaving him standing there alone, mouth agape in embarrassment, forced to swallow the rest of his sentence.
Looking again at Zhao Bufan, he had cast Hai Wuliang a glance that was half smile and half sneer, then turned and went to talk with Qi Mingyuan. Qi Mingyuan, of course, turned no one of such standing away; the two at once fell into a warm conversation, leaving Hai Wuliang alone in the cold wind…
"This Chief Escort Zhao is quite the character. Brother Ling, just look at old Hai Wuliang's expression—simply priceless, hahahaha!" Qi Wenmo had witnessed the whole scene clearly and was doubled over, clutching his belly with laughter.
"They say everyone pushes a falling wall, but for Hai Wuliang, a man of such standing as chief escort of the Four Seas Escort Guild, to fall all at once to such a neglected, awkward state—that really is hard to imagine." Wei Zhao shook his head, somewhat at a loss for words.
A dead tiger still retains its majesty; ordinarily, even a fall from grace should not be this wretched—and the Four Seas Escort Guild had not truly collapsed yet. These people present really were a thoroughly practical bunch.
"Heh heh, that's how the South Continent sea region has always been—all profit, no sentiment. These people can turn on you faster than flipping a page." Qi Wenmo laughed carelessly, then gave Wei Zhao a careful once-over and said, "Brother Ling, did you take some wondrous elixir today or something? You seem a bit different—especially energetic?"
"No, no—must be your imagination, Brother Qi." Wei Zhao smiled faintly. Half an hour earlier he had successfully broken through from the middle Golden Core stage to its very peak, so of course he was glowing with vigor and energy. But he had always kept a low profile; such matters were best kept to oneself, with no need to broadcast them.
"Really? Maybe so…" Qi Wenmo scratched his head, puzzled, then asked no more—for at that moment Qi Mingyuan had already led the crowd onto the platform. The South Continent Escort Alliance Assembly had begun.
As the newly risen overlord of the escort world, Qi Mingyuan naturally had to give an opening address, by convention. But he was not like Hai Wuliang and those other posturing types; this segment was purely symbolic, a few words tossed off in passing before he cut straight to the chase and began presiding over the negotiations for cooperation between the great escort guilds and the many merchant associations.
The heads of the various escort guilds were instantly invigorated, every one of them itching to try their luck. This was the day's true main event—whether their guild would eat meat or merely broth over the next five years, or fail even to get broth and be left chewing the northwest wind, all depended on how many orders they could pull in today.
In truth, everyone present knew full well that even before the formal start, the outcome was all but decided. This was an assembly for sharing the fruits of victory—and as the name implied, only the victors ranked at the front could share in the greatest fruits. As for the losers who had fallen from favor, all that remained for them was to look on hungrily.
"Heh heh, the thing I'm most curious about right now is just how many orders Hai Wuliang and his Four Seas Escort Guild will end up with. Brother Ling, why don't you take a guess?" Qi Wenmo laughed with keen interest. "In the past, the Four Seas Escort Guild always took a full twenty percent share all by itself, strutting about like nobody's business—but this time, it's looking dicey."