Chapter 4232 — A Nominal Escort

"Many thanks for your kindness, Brother Qi. We two have only just arrived and know nothing of how things are done in the Wei Arc sea region. Could you tell us something about the Qingtian Escort Agency, so that we may find our footing the sooner?" Wei Zhao seized the moment to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"That's easily done. The business our Qingtian Escort Agency handles is, in truth, nothing more than the escort trade the world over knows of. What we do day to day is carry goods for others to the other great islands—there's nothing particularly special about it," Qi Wenmo said with a smile.

"Oh? Yet on North Island we scarcely ever see an escort agency, least of all a large and powerful one. Could it be that we've simply been too secluded to hear of them?" Wei Zhao exchanged a glance with Huang Xiaotao, genuinely puzzled.

By his reckoning, he had been on Cloud Ladder Island for more than a year now, and had seen a fair share of things, yet he had never once dealt with any escort agency.

In fact, on North Island he had never even heard of a reputable escort agency. Ordinarily, if one needed something conveyed, one could turn to a great merchant house like the Threefold Pavilion or the Hong Clan Trading Company—there was no call to seek out a specialized escort agency.

"Heh heh, there is much Young Master Ling does not know. On North Island, where you come from, the Threefold Pavilion governs from above and the branches of the great merchant houses take root below. The place is comparatively stable and safe, and each has its own settled channels of transport, so that anyone wishing to send something, whatever it may be, finds it a simple matter. Naturally, then, there is no soil in which escort agencies might take root," Qi Wenmo explained, laying it out for them.

"In that case, the escort trade here in the Wei Arc sea region must be thriving?" Wei Zhao said thoughtfully.

"Just so. Young Master Ling is surely aware that the Wei Arc sea region is a place where dragons and snakes mingle—there is no official authority here, no island lord or pavilion master to speak of. From top to bottom it is all chaos. Hence there are a great many robbers lying in wait along the roads, and this place opens out in every direction, connecting to several wild and untamed lands. Many cultivators come here drawn by its fame, and the rare treasures they win at such peril and cost, if they carry them on their persons, are all too easily marked by villains. That is where we escort agencies come in," Qi Wenmo explained patiently.

"So the business of an escort agency is to take these cultivators—to convey the rare treasures they've won by their ventures—safely to the other great islands?" Wei Zhao nodded in sudden understanding.

"Just so. That is one of the most important lines of business. There is another as well: carrying goods for certain local merchant houses. They have their own channels of transport, true, but none so professional and reliable as ours, so when it comes to important goods in great bulk, they still entrust them to us to convey under guard," Qi Wenmo said with a smile.

"I see. I've learned much," Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao said together, nodding.

"Whichever sort of escort job it is, the escort master is what matters most. Only if the escort master's strength is great can the goods be delivered in safety. Otherwise, if one cannot even get clear of the Wei Arc sea region, then no matter how large the agency, it's all for nothing." Qi Wenmo looked at the two of them with eyes alight. "So to have invited the two of you to join us is truly a blessing for our Qingtian Escort Agency. We shall be relying on you greatly in the days to come."

"You flatter me, Brother Qi—your words are too weighty. But I have a presumptuous request, and I hope Brother Qi will grant it," Wei Zhao said suddenly, clasping his hands in salute.

"Speak freely. So long as it lies within the power of our Qingtian Escort Agency, we shall never refuse," Qi Wenmo said at once, striking his chest with a show of gallantry.

"My junior sister and I have come out to the Wei Arc sea region this time for training and experience. As for how long we may stay—that is not something we can be certain of. I must beg Brother Qi's understanding on this point," Wei Zhao said, choosing his words with care.

"That's easily settled. The two of you may not know it, but our Qingtian Escort Agency has two kinds of escort masters. One is the resident escort master—as the name implies, one who works steadily at the agency over the long term. Besides that there is another kind: the nominal escort master, who need not remain stationed at the agency at all, but comes and goes in complete freedom. If there is time and a task to be taken, take it; if not, then don't. We will never press anyone," Qi Wenmo said with a smile.

A cultivator of truly great strength could never be content to nestle quietly in an escort agency and serve as an escort master. That the Qingtian Escort Agency had put forward such a system was simply a matter of going with the times.

For an escort agency that made its way through the jianghu, so long as the daily needs of business were met, how many resident escort masters it could actually recruit was in truth not what mattered. Powerful connections and influence were what mattered most.

Many a nominal escort master might never once walk an escort route, yet so long as his name hung there, the very fact added by another measure to the Qingtian Escort Agency's foundations, gave them a little more confidence in their bones, and at the same time made the other powers more wary of them.

"Oh? In that case, we two—senior and junior disciples—would seem well suited to serve as nominal escort masters," Wei Zhao said, and he and Huang Xiaotao exchanged a glance and nodded.

"But Young Master Ling, there is one thing I must say to you beforehand. A nominal escort master comes and goes freely, it is true, but as for pay: one takes the pay for each route one walks, and that is all. If one does not walk a route, then there is no fixed stipend to speak of. I hope the two of you can understand and make allowance for this," Qi Wenmo cautioned.

"Fair and reasonable—it could hardly be otherwise. Many thanks, Brother Qi, for clearing our doubts. The two of us have decided to join the Qingtian Escort Agency, as nominal escort masters," Wei Zhao decided on the spot.

"Splendid! Come, Young Master Ling—and Miss Huang—let us drink to the two of you joining the agency!" Qi Wenmo was overjoyed, and raising his cup, he drained it together with Wei Zhao and the other.

When wine and food had been fully enjoyed, Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao followed Qi Wenmo to the escort agency. Looking up, they saw before them a grand gate and a great courtyard, and on the plaque at its center four golden characters that seemed to dance and soar: Qingtian Escort Agency.

Following Qi Wenmo inward, they passed through two great courtyards and came to a main hall. Wei Zhao cast a glance around and saw several cultivators seated within, most of them adepts of the Golden Core stage, and among them some at the great perfection of Foundation Establishment.

The strength of every one of them was plain at a glance—there was none whose level could not be told. That is to say, here at least there were no adepts of the Nascent Soul stage.

Today, in but a brief moment since coming to the Wei Arc sea region, he had already seen two Nascent Soul adepts serving as attendants, and it had truly given Wei Zhao a jolt. He had thought that this Wei Arc sea region must indeed be a place where the mighty came forth in generation after generation, where Nascent Soul adepts walked the streets thick as weeds.