Chapter 4539 — Farewell
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"Of course. Anyone else I can skip, but how could I skip Chief Escort Qi?" Wei Zhao smiled faintly. His whereabouts had to be kept absolutely secret from ninety-nine out of a hundred people, but surely he would not leave without so much as seeing Qi Mingyuan. If that were the case, there would have been no need to make a special trip back to the agency at all.
"Good, I'll call him in right away." Qi Wenmo nodded, unable to hide his excitement, then hurried out to open the door and usher Qi Mingyuan inside.
"Wenhan, tomorrow I'm going to discuss the alliance with Zhao Shanying, so I'm leaving everything at home in your hands. See that those merchant association representatives are properly settled—they're all rare and important clients—" Qi Mingyuan was halfway through when his expression suddenly changed. Only then did he realize there was an unfamiliar stranger in the room.
Qi Mingyuan shot Qi Wenmo a reproachful glare. Why hadn't he said there was an outsider present? What he had just spoken of was confidential, a matter concerning the grand scheme of the entire Nanzhou Escort Alliance. If it leaked out in advance, it could well stir up trouble, or even come to grief halfway through.
"Father, this is no outsider," Qi Wenmo said with a shrug, offering no further explanation.
"No outsider?" Qi Mingyuan was taken aback. He looked the man up and down carefully and found him vaguely familiar, though he was certain he had never seen that face before. As the chief escort of the Qingtian Escort Agency, his eye was far keener than most, so he could only venture tentatively, "Might I ask who Your Excellency—"
"Chief Escort, it's been a long time," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.
"You are—" At that familiar voice, Qi Mingyuan froze on the spot. He exchanged an incredulous look with Qi Wenmo beside him, and only after Qi Wenmo nodded in confirmation did he finally exclaim in shock and delight, "Young Hero Ling?!"
"That's right, it's me. I've put you to a great deal of trouble these past days, Chief Escort," Wei Zhao said with a nod and a smile.
"Not at all, not at all. It's good that you're back, good that you're back. Young Hero Ling, your safe return is a cause for tremendous rejoicing!" Even the usually steady and reserved Qi Mingyuan could not conceal his excitement now, any more than Qi Wenmo could. At the same time, a trace of shame crept into his voice. "The Qingtian Escort Agency owes everything it has today to you, Young Hero Ling. And yet we could do nothing to help you in return. I feel ashamed in my heart—truly unworthy of facing you."
"Chief Escort, you're far too serious. Everything the agency has done for me is engraved in my heart. There's no need for such words between us—we're family," Wei Zhao said with a smile, glancing at Qi Wenmo beside him.
His relationship with Qi Mingyuan was still that of allies doing business together, but so long as Qi Wenmo was part of the Qingtian Escort Agency, Wei Zhao could keep his trust in it. In the end, it was because of Qi Wenmo that he had grown so close to the agency. More than the agency itself, he valued the man Qi Wenmo. Birds of a feather flock together—after all, were they not both men of feeling?
"Young Hero Ling is right. We are family, with nothing held apart between us. I won't stand on ceremony with you any longer," Qi Mingyuan said, nodding again and again in agreement. Then his expression turned grave. "Young Hero Ling's safe return is a tremendous piece of good fortune for the whole Qingtian Escort Agency. But the old sect of the Western Hills is at the Longzhou Escort Agency now, so word must not leak out. It's best to lie low for the time being."
"Chief Escort is right. That was my thinking as well. To be frank, I've come back this time to take my leave of you both," Wei Zhao said.