Chapter 4397 — First, Return to the North Isle
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Qi Wenmo had not thought much of it at the time. Since the third floor was not open, Wei Zhao must have gone back down to the first floor—after all, the goods there were far more novel, and simply looking them over was more interesting.
Yet when Qi Wenmo went down and made a circuit of the first floor, there was still no sign of Wei Zhao. He even left the Central Chamber of Commerce and walked the whole length of Demon Cold City's main thoroughfare, and still found no trace of him. When he returned to the inn, there was still no sign of Wei Zhao. At this point, Qi Wenmo was truly anxious.
To the Sky-Piercing Escort Agency, Wei Zhao was not merely a great benefactor and an honorary chief escort—more crucially, for the upcoming Southern Isle Escort Gathering, they were counting on Wei Zhao to win the agency a good ranking. How could he simply vanish?
If Wei Zhao had merely gone out for some amusement on his own, that would be one thing. So long as no harm had come to him, all would be well. But the trouble was that, orderly as Demon Cold City might appear compared with Weihu City, it was still part of the Southern Isle waters, and at heart its chaotic nature could not be changed. A stranger like Wei Zhao appearing here might well draw the eye of any local serpent.
However mighty a dragon, it cannot overpower the local serpent. Strong as Wei Zhao was, he was still alone, and he had not reached the level of those Xuan Ascension giants who could casually subdue a whole region. If he were set upon from all sides, he would suffer badly.
If something were to happen to Wei Zhao here, then Qi Wenmo would truly be guilty beyond any excuse, and he probably could not even remain a young master of the house. After all, he had been the first to propose going out for some fun. If Wei Zhao came to harm over this, he would become the greatest criminal of the entire Sky-Piercing Escort Agency.
In the space of just two or three hours, news of Wei Zhao's disappearance had already stirred up a great commotion throughout the agency. Even Steward Song was preparing to organize everyone to go out and search—they were just short of summoning Chief Escort Qi Mingyuan back.
As for Qi Wenmo, he had rushed about frantically, searching again and again. He had walked the route between the Central Chamber of Commerce and the inn at least seven or eight times, so thoroughly frantic was he. If he still could not find Wei Zhao, he would have been ready to go and beg forgiveness from Qi Mingyuan.
Fortunately, a clerk had just told him that someone had returned to Wei Zhao's room. He had hurried over to see, and there stood Wei Zhao, safe and sound. Qi Wenmo's relief was immediate and total, the strength draining out of his whole body.
"I am sorry to have worried you, Brother Qi." Wei Zhao saw the man's anxiousness plainly, and felt a quiet stir of gratitude. Sudden as the affair had been and despite having no choice in the matter, he still felt some regret. He explained, "At the time, you were so absorbed in your looking that I went downstairs first by myself. I did not expect to run into an acquaintance, so after a few words I left ahead of you. Truly, I am sorry."
The reason he did not tell the truth was chiefly that he did not wish to drag the Sky-Piercing Escort Agency into it. The Central Chamber of Commerce was far too powerful; a mere Sky-Piercing Escort Agency was no match for it at all, and would only be caught up in the disaster.
"Ha, what is there to be sorry for? Old friends meeting must surely have much to talk over." Qi Wenmo waved a hand in dismissal, magnanimous. "So long as you are all right, that is what matters. I was only afraid you might have run into that Cheng Haonan and the rest of the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps—they might well have made trouble for you. After all, two fists cannot beat four hands."