Chapter 4345 — Severe Punishment

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.

Qi Wenmo was taken aback for a moment, then regarded Wei Zhao with even greater esteem. This man not only kept his true strength hidden deep, but conducted himself with such neither-humble-nor-haughty composure and such breadth of mind—truly a rare find!

"In that case, I thank Brother Ling for his understanding." Qi Wenmo did not stand on ceremony further. His gaze fell upon the trembling Li and Guan, and he announced coldly: "From this day forth, my Qingtian Escort Agency expels Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan, places them on the agency's blacklist, and publicly circulates the notice. They are cast out this very day!"

At these words, the crowd broke into murmurs. For Li and Guan to have committed such treachery, dismissal from the agency was only to be expected. No doubt not a single coin of the pay they had accumulated over the past period would they see—they would be lucky not to be made to compensate for the astronomical losses, let alone speak of wages!

However, placing the two on the agency's blacklist and circulating a public notice was rather more serious, for it meant that their misconduct would become known to every escort agency in the trade. From then on, no agency would be willing to hire them; at least within the escort profession, they could forget about ever working again.

Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan exchanged a glance. Hearing this sentence, they were not alarmed but rather delighted—in their view, keeping their lives was already good fortune enough. It was a pity they could no longer work as escorts, but after all, both were capable cultivators of the Golden Core stage; they need not worry about finding somewhere to go.

"Fine, we'll be on our way then!" Now that their lives were spared, Li and Guan immediately grew much bolder. Casting a look of boundless venom at Wei Zhao, they turned to stride out the door.

Wei Zhao narrowed his eyes noncommittally, paying the two clowns no mind, though he was somewhat surprised. Could Qi Wenmo really be so soft-hearted? Such a punishment was not impermissible, but was it not a little too light?

The matter was not over yet. Li and Guan were stooping as they walked out, when suddenly Qi Wenmo's cold voice sounded behind them: "Go? Did I ever say you could leave now?"

As the words fell, the guards ahead at once blocked their path. Li Yanji and Guan Zhiyuan's hearts sank; they turned stiffly to look at Qi Wenmo and asked in terror: "What further orders does the Young Master have?"

"Hmph. What I just said was merely the punishment, as head of the agency, for your dereliction of duty as escorts. The score for your treacherous slander of Brother Ling Yi has not yet been settled!" Qi Wenmo said with a cold sneer.

So he had not finished after all! The corners of Wei Zhao's mouth curved upward. Though he did not take Li and Guan seriously, letting them walk away just like that would have left him somewhat displeased. But now it seemed Qi Wenmo had never intended to let the two off so easily.

"Th-then... what more is there..." Li and Guan said in fear and trembling.

"By the rules of the jianghu, treachery has only one consequence: three blades, six holes. I will not make things especially hard for you, but neither will I let you off so lightly," Qi Wenmo said coldly.