Chapter 2061: Countering Moves
It was obvious that Steward Gui held great respect towards Mister Hua. After all, the other party was at the Earth Monarch Stage. This stage might not be much in a Great Sect, but for rogue cultivators, it was already considered a minor expert. Inheritances obtained by rogue cultivators were almost always incomplete. And there were a lot of rogue cultivators who weren’t talented. Therefore, the average strength of rogue cultivators wasn’t high. Unless they had hidden gifts, rogue cultivators won’t have a lot of achievements.
This caused rogue cultivators to be very weak. Mister Hua was clearly from a rogue cultivator background. For a rogue cultivator to reach the Earth Monarch Stage, it was already quite the achievement.
Although the Rong Clan had several experts, these experts were in the Tyrant Blade Sect. Their mission was to maintain the close connection between the clan and the sect. Because of this, the experts that the Rong Clan could use weren’t high in number. Therefore, Mister Hua held quite the position within the Rong Clan. He wasn’t as simple as a guest cultivator. He was in fact a guest elder of the Rong Clan.
So upon hearing Mister Hua, Steward Gui immediately responded, “Replying to Mister Hua, this is Mister Zhao Hai, someone we hired along the way. We’re fortunate that we’re able to meet Mister Zhao Hai, otherwise we would have been in greater danger.”
Mister Hua looked at Zhao Hai and gave an arrogant nod, “Alright, he can follow us. Steward Gui, let’s go.” Steward Gui complied and immediately ordered Rong San to move the carriage. Before long, the team was moving along the road.
Zhao Hai continued standing on the side of the carriage. He didn’t say a word. His current ident.i.ty was a rogue cultivator. He was merely a bodyguard.
As the road went on, Zhao Hai felt that Mister Hua was hostile towards him. Zhao Hai couldn’t help but be secretly careful. The actions of the Rong Clan this time were very strange. If a young miss wanted to visit a relative, there was no need to have such a convoluted process. If something happened along the way, the young miss should have been summoned back. Instead, the young miss was given an escort to continue her journey. Now, Zhao Hai wanted to know what the Rong Clan plans to do.
The arrival of the escort party didn’t increase the speed of the carriage. Conversely, the carriage slowed down a lot. This was because Steward Gui felt very safe, so there was no need to speed up and make the travel uncomfortable.
Because the carriage slowed down, they weren’t able to reach their destination when noon came, they could only eat their meal outside.
The group was currently in a forested place with a small clearing. The clearing wasn’t big, but it was flat. Everyone should be able to rest well, even the horses could eat some gra.s.s.
Zhao Hai jumped down from the carriage and moved his body. Then he found a place to sit down and took out a piece of meat jerky from the s.p.a.ce to eat.
This dried meat was a product of Magnificent Dragon City. Zhao Hai brought a lot of rations. To be honest, the meat was very good.
Zhao Hai also gave the little mouse some meat. The little mouse didn’t dislike the dried meat. Although it was inferior to the meat from the s.p.a.ce, its flavor was still good. Therefore, it was one of the rare foods that the little mouse would eat.
But before long, Zhao Hai noticed something. He found that he was being isolated. Mister Hua gathered everyone to eat, including Rong San who wanted to eat with Zhao Hai. As for Steward Gui, he was taking care of the young miss.
Zhao Hai didn’t feel much about this. He continued to sit on his own as he took out his water bag and drank water. After eating, he lay down on the ground and looked at the sky. From the start, he didn’t look at the Rong Clan’s guards nor did he say a word.
Steward Gui also discovered the actions of the guards. It was obvious that the guards were looking down on Zhao Hai. They even had a bit of hostility towards him, which resulted in them isolating Zhao Hai. But it was also clear that Zhao Hai was countering their plans.
Seeing Zhao Hai lying down on the ground and ignoring their actions, Mister Hua’s expression turned a bit ugly. The reason he wanted to isolate Zhao Hai was to make him understand that he was the boss of the guards. He wanted Zhao Hai to submit to his leaders.h.i.+p. Obviously, Zhao Hai has no plans to acknowledge him, which caused Mister Hua’s complexion to change.
The lunch ended simply. Soon after they were done eating, Steward Gui called everyone to resume their travel. At this time, Mister Hua commanded two guards to stand on both sides of the carriage. This also caused Zhao Hai’s position to be occupied.
Zhao Hai looked at the proud expression on Mister Hua’s face, then he turned his head towards Steward Gui. Steward Gui’s expression turned ugly. Mister Hua wasn’t an official member of the Rong Clan. On the other hand, Steward Gui has served the Rong Clan for many years, which earned him the surname of ‘Rong’. Officially, Steward Gui’s position was higher than Mister Hua. Zhao Hai was a person that was hired by Steward Gui, so he was his person. Now, Mister Hua wanted to kick Zhao Hai out of his position. Naturally, Steward Gui wasn’t naive enough to think that Mister Hua would allow Zhao Hai to ride their horse. Mister Hua squeezing Zhao Hai out means that he wasn’t giving Steward Gui face.
