Chapter 335: Unjustified Accusation

Qi Xia, Qiao Jia Jin, and Li Shang Wu had been following a group of Mao members for nearly an entire morning and were starting to feel exhausted.

Was the Mao base really this far from Tiantangkou?

"Pian Ren Zi..." Qiao Jia Jin muttered quietly, "There's something that's been bothering me."

"What is it?"

"Look..." Qiao Jia Jin nodded back over his shoulder, "There's a little hero who's been tailing us."

Qi Xia turned around, his gaze passing through the pale-faced Mao members and landing on Zheng Ying Xiong at the back of the group.

The child was still wearing a crown made from folded newspaper, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily. His hand remained on the newspaper shortsword at his waist, as if ready for something.

"Song Qi," Qi Xia called out.

From the front of the group, Song Qi turned his bloodless face and asked, "What is it?"

"You... have you seen that kid before?" Qi Xia glanced toward the back of the line.

Song Qi looked over from a distance, thought for a moment, and said, "I think I've seen him, but I don't have a strong memory of it."

"I've heard an interesting theory," Qi Xia said. "Everyone who enters Zhongyanzhidi is a sinner, here to 'atone.' But do children have their own 'sins'?"

"Of course," Song Qi sighed. "If you hold onto your memories in Zhongyanzhidi long enough, you'll even find that some people are born with unforgivable 'sins.'"

"Is that so?"

"A completely innocent child is labeled a 'matricide' for helping his mother hang herself. A street beggar steals food from another in the dead of winter and is seen as a 'plunderer.' Then there's the down-and-out magician who accidentally breaks an audience member's expensive watch, leading to massive debt and ruin. Or the brave hero who accidentally kills a notorious villain while trying to do the right thing. Even a taxi driver who misses a high school student's exam permit in his car, causing the student to miss the exam and commit suicide..."

"Absurd," Qi Xia interrupted coldly. "Song Qi, do you really think these are 'sins'? If logic like that holds, then what 'sins' are these people atoning for? Why should they have to atone at all?"

"It's absurd, but how can they not be 'sins'?" Song Qi turned to face Qi Xia, his eyes just as cold. "We all have pasts we'd rather forget. Why should I care about what 'sin' a child has committed?"

Officer Li watched the two arguing and slowly spoke up: "In my view... anything called a 'sin' should at least involve breaking the law. If the law doesn't recognize it as a sin, then it's clearly unreasonable."

"Hah..." Song Qi glanced at Officer Li. "That sounds nice, but I've met so many people... even a few who can't recall any wrongdoing no matter how hard they try. Are you saying they've all broken the law without realizing it?"

Officer Li sighed and fell silent.

"If we've all broken the law, why is it Zhongyanzhidi that's punishing us?!" Song Qi said with a cold smile. "From what you're saying, you're some kind of 'enforcer,' right? Tell me... shouldn't we be trapped here forever?!"

Song Qi's questions left Officer Li unable to respond.

After all, wasn't he trapped here too?

"What's going on...?" Qiao Jia Jin stepped between them and said to Song Qi, "Explosives guy, watch your mouth. Can't you see the situation we're in? If you keep yelling at our people, don't blame me for turning on you."

Song Qi sighed, whether out of fear or resignation, and turned to Officer Li: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to target you. It's just that this place always brings up bad memories."

With Song Qi calming down, Qiao Jia Jin turned and asked, "Pian Ren Zi, are we just ignoring that kid? Letting him follow us to the Mao territory?"

"I don't think the Mao will kill a child," Qi Xia said. "But we should still be careful—after all, we're not kids."

Song Qi shook his head: "If Wu Ge wanted to kill you, he wouldn't go to all this trouble."

Qi Xia said nothing, and the group continued following the Mao for another half hour before finally arriving at the entrance of a massive prison.

Standing at the gate was a tall woman with a lip piercing and dark lipstick, who didn't seem approachable.

"Liu Jie..." Song Qi clutched his severed right hand and struggled forward to greet her.

"Lao Qi... what happened to you all?" Liu Jie asked, anger flashing in her eyes as she looked at the defeated group. "Who was bold enough to mess with you?"

"It was just a transaction..." Song Qi said. "Wu Ge's target— we've brought them."

"Is that them?" Liu Jie turned to glance at Qi Xia and the others, then added, "Whatever big issues there are, they'll have to wait. You all come with me to see Wu Ge first."

To Qi Xia and the others' surprise, the woman told the three of them to wait at the gate while she led the rest of the Mao members into the prison. Qi Xia, Qiao Jia Jin, Officer Li, and Zheng Ying Xiong were left standing alone outside, with no one bothering to attend to them.

"What's the deal, Pian Ren Zi...?" Qiao Jia Jin scratched his head. "This is...?"

"I don't know," Qi Xia replied coldly. "I don't understand them."

Officer Li stretched his muscles and said, "I thought they were just a criminal gang, but now it seems they're quite organized."

Qiao Jia Jin thought for a moment and turned back: "I've got a good idea."

"What idea?" Officer Li asked.

"How about I sneak in?"

"Sneak in...?" Officer Li paused. "Is that necessary?"

"With your fists, forget it," Qi Xia said. "They're all injured, but there are still a lot of them. Better to play it safe."

"Alright." Qiao Jia Jin shrugged and sat down, soon starting to dig in the sand on the ground.

At that moment, Zheng Ying Xiong stepped forward cautiously, his young face full of wariness: "Civilians, I advise you to be careful. The scent in there is strong."

"Oh...?" Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. "Ying Xiong, is there a 'monster' inside?"

"No, it smells like thick Hui Xiang in there, not 'monsters.'"

Qi Xia lowered his head in thought. The scent of Hui Xiang?

Now, there were only two possibilities: either the entire Mao group had become Hui Xiang, or one of them was an exceptionally powerful Hui Xiang user.

But why were they so comfortable leaving a few people outside and going straight to see Wu Ge?

Qi Xia pondered briefly and realized the situation wasn't hard to figure out.

Song Qi and his team had gone to the lengths of severing their entire group's right hands just to bring him back, which proved he was important. Yet, the first thing they did upon returning was to see Wu Ge. That left only one explanation.

The person named Qian Wu might be able to heal them.