The addition of the other Xia Kingdom team into the protection alliance made the already-complicated composition even more complicated.
The next day, their journey was marked by a fragmented and tense mood. The protection alliance had dissolved into three fractions.
One was the outsiders: Zhao Ziyang, Gu Ying, and the others not of the Xia Kingdom. One was Li Luo, Lu Qing’er, and Qin Zhulu—the weakest but also the core reason for this alliance. The last was the newcomers: Ning Zhao, Zhu Xuan, and Lin Suo.
Of the three, Zhao Ziyang’s faction was clearly the strongest, while Ning Zhao, Zhu Xuan, and Lin Suo were slightly weaker, but close enough to make a fight difficult. Especially when they were beset by other teams lurking about, it was not wise to make a move before being fully prepared.
Which meant that all of them were playing it safe for now.
Of course, safe did not mean civil. They still had bitter arguments, and through it all Li Luo stood in the middle like a venerable old sage, urging peace and unity.
Like a helpless wife wheedling at her husband’s sleeve.
Prickling and rubbing against each other, the protection alliance made their way towards the Reservoir.
Each day, the protection alliance continued to be attacked by other squads. They survived the bitter fighting, and with it came considerable rewards.
When night fell, they commenced the much-welcomed gold dividends.
…
At the campfire, Li Luo popped a crispy piece of grilled meat into his mouth, crunching down on the golden-brown skin and savoring the burst of meaty oil that flooded his mouth. Bliss.
He carved out another small piece and handed it to Lu Qing’er.
She took it and gave him a beautiful smile before taking a small, elegant bite. Still, the meat was too oily to be eaten with much elegance, and soon her red lips were coated with oil, glistening in the campfire’s light.
Beside them, Qin Zhulu was devouring huge hunks of meat as though he had been starved for days. “The Golden Dragon Dao Fields suck,” he belched with dissatisfaction. “Not what I wanted at all.”
True to his character, what he wanted was nonstop hunting, killing, and death. But somehow now they were being carefully chaperoned by a bunch of super-strong bodyguards.
Although squads had come after them like mad in the last few days, neither he nor Li Luo had needed to lift a finger. Li Luo had told him stoutly that their most important job was to protect Lu Qing’er, and so they would not leave her side.
Qin Zhulu had no comeback for that, not when even Zhao Ziyang and the others were in full agreement. Of course, the latter group had an additional agenda, which was not to let those three out of their sight.
Whatever their reasons, Qin Zhulu had not fought anybody in days. He could only watch from the sides as Zhao Ziyang and the others hurtled into difficult battle after difficult battle, while he could only swat flies on the sidelines. Li Luo rolled his eyes. Qin Zhulu was incorrigible. Did Qin Zhulu know how much trouble he had gone through to get them in this cushy position?! And the guy was complaining about boredom? Talk about first-world problems.
“If you’re feeling bored, just eat more. Look at Qing’er’s great appetite! She’s rounded out a little in the last few days, I feel,” Li Luo said.
Lu Qing’er’s hands flew to her cheeks in alarm. “Rounded out? Where?!”
Li Luo was startled by her overreaction. “No, no, I’m just kidding,” he laughed weakly.
She glared at him, half embarrassed, half upset. She gave him a small punch.
Li Luo took it without complaint. He was more bothered by the fact that the atmosphere had turned bristly again. Zhao Ziyang and Gu Ying, and even Zhu Xuan’s group were staring over at them.
Li Luo could understand their anger.
They had been out all day defending the alliance, bleeding and suffering for it. Now they just wanted to lick their wounds in peace, not listen to nonsense from these three. If there was a table present, they would have flipped it.
“Ahem…”
Li Luo coughed and changed the topic. “Let’s talk about happier things. Such as today’s take.”
He fished out a cloth bag and upended it on the ground with a flourish. A bunch of trinkets rolled out.
Today’s haul of dao-gold.
Everyone stared at it greedily.
In the protection alliance, Li Luo managed the take of dao-gold. Mainly because he was the weakest, everyone knew that he could not run away with it.
“That’s all the dao-gold for today. And…”
With all the greedy eyes watching, Li Luo fished out a stick from the campfire’s fuel pile and divided it up.
“Thanks for your work, everyone. Come get your rewards.”
“Wait,” Zhao Ziyang suddenly said. He pointed at the heaps of dao-gold. “There’s an extra pile today?” he said testily.
“It’s for them, of course,” Li Luo said, surprised, pointing at Ning Zhao and Zhu Xuan.
“We didn’t agree to give them equal shares,” Zhao Ziyang said, the volume of his voice climbing dangerously.
Ning Zhao and Zhu Xuan did not respond well. “What’s wrong with you?” they demanded. “Don’t try to start a fight. We fought the enemies today too, didn’t we? What’s undeserved?”
Secretly, they were amazed by the amount that Li Luo had set out. In the few days before they had joined up, the sum total of their profits had not even equaled this.
Only now did they realize how amazing Lu Qing’er’s Golden Dragon Qi was. No wonder Zhao Ziyang and the others had been hunted down so relentlessly.
“We can give you a share, but surely you can’t get equal shares from the get-go,” Gu Ying said. “Perhaps in a few days, when we can judge your performance.”
Zhu Xuan flung his hand forth and took the dao-gold that Li Luo had allocated, making sure to leave a trail of fire from his sleeves.
“Enough bullsh*t. This is ours, earned fair and square. Qing’er is from our Xia Kingdom Golden Dragon Bank. The fact that WE let YOU share the profits is already very courteous of us.
“If you’re not happy with this, we’re happy to match you in whatever you do. Or split.”
“Big mouth,” Zhao Ziyang hissed, his anger announced loud and clear. “Who do you think you are?” His vermilion resonant power glowed on his arms.
Suddenly, the peaceful atmosphere was gone.
Li Luo hurriedly stood up. “Oh, come on, why must we keep doing this? This is no time for us to be fighting amongst ourselves. We defeated a lot of people today, but there are more out there. In-fighting only gives them chances, right?
“Come on, guys. For me? Let’s get along.”
He patted the air calmingly, then turned to Ning Zhao and Zhu Xuan. “You guys just joined, so perhaps it’s right that you put in a little more. How about this: we’ll hand tonight’s guard duty to you?”
Zhu Xuan glared at Li Luo. He did not want to fight with Zhao Ziyang right here, right now. They were at a numbers disadvantage. He grudgingly nodded.
Rising to his feet, he gestured to Ning Zhao and Lin Suo, then they walked away from the campfire.
Soon, a measure of peaceful silence fell, and they listened to the pops and crackles of the wood for a few moments.
Still, Li Luo could sense simmering anger from Zhao Ziyang and Gu Ying.
Well, well. After an entire day of acting, it seemed like tonight was finally going to be his turn to watch a show.