"That was incredible!"
"The feeling of the wind brushing against your face, the beautiful view of the earth from above, the unbelievable speed…"
"Should we do it again tomorrow?"
Jian Long spoke excitedly about his first experience flying, while Zhou Quan listened with an irritated expression.
"Ah… well, you see, I'll be quite busy over the next few days, so unfortunately we probably won't be able to."
Zhou Quan quickly made up an excuse to avoid him.
He simply did not like being outshined.
"What? But—"
Jian Long was about to argue when a middle-aged man hurried toward them.
His skin was dark and weathered red from years beneath the sun.
Most of his head had gone bald, with only sparse strands of short black-and-white hair remaining around the sides, while a short white beard covered his chin and jaw.
"My lord! My lord!"
Jian Long looked at him in confusion before instinctively turning around, thinking the man was speaking to someone behind him.
But there was no one there.
He turned back toward the man, pointed at himself, and asked:
"Are… you talking to me?"
The man smiled obsequiously, revealing broken teeth and several empty gaps where others had long since fallen out.
"Of course, my lord! Who else could I possibly mean?"
"Please, come with me. I have prepared a banquet in your honor."
"It would greatly honor us if you attended."
....
The two soon arrived at the banquet hall, where nearly a hundred Gu Masters had gathered inside an enormous tent.
The dining tables were filled with all kinds of food and wine, to the point that the scent of roasted meat and alcohol permeated the entire place.
The moment everyone saw Jian Long, they hurried toward him.
They bowed respectfully before immediately beginning to voice their requests, complaints, and grievances all at once with eager expressions.
Meanwhile—
off to the side, Zhou Quan completely ignored the chaos, grabbed a jar of wine, and began drinking as though he were watching an entertaining performance.
Everyone spoke simultaneously, making it impossible for Jian Long to understand a single word they were saying.
Then, suddenly, a middle-aged man stepped forward through the crowd.
He had thick, messy black hair and a short beard lining his jaw and chin.
It was Li Fei Le.
The instant their eyes met, Jian Long immediately recalled their fight from yesterday and instinctively prepared himself for another confrontation.
But Li Fei Le completely surprised him.
He suddenly bowed deeply, tears streaming down his face.
"Please, Lord Jian Long… forgive this foolish and ignorant man for his previous actions toward you."
"I was blind and unable to recognize your noble nature."
"To offend a genius like you… was truly the greatest foolishness of my life."
Jian Long did not know how to react.
In fact, he even felt slightly nervous.
This was the first time in his life that someone had apologized to him in such a manner.
"Alright… calm down first and stand up."
"No!"
"I cannot possibly stand after such shame… not until my lord personally forgives me!"
Jian Long let out a faint sigh before replying:
"Fine… I forgive you."
Li Fei Le stood back up, though his eyes were still filled with tears.
"Ah, Lord Jian Long…"
"I am speaking here on behalf of everyone."
"We came today hoping for your help, as a rising star of the righteous path."
"And during the day we spent with you, we deeply felt just how firmly you uphold justice and righteousness."
"That is why… we sincerely beg you to lend us your aid."
Li Fei Le paused for a moment, waiting for Jian Long's response.
But Jian Long, due to his nervousness and lack of experience in situations like this, remained silent.
The awkward silence lingered for a moment.
Realizing this, Li Fei Le hurriedly continued speaking:
"Our rights as worker Gu Masters are once again being violated, my lord."
"After today's battle, in which we fought bravely—unlike certain people—"
"there are those who wish to steal the spoils of war that we rightfully earned."
"All the factions within the caravan have agreed not to buy our spoils except at one-tenth of their true value."
"They are taking advantage of the fact that we do not belong to any faction… and that no elder stands behind us to protect our interests."
Li Fei Le took a deep breath before continuing:
"That is why we thought of establishing a new faction…"
"The Workers' Faction."
"And we hope that you will become its elder, should you agree, of course."
"Your presence alone would deter the other factions and force them to purchase our spoils at their proper price."
"And naturally, as gratitude for your assistance…"
"we will give you one-tenth of our profits."
Everyone then looked toward Jian Long with anticipation as Li Fei Le finally asked:
"So… what do you think?"
Jian Long was deeply immersed in thought over the amount of profit he could gain from this arrangement.
There were nearly a hundred Gu Masters here.
And each one of them had killed at least one Heavenly Bird, with a chance of obtaining Gu worms from the corpses.
Receiving ten percent of their profits…
would mean an enormous amount of primeval stones.
The mere thought of it made Jian Long almost agree immediately.
But—
"Ah, what is this terrible wine?"
Suddenly, Zhou Quan threw the wine jar at Li Fei Le's feet before stepping into the middle of the crowd, spitting the remaining wine from his mouth onto one of the nearby men.
"You foolish peasants, what kind of cold reception is this for Lord Jian Long?"
"Where is the music? Where are the women?"
"I want wine better than this piss you call alcohol!"
"And more importantly…"
"You stingy ingrates!"
"You want the lord to protect you and defend your interests, yet you only reward him with ten percent?"
"At the very least, it should be twenty percent!"
Everyone was stunned by Zhou Quan's sudden interruption, while several people immediately grew angry.
"Hey, Zhou Quan, what does this have to do with you?!"
"Why are you trying to ruin our relationship with the lord?"
"What does it have to do with me?"
Zhou Quan burst into loud laughter.
"Don't you know? Lord Yang San Mu has personally appointed me as Lord Jian Long's first assistant!"
He then turned toward Jian Long, giving him a faint smile and a discreet wink.
"Isn't that right, my lord?"
"Huh? Ah… of course."
"Well done, loyal subordinate."
"You said what my modest tongue could not."
"No problem, my lord."
"I will never allow a bunch of scoundrels to exploit your kindness and noble character for their own petty gain."
The moment everyone noticed Jian Long's displeased expression—and feared losing the opportunity to gain his protection—
they hurriedly knelt before him once again.
"Ah, please forgive us, my lord!"
"Greed blinded us and caused us to treat you with such disgraceful disrespect!"
"Please allow us to make up for our mistakes!"
Li Fei Le quickly shouted:
"You useless fools! Where are the women?!"
"Bring the finest wine in the entire caravan!"
"And start the music immediately!"
Then he turned toward Jian Long and bowed respectfully.
"My lord, whatever you desire shall be prepared immediately."