Steward Gui turned towards Mister Hu and said, “Mister Hua, Zhao Hai is a guard I hired. He’s done a great job protecting the young miss. Moreover, he doesn’t have a horse. How can he protect the young miss then?”
Mister Hua looked at Steward Gui and said, “Steward Gui, it’s not that I’m not giving you face, but the young miss’ safety is very important. I won’t be a.s.sured unless our people watch over her carriage.”
Steward Gui’s complexion turned uglier, he looked at Mister Hua and said, “Then would Mister Hua allow Zhao Hai to ride our horse?”
Mister Hua coldly snorted and said, “Not anyone can ride the horses of our Rong Clan. Doesn’t he have a movement technique? Let him follow us on foot.”
Rong Gui’s complexion turned to the worst, “What does Mister Hua mean? Zhao Hai is the person that I hired. Does mister think that the person I hired is inadequate for the Rong Clan?”
Mister Hua sneered, “What’s wrong about that. Although I have no comments about people that Steward Gui has hired, the clan placed me under the control of the guard party. Naturally, I have to do my job well. I must ensure the safety of the young miss. Am I wrong?”
Steward Gui’s face was white at this time, he could only glare at Mister Hua. then he turned his head to Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, this, your mission is complete. I’ll give you your pay.”
Zhao Hai gave Mister Hua a look, then he smiled and said, “Alright, but since I’m also going to Flycloud City, I may still walk the same roads as you. Perhaps I’ll be following behind. So don’t treat me as a threat.”
Hearing Zhao Hai easily comply, Steward Gui couldn’t help but smile as he said, “Thank you for understanding. And this isn’t the Rong Clan’s road. You can travel along it as long as you want, n.o.body will stop you.” After he said that, he took out a spatial bag and handed it to Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai also looked at the contents of the spatial bag before nodding, then he sent it to the s.p.a.ce.
The dialogue between Zhao Hai and Steward Gui was naturally heard by Mister Hua, whose complexion sank. He coldly snorted and said, “Steward Gui, the mission has yet to be completed, but you already gave the other party their payment. That’s the clan’s money that you spent. Aren’t you afraid of being investigated by the clan?”
Steward Gui just smiled at Mister Hua as he said, “Investigated by the clan? Why would they investigate me? If mister wants to complain to the clan, you’re free to do so.”
Hearing Steward Gui’s response, Mister Hua’s complexion paled. He glared at Steward Gui before he coldly snorted and turned away.
Actually, Mister Hua was already extremely dissatisfied when he heard that Zhao Hai would still follow behind them. If Zhao Hai was still with their team, he could use his position to pressure Zhao Hai. But now that Zhao Hai’s contract was over, he was a free man and could no longer be controlled. And Zhao Hai wasn’t forbidden from traveling behind them. Like Steward Gui said, the road doesn’t belong to the Rong Clan. Mister Hua can’t control Zhao Hai if he wanted to use it to get to Flycloud City. Zhao Hai and Steward Gui’s counter damaged Mister Hua’s pride.
Seeing Mister Hua’s complexion, Steward Gui smiled. He looked at Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, if we meet in the city ahead, let’s share a few drinks.”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “We’ll definitely meet there.”
Mister Hua looked at Zhao Hai, then he coldly snorted and said, “Be careful not to destroy your boots. You’re just a poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d with no mount.”
Zhao Hai looked at Mister Hua and couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head. He tapped the bag on his waist and before long the neigh of a horse was heard. At the same time, the horses that Mister Hua and the others used couldn’t help but s.h.i.+ver. It was as if they were facing a predator.
Mister Hua and the others immediately comforted their horses. Then they turned their heads to Zhao Hai’s mount. They could see that the horse was an amazing breed. Not only was it bigger than their horses, it was also more beautiful. This caused Mister Hua and the others to look poor.
Seeing the horse that Zhao Hai took out, Steward Gui’s eyes couldn’t help but s.h.i.+ne, “Good horse! Little Hai, where did you get it?”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “It’s from the Tyrant Blade Sect. Since we helped them get rid of the impostor in Magnificent Dragon City, the Honorable Sir from the Tyrant Blade Sect gave the horse to me when we b.u.mped into each other on the streets. What do you think? Doesn’t it look good?”
Steward Gui couldn’t help but nod, “It’s good, it’s very good. It’s a very good horse. Alright, let’s depart.” After saying that, he turned his head toward the carriage and said, “Young Miss, we’re departing. Please be careful.”
A faint noise was heard from the carriage. Then Steward Gui sat in front of the carriage beside Rong San. Rong San also gave Zhao Hai a smile before he shook the reins, causing the carriage to move.
Mister Hua looked at Zhao Hai with killing intent in his eyes. He coldly snorted and urged his horse to go forward. Zhao Hai also jumped on his demon horse and traveled at a moderate pace.