Chapter 4428 — Beyond All Expectation
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
There was no help for it. This situation had been foreseeable back when the contest was first approved. Among the five great escort agencies, the Four Seas Escort Agency's supremacy was ultimately unshakable; with its immense reserves of power, it was already capable of controlling the outcome to a very great extent. Faced with its carrot-and-stick offensive, no one could keep from bowing their heads.
"Not at all, not at all—the gathering has only just begun, it's far too early to say such things. We've merely stolen a bit of a head start; everyone still has their chance." Hai Wuliang laughed heartily and accepted all the congratulations with perfect composure.
Everyone, whether by design or by accident, seemed to have deliberately cast one thing to the back of their minds: the contestants still alive were not only No. 1 of the Four Seas Escort Agency, but also No. 5 of the Qingtian Escort Agency!
Listening to Hai Wuliang and the others trade pleasantries, Qi Mingyuan cursed their hypocrisy inwardly, though he dared not show it. After all, even he found it hard to believe that the one returning now could be Ling Yi of his own agency...
"Well then, this round was no easy trial. As judges, I feel we ought to go and welcome the victor in person. What do you all say?" Hai Wuliang said, rising to his feet. His meaning was plain: he meant to use the occasion to heap praise upon the winner—in plain terms, to let his Four Seas Escort Agency bask in a little more glory.
Zhao Bufan and the others exchanged glances, each cursing up a storm in his heart, yet none of them wished to quarrel with Hai Wuliang and the Four Seas Escort Agency over such a trifle. Since the man demanded it, they would pinch their noses and give him his show of honor.
The heads of the five great escort agencies at once made their way to the very front of the docks to await the sailboat's arrival in person. The crowd buzzed with excitement—such treatment was truly unprecedented. After all, these five represented the very highest echelon of the Southern Continent's escort world.
"No. 5! It's No. 5!" someone in the crowd suddenly cried, and more and more people made out the number on the sailboat, each one astonished beyond measure, voices rising in heated discussion.
Hai Wuliang had been brimming with smug satisfaction, but when he made out that number, he froze on the spot, his face darkening in an instant like the bottom of a scorched pot. For a long while he could not utter a single word.
By contrast, Qi Mingyuan and Qi Wenmo, along with everyone in the Qingtian Escort Agency, were overcome with jubilation, their cheers shaking the heavens.
The boat drew alongside the dock, and Wei Zhao leaped down from it. He glanced at the first stick of incense, not yet fully burned out, then cast a somewhat astonished look at Hai Wuliang and the others blocking his way, their faces a marvelous spectacle. Turning to Qi Mingyuan and Qi Wenmo, he said with a faint smile, "Well then—I'm glad to report I did not fail my charge."
In truth, had it not been for that final stretch of sea thick with hidden reefs and devilishly hard to navigate, he could have returned even sooner. But it made no difference now—one stick of incense either way, and the score was the same.
"Outstanding! Simply outstanding!" The Qingtian crowd, wild with excitement, hoisted Wei Zhao onto their shoulders on the spot, shouting and leaping, beside themselves with joy, unable to calm their elation.