Chapter 2215 — A Change of Mind

"When do we set off?" Wei Zhao did not answer the burly man in white. Instead, he turned to Lazi and asked.

"Young Master Tagan Long will be here any moment. We'll set out together once he arrives!" Lazi's manner toward Wei Zhao was noticeably more respectful than before.

Wei Zhao nodded and said nothing more.

And since Wei Zhao had fallen silent, the others naturally dared not speak either. After about ten minutes or so, a Hummer drove up and stopped at the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild. Once it had come to a halt, a young man with a somewhat sinister, shifty look stepped out, followed by two middle-aged men who appeared to be in their forties or fifties.

Wei Zhao glanced at the young man who had gotten out first. Young as he was, he had already reached the early Earth Rank—quite a rare sight! But then, considering that the Tagan family kept a second-grade alchemist who could surely refine pills like the Minor Qi-Gathering Pill, it was hardly surprising that this man had early Earth Rank strength.

Families with an alchemist at their disposal always had the advantage. This fellow was plainly a hollow shell—he had early Earth Rank strength, but his fighting power was visibly weak; he looked for all the world like someone who had indulged too long in wine and women.

The two middle-aged men behind him, however, were anything but ordinary! One was a skilled fighter of mid Earth Rank strength, on par with Wei Zhao himself, while the other had reached the peak of the late Earth Rank—a fact that astonished Wei Zhao.

"Lazi pays his respects to Young Master Tagan Long, and to the Fifth and Eighth Guardians!" Seeing the three descend from the vehicle, Lazi hurried over to greet them.

"Mm. Is everything ready?" Tagan Long gave an arrogant nod. His eyes swept over the five people behind Lazi, Wei Zhao among them, and finally came to rest on Sun Jingyan. His eyes lit up at once, a lecherous gleam shooting from them as a look of naked greed spread across his face.

Sun Jingyan frowned inwardly, but for the sake of the larger plan she could not afford to lose her temper; she could only endure it. Wei Zhao was the same—but this score had already been entered against Tagan Long's name!

Truth be told, Wei Zhao had always held such methods in some contempt—forcing a fire lion cub into a slave contract as a bonded spirit beast. But Wei Zhao was no bleeding heart, nor would he pity a spirit beast for no reason. He had figured that so long as the Tagan family got them up the mountain smoothly, he would not mind lending them a hand.

But the moment this Young Master Tagan stepped out of the car, he had fixed his eyes on Sun Jingyan and stared. That put Wei Zhao in a thoroughly foul mood, and he could not be bothered to help anymore. Not only would he refuse to help—he might well go so far as to hinder them and stir up a little trouble of his own!

Tagan Long had no idea how wretched his luck was about to turn. Because of his lechery, he had offended Wei Zhao beyond all repair. A perfectly good bonded spirit beast—thanks to Wei Zhao's refusal to lend his strength and his intent to play the saboteur—had now become all but impossible to subdue.

Otherwise, with Wei Zhao lending a hand, forcing the cub into a contract would have been a simple enough matter.

"All ready!" Lazi had caught Tagan Long's expression too, and he hastily spoke up. "These four are, respectively, early Yellow Rank, peak early Yellow Rank, mid Yellow Rank, and peak mid Yellow Rank in strength. Of course, when it comes to fighting power, this gentleman of mid Yellow Rank, Mr. Zhang, is the strongest—even Mr. Bai here, at peak mid Yellow Rank, is no match for him! And this is his lady friend, who has come along for training..."

Lazi knew that this Young Master Tagan was a lecherous sort, and one look at his eyes told him the man had taken a fancy to Sun Jingyan. But as it happened, Sun Jingyan was the woman of Wei Zhao, the strongest of this pair of adventurers. So Lazi feared that Young Master Tagan might do something ill-timed and throw the grand plan of cornering the fire lion into disarray. That was why he had obliquely mentioned Wei Zhao's strength and his relationship with Sun Jingyan.

Though Tagan Long was reluctant, hearing that Wei Zhao was the strongest of this band of adventurers made him realize what mattered most. Only then did he tear his gaze away with evident unwillingness and nod. "Good. Then let us set off at once, lest the night bring too many dreams."

"Everyone, get in the car. I'll lay out our division of labor and the plan while we ride," Lazi said, gesturing toward the Hummer.

The Hummer Tagan Long had brought was a five-seat Hummer pickup. The adventurers, Wei Zhao among them, climbed directly into the back of the truck. Tagan Long drove the Hummer himself, while the Fifth and Eighth Guardians sat in the rear seats of the cab.

Once Lazi had finally climbed aboard, the Hummer rumbled to life and rolled slowly off in the direction of the Wulonghaote Mountains...

"Here is how we'll divide the work," Lazi said. "The Eighth Guardian will be responsible for tracking down the fire lion. Once it's found, he will use a special method to drive it into the encirclement formed by you four. Each of you will take one corner and seal off the four blind angles, so that no matter which direction the fire lion bolts, you can cut it off swiftly and beat it back toward the center of the ring! In this way, we can wear down its stamina and fighting strength without pause. Once both are all but spent, the Fifth Guardian will assist Young Master Tagan Long in restraining the fire lion and forcing it to swallow a contract pill dipped in the master-recognition blood, thereby completing the establishment of the contract!"

At Lazi's words, everyone nodded one after another to show they understood, and Wei Zhao nodded along with them.

Seeing them nod, Lazi continued. "Mr. Zhang and Mr. Bai are the strongest, so the two of you will guard the side toward the Middle Range, while you other two will guard this side of the Lower Range, on the way up the mountain! That way, we also prevent the fire lion from escaping into the Middle Range. It wouldn't matter much if it bolted into the Lower Range—I'll be there in the Lower Range, roaming below you at all times, ready to intercept."

No one had any objection to Lazi's proposal; after all, this method of interception and this arrangement of positions was the most sensible.

"One thing to remember, of course: you must keep fighting the fire lion cub relentlessly, sparing nothing, until its stamina is completely drained. Otherwise, if it still has the strength to resist and spits the contract pill back out, the contract cannot be completed!" Lazi said. "Well, that is our plan. Does anyone have any questions?"

"No," said the skilled fighter in black and the one in green.

Wei Zhao and the burly man in white nodded as well. Though they did not speak, their approval was plain.

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