Chapter 4430 — Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
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.