Chapter 4440 — Slapping His Own Face

"Heh, that's hard to say—after all, you can never know what's in another man's heart. What do you think, Chief Escort Hai?" Wei Zhao smiled, unimpressed. "Since you insist I threw the cargo into the sea, then why not just fish it out and show everyone? That would be solid proof. It's not deep here anyway—a quick dive should settle it fast enough."

"Fine. Since you proposed it yourself, we'll let you die with your eyes open." Hai Wuliang nodded with a cold laugh.

The demand was entirely reasonable, and he had no way to refute it. Nor did he think refutation was needed—this scrap of sealed space was small, and the only places cargo could be hidden were aboard the ship and among the reefs. Both had now been ruled out. If the cargo was not in the sea, was it supposed to be up in the sky?

At his command, the four attendants dove straight into the water without a word and began searching. Because of the black curtain, even if Wei Zhao had thrown something, he could only have thrown it into his own patch of sea; an area that small could be measured out with their feet. The job was laughably easy.

Hai Wuliang stared at Wei Zhao with a cold smile, awaiting news from the four. A stick of incense later, they returned.

"Well? Time to give up, isn't it?" So confident was Hai Wuliang that he did not even glance at the four; he merely curled his lip at Wei Zhao in triumph.

"Before you say that, Chief Escort Hai, perhaps you should first ask the four of them what they found?" Wei Zhao looked at him as though he were an idiot.

"Hm? Impossible!" Hai Wuliang turned his head—and only then saw that all four stood empty-handed, spreading their arms at him in helpless resignation. There was no cargo at all where he had expected it.

"You kept saying I threw the cargo into the sea. Now the seabed has been trampled end to end—and what's the result?" Wei Zhao's expression was calm. "What do you have to say now, Chief Escort Hai?"

"Exactly. If this contest is fair and just, and we broke no rules, then Chief Escort Hai, you owe everyone an explanation. Otherwise this business won't end cleanly today!" Beside him, Qi Mingyuan and his son Qi Wenmo chimed in to press the attack.

The gazes of everyone present grew several shades more amused, and even Zhao Bufan and the others quietly edged a little to the side. They had merely thrown stones after a man already down; the one leading it all had been Hai Wuliang. Now that trouble had turned and latched onto someone, that someone could only be Hai Wuliang.

At this South Continent escort-guild grand gathering, watched by all, if he truly earned a reputation for settling private scores under public cover, then even a traditional powerhouse like the Four Seas Escort Agency would inevitably suffer a grievous blow to its standing—perhaps even lose for good its overlord's place in the South Continent's escort world, the one whose call drew a hundred answers. The consequences were unthinkable.

"Explanation? What explanation?" Yet Hai Wuliang showed not the slightest inclination to bow his head. Matters had come to this; he could only stiffen his neck and tough it out. To lower his head now would be to hand them a real grip against him.

"Chief Escort Hai, you are a man of face and standing—surely you won't play the rogue in front of everyone?" Qi Mingyuan laughed in fury. "I'll ask you one thing: was the cargo thrown into the sea?"

"No." Hai Wuliang admitted it on the spot; after all, this was not something he could deny. One word from them about dredging up the proof would have shut him down flat. Yet he was still unwilling to yield, and forced out a cold laugh. "But just because the cargo wasn't thrown into the sea doesn't mean there was no foul play!"

"You all saw that, didn't you? That is what they call sophistry!" Qi Mingyuan finally could contain his anger no longer. Though he did not curse aloud, he had all but torn off the mask of civility on the spot. Pointing at Hai Wuliang, he said loudly, "Since that's how it is, Chief Escort Hai, then tell us—how exactly did we cheat? Let everyone here judge!"

At this sight, every face in the crowd wore the look of one settling in for a good show. By the set of things, the Skysupport Escort Agency was about to challenge the Four Seas Escort Agency to its face—a full-blown public brawl was about to unfold!

"You call it sophistry?" Hai Wuliang's face went utterly grim. "There are only three places in this whole arena where cargo can be hidden—the ship, the reefs, the sea. Now all three are impossible. So I can only suspect that this Ling Yi of your agency never hid the cargo at all—he ground it to powder and destroyed it!"

At this, Zhao Bufan and the others could not help nodding. That really was possible. If it had not been destroyed, the cargo could hardly have vanished into thin air, could it?

"Hmph. This is a cargo-hiding contest, not a cargo-destroying contest. If that isn't cheating, what is?" Hai Wuliang said with smug certainty.

Qi Mingyuan and Qi Wenmo turned to look at Wei Zhao, and now even they felt unsure. They believed Wei Zhao would not do such a thing, but Hai Wuliang's argument was not wrong either—the cargo could not truly have vanished into thin air, could it?

"Well said. But Chief Escort Hai, if I produce the cargo, then I suppose you'll have to swallow those words of yours?" Wei Zhao said unhurriedly, his voice mild.

"Hmph! If you can produce it, I'll not only swallow my words—I'll slap myself twice across the face right here!" Hai Wuliang laughed heartily, every inch the bold chieftain who owned his deeds.

"Heh." Wei Zhao gave him a mocking glance, and before everyone's eyes turned and walked into the black-curtained Number Thirty area. Before anyone could react, he was already out again—except now he carried a cargo chest in his hands.

"Impossible!" Hai Wuliang was utterly dumbfounded. To become overlord of the South Continent's escort trade, he was naturally no fool—yet now he suddenly felt his mind had stopped working.

Nor was it only Hai Wuliang. Zhao Bufan and the rest all wore the faces of men who had seen a ghost. How in the hell had he done it?

"What was it you said just now, Chief Escort Hai?" Qi Mingyuan needled him without missing a beat, and at the same time gave Wei Zhao a thumbs-up. He did not know exactly how the trick had been worked, but their honorary chief escort was truly a master—he had toyed with Hai Wuliang and his lot in the palm of his hand without even trying. One could only submit.

The whole crowd turned as one to stare at Hai Wuliang, every face wearing the look of spectators unwilling to miss a moment of the drama, all eager to see whether this Chief Escort Hai would go back on his word before them all.

Crack! Crack!

In full view of everyone, Hai Wuliang without a word dealt himself two great slaps across the face, then said, "My apologies—my judgment just now was mistaken. Are you satisfied now?"

Looking at the vivid red finger-marks on both his cheeks, Wei Zhao and Qi Mingyuan exchanged a glance, and both thought privately: this one really does deserve to be called a chieftain. To slap his own face before so many people—most men could never do it so cleanly.

But in doing so, the situation that had been so greatly to their advantage was dissolved by those two slaps from the other side! (To be continued)