"Hahaha..."
The middle-aged man in crimson laughed heartily and pointed at Xu Yi. "Mr. Xu, you're a remarkable man. A true man should roam the world unhindered. I, Hong, admire you!"
Xu Yi filled the middle-aged man's cup. "You flatter me, Mr. Hong. But I wonder what benefits I stand to gain by coming here."
It wasn't that Xu Yi didn't know the Blazing Fire Merchant Association was no place of safety. He had avoided it before out of caution. This time, he had returned despite the risks, because he had no choice.
There was no other way. He wanted to obtain the Heart of the Earth, but with his current means, that was little more than a pipe dream. If he wanted to make any progress, he could only rely on the Blazing Fire Merchant Association.
The middle-aged man in crimson said, "To be frank, in order to reward you for your contribution, the young master and I have racked our brains day and night. We prepared two plans in advance for you to choose from."
"I wonder what these two plans are?" Xu Yi put on a delighted expression, though his guard had risen.
The middle-aged man in crimson said, "The first is to sponsor you ten thousand spirit stones as a reward. The second is to invite you to serve as a guest elder of our Blazing Fire Merchant Alliance. In addition to sponsoring you ten thousand spirit stones, we would also give you another twenty thousand as your annual compensation."
"Is that true?"
Xu Yi's face lit up with joy, but in truth, his guard had risen to the highest level.
Admittedly, the Blazing Fire Merchant Association was offering a generous sum, but Xu Yi knew that no benefit in this world came without a reason.