Chapter 4345 — Severe Punishment
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Most men in positions of authority, even when they know they are in the wrong, will not stoop to apologize for fear of losing face. To dare to own up to one's deeds—this Qi Wenmo was truly a man of character!
"Brother Ling is magnanimous, but as the man in charge of the escort agency, I cannot turn a blind eye to such a vile incident. Otherwise I might as well stop running this agency altogether—better to hand over the reins early and go home to bounce a child on my knee!" Qi Wenmo said, his expression stern.
At these words, everyone present tensed. Judging by the young master's stance, he was preparing to get serious!
Still, this was only proper. Qi Wenmo had presided over the agency for five years now, and this was quite simply the gravest incident to occur under his watch—not only had they been set up and maliciously extorted, but worst of all, the escorts within their own ranks had shifted blame onto one another and covered up the truth. If even an outrage like this went unpunished, the Qingtian Escort Agency would not be far from ruin.
Feeling Qi Wenmo's icy gaze, Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan felt as though they had plunged into an ice cellar. Forget their numb hands and feet—they scrambled to beg for mercy: "Young Master, we know we were wrong, we truly know we were wrong! We only surrendered out of a moment's cowardice, we never colluded with Wei Zhaotong, I swear it! Please, Young Master, be merciful and spare our wretched lives..."
"Li Yanji, Guan Zhiyuan, you are both veteran escorts of long standing—in terms of seniority, you are even older than I am. You were here before I took over. If this had not happened, then even if your work had been a little slack, I could only have turned a blind eye—after all, if you have no merits to your name, you at least have years of hard service," Qi Wenmo said in a calm tone.
Yet the calmer he was, the more terrified Li and Guan became, for this was the lull before the storm. Had Qi Wenmo flown into a rage instead—even beaten them both and vented his fury—his punishment afterward would not have been so severe.
"No... Young Master, we..." Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan still wanted to plead, but by now it was too late for anything they might say.
"Save your breath. This time the two of you not only surrendered of your own accord, bringing enormous losses upon our agency, but you actually twisted right and wrong and framed your own comrades—committing such despicable acts of betrayal. Do you think I will spare two worthless wretches like you?" A flash of murderous intent flickered across Qi Wenmo's face and was gone.
Li and Guan were frightened out of their wits; their knees gave way beyond their control, and with a thud they dropped to the ground, begging over and over: "Spare us, Young Master! Spare us, Young Master!..."
"Hmph. Whether the two of you keep your miserable lives is not for me to decide now. Dead or alive, everything is left to Brother Ling to settle!" Qi Wenmo then turned his gaze to Wei Zhao, letting Wei Zhao—the victim who had been slandered—pass judgment himself. Letting him vent his anger was, in its own way, an apology and a gesture of goodwill.
Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan exchanged a glance, and their hearts sank to the bottom of their stomachs. This was the end. To let this Ling Yi decide whether they lived or died—was there any chance at all they would survive?
"Brother Qi may handle it as he sees fit. I have no objection," Wei Zhao said with an indifferent wave of his hand. Frankly, Li and Guan were nothing but insignificant clowns in his eyes; alive or dead, he could not be bothered to care.
Besides, this was Qi Wenmo's domain. The man had handed over the power of life and death as an apology and a show of goodwill, and Wei Zhao's nature had always been to return respect with greater respect. Since the other man knew so well how to conduct himself, Wei Zhao naturally would not do anything so presumptuous as to overstep his authority.