Chapter 4342 — Show Me the Evidence!

"First—Guan Zhiyuan and I returned over a month ago, yet you dragged on until now. If you had no dealings with the pirates, why didn't you come back with us in the first place?" Li Yanji sneered in triumph.

At these words, the crowd nodded one after another. This was indeed no small point of suspicion, and it could serve as evidence, for it happened to corroborate what had been said before.

They could never have guessed that Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao had not been unwilling to return with them—they had been unable to. They had been trapped in Zhenduan City, and that was all.

"And what else?" Wei Zhao did not argue, only continued to regard Li Yanji with a faint smile.

"Second—why hasn't that junior apprentice sister of yours, Huang, come back with you? Obviously, the pirates took her as a pirate's wife, so she can't come back. Is that not so?" By this point, even Li Yanji was beginning to admire his own quick wit. This handle he had seized was simply seamless—damn it all, it sounded just like the truth.

Sure enough, after hearing these two so-called pieces of evidence, Qi Wenmo and everyone else present, who had merely been half doubtful before, now believed at least seven or eight parts in ten. Unless Wei Zhao could produce stronger evidence than this, then no matter how gloriously he might talk from here on, it would be of no avail.

"Heh, I really never saw it before—turns out you're quite a talent!" Wei Zhao was not in the least panicked as the crowd had imagined. Instead, with a composed and teasing air, he said, "With that tongue of yours, you can talk the dead into life and the crooked into straight. Rather than waste your talent as an escort, you'd do better to change trades and sell insurance. If that truly won't work, a matchmaker will do. Either way you'd certainly earn more than you do now..."

"Boy, a word of advice—you'd best keep that mouth of yours clean. Don't think our escort agency doesn't kill. A shameless traitor like you, everyone has the right to put to death!" Li Yanji flared up in fury.

Though he did not understand what trade this "selling insurance" was, he certainly knew what a matchmaker did. To have a grown man—a fine expert at the peak of mid-stage Golden Core—go be a matchmaker—this brat truly knew how to curse a man without a single dirty word!

"Ling Yi. If you have any objection to what these two have just said, you may raise it before us all. The matter is not yet settled. I hope I have not misjudged." Qi Wenmo frowned slightly as he spoke.

Hearing it all now, this Ling Yi truly was under tremendous suspicion. At the very least, the accounts of Li and Guan, paired with these two pieces of evidence, flowed together naturally and could explain almost every doubt the crowd held. The only thing it could not explain was this: why did Ling Yi still dare to return alone?

"Young Master, the evidence is ironclad—I say he simply has nothing to say. Heh heh, before proof hard as iron, what use is a clever tongue?" Li Yanji sneered in triumph.

"Exactly. Ling Yi, hurry up—if you have any evidence that can overturn the case, speak it now, or else when the fists start flying and you cry injustice then, it won't wash!" Guan Zhiyuan laughed heartily along from the side. About this matter, he simply did not believe Wei Zhao could be holding any evidence in hand. This time, victory was already in their grasp.

"I have nothing to say." Wei Zhao shook his head faintly.

"Hahaha! Now you finally have nothing to say, do you? Hurry and confess of your own accord!" Li and Guan grew all the more elated. A situation like this, and the two of them had talked their way out of danger in a few words. Once this Ling Yi was done to death, they must find a tavern and throw back a few proper cups, drink their fill and celebrate!

Watching this scene, Qi Wenmo could not help but frown deeper and deeper. He had given Wei Zhao the chance to refute, and what he got was "nothing to say." Could he truly have misjudged the man?

Wei Zhao glanced at the crowd, said not a word, and suddenly turned and walked out toward the courtyard.

"Seize him, quick—the brat's running!" Li and Guan shouted hastily. Since matters had come to this point, they must take this chance to do Wei Zhao to death; otherwise, every extra day the brat lived was a variable. To be safe, the hidden danger must be nipped in the bud.

Hearing the two shout, the two guards at the gate ahead could not help but turn to look at Wei Zhao, then at Qi Wenmo, awaiting the Young Master's word.

Qi Wenmo truly had not expected such a reaction from Wei Zhao, and could not help hesitating. Still, he waved a hand at the two guards, signaling them not to block the way.

After all, when all was said and done, the two pieces of evidence Li Yanji had given could indeed lend some logical support to a degree—but to convict Wei Zhao on that alone was still rather far-fetched.

Moreover, Wei Zhao was only a nominal escort. If he could not truly be convicted, then even if the mission had failed, the most the agency could do was terminate his contract. The only one to blame would be Qi Wenmo himself for misjudging the man. At this moment, even if he mustered a great show of force to seize Wei Zhao, what use would it be?

Make him pay? Setting aside the reputation of the Qingtian Escort Agency, could he possibly afford to pay the three hundred thousand spirit jade owed to Wei Zhaotong of the Hong Merchant Guild? Or seize him and beat him for venting? What use would that be, other than making people look down on the Qingtian Escort Agency all the more?

Still, if Wei Zhao walked off just like that without explaining a single word, Qi Wenmo would feel some unwillingness in his heart. If only to satisfy the crowd, he must do something.

Forget it. If this fellow takes one step out of the agency, then I will strike and hold him here! Qi Wenmo struggled for a moment, then finally made his decision—never imagining that Wei Zhao had no intention of leaving the agency at all. After a trip to the courtyard, he turned and came right back, and in his hands was one more person.

Bang! Wei Zhao casually flung the unconscious man in black before the crowd.

"What is the meaning of this?" Qi Wenmo narrowed his eyes, looking at the man on the ground in utter bewilderment. Everyone else was likewise at a loss, glancing at one another.

Among the crowd, only Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan, once they saw the black-clad man's face clearly, changed countenance on the spot. When they looked at Wei Zhao again, their gazes were full of disbelief. Was this not the pirate chief? How had he fallen into the brat's hands?

Unconcealed terror showed in both their eyes. This time things had truly gone badly. This man in black was a living, breathing witness—before him, everything they had fabricated, including those two so-called pieces of evidence, was nothing but fragile clouds.