Chapter 4347 — An Outright Denial
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Both know the truth? Heh heh, Young Master Qi, now you are speaking even more bafflingly. Why don't you tell me—just what is it that I am supposed to know?" Wei Zhaotong was instantly amused. He settled comfortably into his seat, making it plain that he would not be moved.
"In that case, very well. Brother Ling, I must trouble you to recount the whole affair of the convoy—from beginning to end—for our Shopkeeper Wei here." Qi Wenmo sneered.
Wei Zhao nodded, and in a calm, unhurried voice he laid it all out: how the convoy had set out, how it had been robbed, how they had afterward learned the truth from these pirates, and how they had taken the cargo ship back.
"Well? Shopkeeper Wei, have you anything to say now?" Qi Wenmo stared coldly at Wei Zhaotong.
Raised from childhood on an elite education, he had never been one to lose his temper easily, yet now that this old fox had toyed with him so, costing him not only three hundred thousand spirit jades but the reputation of the escort agency as well, he could not possibly swallow such an insult.
At this very moment, he almost wished he could do it himself—trample the old fox beneath his feet and vent the hatred in his heart!
Unfortunately, reality would not permit it. The man was the spokesman of the Hong Chamber of Commerce; however great his crime, only the Hong Chamber of Commerce could punish him. For an outsider to overstep and act in their stead would be a provocation against the Hong Chamber of Commerce itself, with consequences beyond imagining. As the young master of the Qingtian Escort Agency, Qi Wenmo had to consider the larger picture.
"Hahahaha!" Yet Wei Zhaotong laughed aloud, as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world, and pointed at Qi Wenmo. "Young Master Qi, I have always taken you for a clever man—I never thought you had such a talent for comedy! Never mind whether this creature is really a pirate; even if he is, you catch some pirate at random and come frame him as one of my men—don't you think such a trick is a bit too childish, Young Master Qi?"
"Childish?" Qi Wenmo raised an eyebrow.
"Is it not? Who could not play such a puerile little game? Pull any child off the street and I daresay he could put on the very same show for you." Wei Zhaotong laughed until he was gasping for breath. "Young Master Qi, we are all grown men here—there is no need for such childish games of make-believe. I understand that your agency has suffered a misfortune and that you feel badly about it, but there is no need to stage such a farce. Do you think it means anything?"
"Hmph. With witnesses and material evidence both in hand, Shopkeeper Wei, you still think this is a children's game?" Qi Wenmo forced down the fury in his chest and sneered. "In that case, I shall make this matter public today and let the world judge for itself. What does Shopkeeper Wei think of that?"
Once such a thing got out, it would be a tremendous blow to the Hong Chamber of Commerce—and above all to Wei Zhaotong, the man behind the scenes. However thick the old fox's hide, once this scandal reached the Hong Chamber's Shadow Division, or even the Chamber's headquarters, he would find himself in a very sorry plight indeed.
Qi Wenmo had expected that at these words the man would at least refrain from flaunting himself so brazenly, even if he did not fly into a panic. Yet Wei Zhaotong's expression remained one of unceasing derision, as though his conscience were truly clear and his shadow straight—as though he did not take this threat seriously at all.