Chapter 4344 — A Solemn Apology

What was more, the reason Wei Zhaotong had offered at the time was that this shipment was vital relief goods for the Fang family estate on Xianpeng Island, and that it absolutely had to be guaranteed without the slightest mishap. It sounded entirely reasonable, so Qi Wenmo had thought nothing more of it and had not sent him out of the room.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that these two oddities about Wei Zhaotong had their root right here—that the man had been out to swallow the goods back for himself, a bare-handed swindle, using it to extort a full three hundred thousand spirit jades. What an appetite!

"That's right, that's exactly how it was." The man in black nodded, stealing a timid glance at Wei Zhao, his heart steeped in regret. He had thought a partnership with Wei Zhaotong would be a fine piece of business—who could have known that such a murderous fiend of a god of death was holed up among them as an escort? Had he known, he would not have dared come rob the convoy for ten thousand guts.

"Tell me in detail exactly what happened when you robbed the convoy," Qi Wenmo said, forcing down the fury in his chest, his face drawn tight.

"The robbery? Oh, there's not much to tell. After the four of us boarded, they didn't resist—the gap in strength was just too vast. If they had dared resist, that would have been a single word: death." As the man in black spoke, doubt was secretly stirring in his heart. Though on the surface it certainly looked that way, with this god of death's strength, taking on four at once would have been effortless—so why had he not struck then?

"Who was the first to surrender?" Qi Wenmo asked coldly.

"Why, those two things right there..." The man in black pouted his lips toward Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan.

The faces of everyone present changed at once, and the looks they cast at Li and Guan were filled with contempt and scorn. Not only had these two been the first to surrender themselves, but after returning they had actually flung mud at their companions. To be shameless to such a degree—they were thoroughgoing scum, and nothing less.

"Don't you slander us! This man is no pirate at all, and everything he has said is pure fabrication—Young Master, you must not believe him!" Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan, heedless of their bedraggled state, scrambled and stumbled to their feet, stamping and cursing. Even now they would not give up, thinking that so long as they insisted this man had been hired by Wei Zhao to put on a show, they might still have a thread of hope.

"Pure fabrication?" Before Wei Zhao could even open his mouth, Qi Wenmo himself had already kicked each of the two hopeless fools flying. Then, seething with killing intent, he shouted coldly, "Even at this point, the two of you are still speaking up for Wei Zhaotong. Am I to take it that you are both his bought-and-paid accomplices?"

"Ah? No... no... Young Master, we..." Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan, their faces bruised and swollen, turned ashen at once and stammered, unable to get a word out.

They had no idea at all of the odd and suspicious turns in Wei Zhaotong's discussion with Qi Wenmo back then, still less that Qi Wenmo had already concluded that the mastermind behind this affair could be none other than Wei Zhaotong!

For them to sling more mud at Wei Zhao now would not only fail to help matters—it would make everyone take them for Wei Zhaotong's accomplices. What had merely been a matter of losing their jobs might, if they kept flailing about like this, cost them their lives.

"Go on," Qi Wenmo said, turning back to the man in black. As for Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan, he could not even be bothered to spare them another glance. If the two fools insisted on pestering on with no regard for their lives, he would not mind sending them both to hell.

This much was already out of regard for the fact that the two had toiled in the escort agency for so long—if not for merit, then at least for hard labor. Otherwise, had Qi Wenmo truly been a man who spared feelings, on the mere suspicion of collusion with Wei Zhaotong he would have been more than justified in beating them to death on the spot.

"After we robbed the convoy, we took a detour into the Zhenduan sea region and dumped those few of them in Zhenduan City. We had meant to follow the plan to the Yuanxing sea region and hand the cargo ship over to Wei Zhaotong's contact as quickly as possible, but on the way we ran straight into a tempest and had to turn back to Zhenduan City. Then the Morning Star Academy came out to select disciples and put the whole dock under martial law, so no one could get in or out, and we were trapped in Zhenduan City." The man in black spoke with a face full of gloomy helplessness.

Had it not been for all this wretched business holding them up, they would never have run into Wei Zhao again, and naturally would never have come to their present end. Once a man's luck turns sour, he can choke on a mouthful of cold water and have it lodge between his teeth.

"The Yuanxing sea region? Hmph, that place is even farther from here than the Zhenduan sea region. With you trading over there, not a whisper of it could reach this side. Wei Zhaotong really is careful enough," Qi Wenmo sneered.

Had the trade been conducted in the Weihu sea region, then no matter how careful and thorough they were, they could not have entirely escaped the eyes and ears of the Qingtian Escort Agency. It was plain that Wei Zhaotong had planned this long in advance and was well prepared.

"In the end, we were spotted at the Zhenduan dock by the senior, and then..." The man in black glanced timidly at Wei Zhao and spread his hands in speechless resignation.

"And then what?" Qi Wenmo could not help asking, and the rest of those present all wore looks of curiosity as well.

"Heh, and then they were killed by me one by one, leaving only this one, whom I brought back," Wei Zhao answered for him with a faint smile.

"Ah?" Qi Wenmo and the others exchanged looks of astonishment, then one and all began sizing Wei Zhao up anew. These had been four peak late-stage Golden Core experts, and he had killed them one by one, then taken the last of them alive besides—just how formidable was this man?

Even a master at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core might not have managed such a feat; it would take at least a Nascent Soul expert. Yet even Qi Wenmo himself could not bring himself to believe that Ling Yi was a Nascent Soul expert. He had recruited this promising talent on a whim, never imagining the man could be this ferocious—what a windfall this had turned out to be!

Had Wei Zhao said this alone, the others would simply have taken it for boasting, but with the man in black kneeling there before their eyes, they had no choice but to believe it, and the looks they turned on Wei Zhao were filled with awe.

"After I took the cargo ship back, I delivered it to the Fang family estate on Xianpeng Island. Here is the escort receipt signed by the estate master, Fang Biwu. Please verify it, Brother Qi." With that, Wei Zhao drew the receipt from his breast and handed it to Qi Wenmo before all present.

Qi Wenmo took it, glanced it over, and once he had confirmed it, suddenly burst into laughter. Seizing Wei Zhao by both shoulders with warm familiarity, he said, "I owe you an apology, Brother Ling. Because of the slander of these two scoundrels, I nearly mistook you, and I put you through some grievance just now. On behalf of the entire Qingtian Escort Agency, I offer you a solemn apology."

"You are too kind, Brother Qi. I won't take such a small matter to heart." Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback, and a measure of admiration crept into his gaze.