Chapter 4378 — Hong Zhong's Reply

Cheng Qitian was dead, after all, and he had been the young master of the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps. Though it was the Holy Nun of the Eastern Sea, a titan of the Opening-Heaven stage, who had struck the blow, and though Cheng Haonan would not dare seek vengeance even with a hundred times his courage, the man had died at the Qingtian Escort Agency, and given the old grudges between the two houses, there was no guaranteeing he would not redirect his hatred at Qingtian.

Wei Zhao had arranged for men to watch the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps for any sign of stirring precisely so that he might learn of their movements in advance and react swiftly. Yet to his surprise, Cheng Haonan did not move against the Qingtian Escort Agency at all; instead, he had entered into partnership with the Longzhou Escort Agency.

"Brother Ling speaks true. They come with ill intent, make no mistake. Here in the Weihu sea region, the Qingtian Escort Agency has always held to the principle of doing good to others, for a friend more is a road more, and a foe more is a wall more. There are, however, two sworn enemies whom we have kept suppressed all these years: the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps, and this very Longzhou Escort Agency!" Qi Wenmo nodded.

"Then if they chose this moment to join hands, Brother Qi, can you guess their purpose?" Wei Zhao asked.

"The Grand Gathering of the Nanzhou Escort Agencies is nearly upon us. For the two of them to ally at such a time, if my guess is not mistaken, they mean to combine their strength and squeeze us, the Qingtian Escort Agency, out, and contend for a place among the Five Great Escort Agencies." Qi Wenmo did not treat Wei Zhao as an outsider, and laid out his analysis point by point.

The Qingtian Escort Agency was one of the Five Great Escort Agencies of Nanzhou. Though it ranked at the bottom, it was still the greatest in the Weihu sea region, and the Longzhou Escort Agency, unwilling to remain obscure, had now suddenly made such a move—plainly they meant to take its place.

"In that case, this Grand Gathering of the Nanzhou Escort Agencies will indeed have to be handled with care," Wei Zhao said thoughtfully. What style the Longzhou Escort Agency favored, he did not know, but the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps was assuredly no flock of harmless birds. Seizing this chance to take their revenge on the Qingtian Escort Agency, there was no telling what underhanded tricks they might resort to.

"Brother Ling, this is a grave matter. I must hurry back and make arrangements; I cannot linger. I beg your pardon." Qi Wenmo was plainly restless, and could not spare the time to sit and drink tea with Wei Zhao any longer. He rose at once to take his leave.

"Very well. I shall go back and look in on things when I can. I will not keep you today." Wei Zhao rose at once to see him out. After sending the preoccupied Qi Wenmo on his way, he turned and sought out the same assistant again: "That Wu Baoliang and Lu Bianren I had you inquire after—any word yet?"

He had not only set men to watch the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps; he was also making inquiries about Wu Baoliang and Lu Bianren. He had already entrusted the matter to Qi Wenmo, but one more channel was one more chance.

"Not yet," the assistant said, shaking his head.

"All right, you may go for now." Wei Zhao waved a hand. Such things could not be rushed. If even the Qingtian Escort Agency's web of connections had searched this long without word, then clearly these men were not easily found.

Just then Chai Laoshi came over, a letter in his hand, and handed it to Wei Zhao with a face full of excitement: "A letter from Vice President Hong has arrived!"

"Oh? So soon?" Wei Zhao was taken aback. From South Island to North Island was a distance of no less than ten thousand li, and on top of that there was the time Hong Zhong would need to react once the letter reached him. Even if this were merely an exchange of word back and forth, with no face-to-face negotiation with the other headquarters higher-ups on Middle Island, it still should not have been this quick. Only a few days had passed, after all.

"Heh, there is perhaps something you do not know. Our Hong Clan Merchant Guild has its own transmission channels internally. They cannot carry a person along the way those high-grade teleportation arrays do, but they are quite sufficient for sending urgent goods and materials, and ordinary correspondence goes by this channel as well—there is no need to rely wholly on flying spirit beasts. Nor is it only the Hong Clan Merchant Guild; certain other top-tier powers maintain such dedicated channels too. Ordinary powers, of course, have nothing of the kind," Chai Laoshi explained with a smile.

"I see." Wei Zhao nodded in sudden understanding. Any teleportation array was a strategic resource, and even a channel that carried only goods and materials was no different. It was like the treasure ships—a mark belonging solely to the top-tier powers, which ordinary powers could not even dream of.

Yet even setting aside the time saved in correspondence, for Hong Zhong to react so swiftly already showed how seriously he took this matter.

Chai Laoshi waited at his side, eyes wide with eagerness. Wei Zhao smiled; he knew the man was frantic to learn the outcome. There was certainly no chance of him getting any work done now, so Wei Zhao opened the letter then and there and read it through.

In the letter, Hong Zhong's first words were an apology. Wei Zhaotong might have begun to rot only in recent years, but judged by Hong Zhong's own eye for character, such a lapse could only be called a failure of discernment—that he had nearly introduced such a scoundrel to Wei Zhao as a friend.

It was fortunate Wei Zhao had not opened by invoking Hong Zhong's name to cultivate Wei Zhaotong. Otherwise, given the old fox's ways, Wei Zhaotong would never have let him glimpse any of what followed, and he might well be kept in the dark to this very day, still believing Wei Zhaotong to be a kind and honorable man.

The attitude Hong Zhong revealed in the letter gratified Wei Zhao considerably: he endorsed with both hands and both feet every measure Wei Zhao had taken against Wei Zhaotong.

This was in truth no small thing. Hong Zhong had never been to the Weihu sea region, and everything he knew—including that ledger of evidence—rested on Wei Zhao's word alone.

On one side stood Wei Zhao, whom he had known only a short while; on the other, a friend of many years. Anyone else would likely have found the choice hard and hedged, smoothing things over. For Hong Zhong to declare his position so plainly and firmly showed not only his own clear-headed sense of right, but above all his unreserved trust in Wei Zhao.

"How... how is it?" Chai Laoshi could scarcely contain himself, and asked cautiously from the side. How the Hong Clan Merchant Guild dealt with Wei Zhaotong would decide his prospects outright.

Especially if Wei Zhaotong could not be dealt with this time—once Wei Zhaotong recovered his footing, he might not dare touch Wei Zhao, the honorary vice president, but to dispose of a mere Chai Laoshi he would have means and to spare. The consequences then would be unthinkable; he might not even keep his life!

"I cannot say it is good." Wei Zhao shook his head helplessly.

"Ah?" Chai Laoshi's heart plummeted straight into an ice cellar, and his hands and feet went cold in an instant. He was by nature a timid, honest man; standing up to testify against Wei Zhaotong had in truth been a desperate act forced upon him. Matters had come to this pass, and now there was nothing for it but to walk the one road to its end, with no room left to turn back. If Wei Zhaotong could not be crushed this time, then it was truly over for him.