Chapter 4368 — The Skilled Wang Xinyan
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Wei Zhao ignored Wei Zhaotong and turned his gaze upon the two skilled retainers. "Gentlemen," he said calmly, "others may not know what this is, but surely even you two cannot fail to recognize this purple-gold jade pendant of mine? You may never have seen one with your own eyes, but you must at least have heard of it. Wei Zhaotong is a man who has exhausted every ounce of conscience and piled up crimes beyond counting. To keep serving him is to play the jackal to the tiger, to share his guilt. I advise you both not to ruin yourselves."
When Wei Zhao had first received that purple-gold jade pendant from Hong Zhong's hands, Hong Zhong had told him that within the Hong Clan Merchant Guild, those of insufficient rank knew nothing of what the pendant signified—but the skilled retainers were the exception. Every so often they were summoned to the guild's headquarters on Central Isle for inspection and training, and any whose seniority was not too shallow might well come to know the pendant's origins.
They were all Hong Clan Merchant Guild people, after all, and unless it was truly necessary, Wei Zhao had no wish to wipe them out to the last man. Yet to his words, the two retainers turned a deaf ear. Not a flicker of hesitation crossed their faces; they merely fixed Wei Zhao and his companions with icy stares, as though the moment Wei Zhaotong gave the word, they would strike without a second thought.
"Hahahaha! Ling Yi, save your breath. A mere escort from the Qingtian Escort Agency, passing yourself off as an honorary vice-chairman of my Hong Clan Merchant Guild—who in their right mind would believe that? Or is it that you never do anything with your head at all?" Wei Zhaotong laughed, his face a mask of mockery.
He knew perfectly well that the purple-gold jade pendant in Wei Zhao's hand was genuine—even the two retainers had, in truth, begun to realize as much—and yet he remained utterly unruffled.
The reason was simple. In the years since he had come to the Weihu Sea Region, he had not yet gained full control of the entire branch guild, but he had at least bribed these two skilled retainers into becoming birds of a feather with him.
The skilled retainers held no superior-subordinate relationship with a branch guild's steward, yet their ties were often exceedingly close. This was a common sight in every branch of the Hong Clan Merchant Guild, and over the years the two retainers present had long since become a community of shared interests with Wei Zhaotong—grasshoppers bound to the same rope, as the saying went.
After all, highway robbery carried risks of its own. Those pirates were killers who did not so much as blink, and without skilled men to go and make contact with them, one might well end up devoured by the very wolves one had loosed.
"Is that so? Then there is nothing to be done. I had meant to deal with Wei Zhaotong alone. But since the two of you insist on standing in the way, do not blame me for being ungracious." Wei Zhao smiled faintly, utterly unconcerned.
"Hmph! Still talking big at this stage? Facing three Nascent Soul cultivators such as us, do you have even half a chance of victory? Do not deceive yourself. You came to our door looking for trouble—even if I kill you outright, Morning Star Academy will have nothing to say about it!" Wei Zhaotong threatened with a cold snort.
Yet before his words had died away, his eyes suddenly flashed. Wei Zhao had thrown caution to the winds and struck without warning!
Wei Zhaotong knew that Wei Zhao and his companions had not come with good intentions, but from the beginning until now he had felt no great worry in his heart. After all, by any measure, his three Nascent Soul cultivators held an absolute advantage in strength, and in his reckoning, so long as Wei Zhao was not a complete fool, he should have known to retreat rather than court humiliation.