Chapter 4430 — Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand?

Every last one of them had their eyes bulging wide, their faces all wearing looks of envy they could not hide. A sum like that was worth decades of their own sleepless, unending toil!

"What is the meaning of this?" Wei Zhao was briefly taken aback, then knitted his brows and looked at Qi Mingyuan and Qi Wenmo, father and son. "I fought for the escort agency because of the bond between us, because of that loyalty. If spirit jade gets mixed into it, that rather spoils the point, doesn't it?"

His own Heavenly Elixir Pavilion raked in at least tens of thousands every single day on Mid-Island; Wei Zhao was hardly short of spirit jade now. The reason he had agreed to take part in the Southern Continent Escort Gathering this time was, first, to seize the chance to deal with Wu Baoliang, and second, simply to do the Skyshaker Escort Agency a favor. But to drag spirit jade into it would be far too vulgar.

"Young Hero Ling is a man who prizes honor—we all know that. But precisely because of that, you must accept these hundred thousand spirit jade all the more!" Qi Mingyuan declared, quite sure of himself.

"And why is that?" Wei Zhao could not help feeling baffled.

"Brother Ling, have you forgotten? During the daytime contest I announced it plainly to everyone: in both the first and second rounds, whoever took part, win or lose, would be rewarded with a hundred thousand spirit jade. Everyone else has already been paid; only you are left, Brother Ling. You may treat spirit jade as so much dung, but surely you won't make me, the young master of this escort agency, go back on my word and grow fat on my own promises?" Qi Wenmo picked up the explanation.

"Quite right. In the first round, the seizure contest, Young Hero Ling's command on the spot was beyond all praise. As for the second round, the perilous-sea voyage, there is even less to say—of the three hundred points our agency now holds, two hundred and sixty came from Young Hero Ling's own hand. That much at least is beyond doubt, is it not?" Qi Mingyuan said, turning to face the crowd.

"That's right! Escort Chief Ling deserves the greatest credit!" The whole of the Skyshaker Escort Agency chorused in unison.

"So that means I truly have no choice but to accept these hundred thousand spirit jade?" Wei Zhao looked at the scene and could only smile wryly. Such perfect unanimity—he half suspected these people had rehearsed it on purpose...

"You truly must. To speak plainly, given Young Hero Ling's monumental merits, a hundred thousand spirit jade is far too little—three hundred thousand would be more like it. It is only that this Southern Continent Escort Gathering has barely begun. There are still many places ahead where spirit jade will be needed, and since we are all one family, I shall be shameless just this once and beg Young Hero Ling to bear with us," Qi Mingyuan said with the utmost sincerity.

For the escort agencies with ambitions of contending for rank, the Southern Continent Escort Gathering was in truth a grand bonfire of spirit jade. Nearly every contest had to be fueled by spirit jade to fire up morale. In the first day's contests alone, the sum the Skyshaker Escort Agency had doled out to its escorts had already reached a full five hundred thousand!

The other escort agencies might not be quite so lavish, but they would not be far behind—unless they were content to lag behind.

The Skyshaker Escort Agency, however, was not a traditional powerhouse like the Four Seas Escort Agency. As the newly risen upstart among the five great agencies at the last gathering, its foundations were in fact quite limited; even with preparations made and resources scraped together from every quarter, its finances were bound to run tight.

So with tomorrow's and the day after's contests in mind, much as the Qi father and son might wish otherwise, they ultimately dared not give Wei Zhao too much now. Otherwise, when the time came and they could not produce the prize money, they would truly become the laughingstock of the gathering.

"Very well, since it has come to this, I shall do as I am bid." With the matter put in such terms, Wei Zhao had no choice but to nod. Besides, accepting the hundred thousand spirit jade did no harm—before he left, he would refine a batch of pills especially for the Skyshaker Escort Agency and leave them behind, which would more than repay the debt.

"Now that's the spirit!" Qi Mingyuan and Qi Wenmo were instantly overjoyed. At once they raised their cups and toasted Wei Zhao and the assembled escorts. "That we could win this opening victory today is all thanks to Young Hero Ling and every one of you giving your all. My son and I thank you all! In the contests to come, we hope you will press on and scale new heights for the Skyshaker Escort Agency. I have a victory feast prepared—when we return to Weihu City, no one goes home sober!"

"No one goes home sober!" The whole company raised their cups in celebration, their cheers shaking the heavens.

Over on the Skyshaker Escort Agency's side, all was jubilation. By contrast, the atmosphere among the other agencies was nowhere near so warm—especially the Four Seas Escort Agency, fighting on home ground and regarded by all, within the trade and without, as the overwhelming favorite. At this moment the mood throughout that agency was grave and stifling, every face clouded with gloom.

In the agency's inner hall, Hai Wuliang sat in the seat of honor, his face dark as a storm cloud. Before him knelt Wang Baitiao, beaten at some unknown hour until his whole body was a mass of wounds, not one patch of him left unmarked.

"Since you have already tasted the family discipline, I will grant you whelp a chance to live. Speak—what exactly happened?" After a long silence, Hai Wuliang finally spoke, his face as heavy as still water.

"Yes, sir." Wang Baitiao dared not be slow. Trembling, he recounted the whole course of the contest from beginning to end in careful detail, holding back nothing—after all, if he could not move Hai Wuliang, his little life would be forfeit.

"You mean to say that fellow called Ling Yi from the Skyshaker Escort Agency is... peculiar?" Hai Wuliang's heart gave a jolt as he finished listening.

"Peculiar beyond all doubt. Master Hai, you know as well as anyone that only I know the way through that stretch of sea. No one else has any idea of it. If that whelp truly followed me—well, setting aside how thick the sea fog was, even the finest navigator would have struggled to keep close. And even if he did keep close, why was it that at the Whirlpool Bait he avoided it so neatly? Surely it can't be that he just happened to step in luck?" Wang Baitiao said hurriedly.

"Go on," Hai Wuliang said, lost in thought.

"Yes, sir. And then, when he was being pursued by me, he suddenly chose the hardest route of all—one I myself had no confidence of getting through—yet he forced his way back within a single stick of incense. And I took another, easier route, only to run smack into the fixed-point pirates. Master Hai, don't you find the whole business utterly uncanny?" Wang Baitiao gazed at Hai Wuliang with pleading eyes.

"Interesting. Once might be luck, but it can't be luck twice in a row..." A glint flashed in Hai Wuliang's eyes. He stroked his chin. "I've heard it said before that the Skyshaker Escort Agency managed sixty points in the first round of the seizure contest precisely because this man commanded them on the spot. It seems this fellow called Ling Yi is indeed no simple character!"

"This wretch keeps fouling our plans, one after another. To keep any more trouble from cropping up later, Master Hai, don't you think we should strike first to gain the upper hand?" Wang Baitiao drew a vicious finger across his throat. That he had been reduced to his present wretched state—battered black and blue, his very life in danger—was, when you boiled it down, all thanks to Wei Zhao. He hated him to the marrow, naturally.