Chapter 4541 — Preparations for Departure
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Seeing as we've already agreed we're family, is there really any need for such formal talk?" Wei Zhao hastened to help Qi Mingyuan to his feet. He had gone out of his way to say this so that the Qitian Escort Bureau might weather the coming storm intact, not so that everyone would feel indebted to him.
"Father, Brother Ling—shouldn't we get the word out about this right away, give everyone else a chance to prepare? Otherwise a great many people are going to die!" Off to one side, Qi Wenmo was still visibly on edge.
At that, Wei Zhao glanced at Qi Mingyuan and said nothing. His only responsibility was to pass the news on to the two of them, and to Chai Laoshi as well. As for the fate of everyone else—frankly, it had little to do with him. More to the point, once a rumor like this began to spread, there was no guarantee it would do any good.
"No. Unless the spirit beasts truly make their move, spreading word of this ahead of time from our lips will make us a target for every eye. The spirit beast clan would come after us first to settle the score, and that is a price we cannot afford to pay," Qi Mingyuan said at once, shaking his head decisively.
"This... all right..." Hot-blooded as Qi Wenmo might be, he was not so thick-headed as to be beyond reason. Once he had thought through the stakes involved, he stopped agonizing over the matter. After all, nothing could matter more than the many lives of the Qitian Escort Bureau.
"Wenhan, mark my words—the news Young Hero Ling has brought must be kept strictly confidential. Not a whisper of it may get out ahead of time, not even among our own people in the bureau. As for what to do next, I will make the arrangements in secret. To you, this never happened. Understand?" Qi Mingyuan added, still uneasy.
The stakes were enormous. They had to prepare early, and more importantly they had to keep it absolutely secret. If even the slightest whisper leaked out ahead of time, it would spell utter ruin for the Qitian Escort Bureau. Qi Mingyuan himself was of course dependable; what he feared was his son doing something foolish in the name of loyalty, the consequences of which did not bear imagining.
"Rest easy, Father. I know how serious this is. I won't gamble with all the lives in our bureau," Qi Wenmo said with a solemn nod. His temperament was still far from that of a ruthless schemer, but in matters this grave he would not be sloppy; otherwise he would have no business inheriting the Qitian Escort Bureau.
"In that case, I shall take my leave," Wei Zhao said. He had said his farewells and given his warnings; staying on at the Qitian Escort Bureau any longer would be superfluous. Besides, with so many of the Longzhou Escort Bureau's eyes outside, this place had become a hot spot for him, far less safe than being out beyond those walls.
Qi Mingyuan and Qi Wenmo exchanged a look. By every measure of sentiment and reason they would have loved to keep Wei Zhao a few more days, to use the chance to properly reward this great benefactor and then see him off in style. But circumstances did not permit it; superfluous gestures would only make things worse. So they did not dare press him to stay.
"Circumstances being what they are, we dare not keep you, and between family there's no need for ceremony. But remember this, Young Hero Ling—there will always be a place for you in the Qitian Escort Bureau. If ever you have need of us, send but a word, and whether it means scaling a mountain of blades or leaping into a cauldron of oil, we will not shrink from death!" Qi Mingyuan said with great solemnity.
"That's right. Everything the bureau has today, you built, Brother Ling. Between brothers there's nothing to be said—shared fortune and shared hardship. If you insist on shouldering every burden alone, that would be a poor show of loyalty indeed," Qi Wenmo said, equally grave.