Chapter 4341 — Evidence?

Besides, if this Ling Yizhen had really been a traitor eating from the inside, if he had surrendered to the pirates without a second thought back then, why would he dare return alone now? There were only two possibilities: either he did not fear death, or there was something else behind it all.

Still, although Qi Wenhan was comparatively objective, his expression at this moment was far from pleasant. After all, this affair had tormented him for a full month, and only yesterday had he finally scraped together the three hundred thousand spirit jade owed in compensation to the Hong Merchant Guild and delivered it to Wei Zhao—only then could the matter be considered put to rest.

Qi Wenhan had never imagined that just as he had finally dealt with the trouble outside, this Ling Yi would come back alone. That was convenient enough, in fact—for who knows what lurks behind a man's face? Today was the perfect chance to have him confront Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan face to face. This incident had cast too wide a shadow; the whole cause and course of it must be made clear, or he would not let the matter drop!

"Li Yanji, Guan Zhiyuan, Ling Yi—all three of you are parties to this. In front of everyone here, tell me the whole thing, one by one, clearly. This affair must be settled today!" Qi Wenhan addressed the crowd in a low, heavy voice.

"Yes, Young Master, I'll speak first!" Li Yanji hurried to seize the opening. Anyone with a little experience knew that in such matters the one who speaks first holds the advantage, for people form first impressions; so long as his logic held up without any great flaw, he would naturally stand on undefeated ground.

Moreover, he and Guan Zhiyuan were both veteran resident escorts of the Qingtian Escort Agency, their seniority far beyond anything a newly joined, name-only escort like Wei Zhao could compare to. However shrewd and fair Qi Wenhan might be, he could hardly avoid favoring those close to him over strangers, and would surely be more inclined to believe the two of them. That was simply human nature.

That things had suddenly come to this pass was something neither of them could ever have foreseen. Now they had been driven to a point where there was nowhere left to turn, and could only try, before everyone's eyes, to slander Wei Zhao to death and leave him unable to argue.

When the two had first fled back, they had insisted that Wei Zhao and his companion were the true culprits behind the disaster. Taking advantage of Wei Zhao's and Huang Xiaotao's absence, they had poured all the filth onto them. If they had not done so—if it were known that Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan had surrendered without a fight—then they could never be escorts again, and at least within the Qingtian Escort Agency, they would never have a foothold.

And now the two were riding a tiger and could not get off. If the truth came out, and everyone learned that they had not only surrendered without fighting but had also slung mud and framed their comrades, then the matter would become grave indeed—not merely a matter of losing their rice bowls, but, by the rules of the jianghu, such treachery and betrayal warranted three knives and six holes!

So no matter what, Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan had to nail the charges onto Wei Zhao today, and make them airtight, leaving him not a word to say.

At this, Qi Wenhan gave an indifferent nod. Since all three would confront one another, so long as the truth could be brought to light, it made no difference to him who spoke first.

"That day, we set out from Weihu City, and the escort route was supposed to be strictly confidential. Apart from you, Young Master, and Steward Wei, only we four escorts knew of it. And because the route chosen was so well hidden, and the sea fog lay thick, under ordinary circumstances we would meet no one at all, let alone run into pirates—unless..." Li Yanji, terrified of misspeaking, weighed every single word with utmost care, and to the ears of the crowd, it came out quite methodical.

"Unless what? Go on," Qi Wenhan said coldly.

"Yes. To be ambushed by pirates even so, there is only one explanation: someone was a mole!" Li Yanji declared with finality. This was not something he had fabricated on the spot; after all, the manner in which the pirates had appeared had indeed been highly suspicious. If those pirates had not been lying in wait but had merely happened to pass through that godforsaken stretch of sea, that would be far too much of a coincidence.

Everyone present nodded at this. The analysis was reasonable and sound; they were all old hands of the jianghu, and in such circumstances the likelihood of a mole was indeed very high.

"Right! The moment those four peak late-Golden-Core pirates appeared, before Brother Li and I even had time to react, Ling Yi and that junior apprentice sister of his surrendered without a word—they even turned around and helped the pirates keep watch on the two of us. Two against six, we had no choice but to endure it. Who the mole is—that's obvious!" Guan Zhiyuan followed up, secretly exchanging glances with Li Yanji. The two clearly felt this account was flawless and were immensely pleased with themselves.

For a moment, all eyes once again focused on Wei Zhao. By Li and Guan's account, Wei Zhao truly seemed to be confirmed in the crime of betrayal.

"Ling Yi, what do you have to say?" Qi Wenhan looked at Wei Zhao. Whether or not he believed Li and Guan's story, since this was a face-to-face confrontation, he naturally had to give Wei Zhao the chance to speak.

Wei Zhao smiled faintly, turned to look at Li and Guan, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you two finished?"

"Finished. What, do you mean to quibble? The facts are solid; there's nothing left to explain, is there?" Li Yanji sneered without cease, then turned at once to Qi Wenhan. "Young Master, he has tacitly admitted it. I beg you to pass sentence and punish the traitor severely, to make an example of him!"

Qi Wenhan frowned. Although it did sound as though that was indeed how it had happened, the eagerness with which Li and Guan wanted to convict Ling Yi was rather telling.

"Heh, are you two fools? Brother Qi was asking me just now, not the two of you. Rushing so to have me sentenced—even a fool could see the trick in that. Guilty consciences, is it?" Wei Zhao laughed with breezy composure.

"Guilty consciences? Everything we said is the truth—what have we to feel guilty about? The matter has come to this; don't tell me you mean to turn around and bite the innocent with slander? Hmph, I advise you not to be so naive!" Guan Zhiyuan stamped his foot and sneered.

"From beginning to end, it has been nothing but your two men's one-sided account, without a shred of evidence. Do I even need to bite back? Do you think everyone is listening to a storyteller, making it up however you please?" Wei Zhao could not help but laugh, watching the two with a teasing look.

"Evidence?" At that, Guan Zhiyuan was suddenly at a loss for words; his expression froze, and he did not know what to say.

"How is there no evidence!" Li Yanji's eyes suddenly darted about, and he pointed at Wei Zhao, swearing solemnly: "Two ironclad proofs, nailed down tight, more than enough to prove you are the traitor who betrayed us from within!"

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