Chapter 149: Both Testimonial and Physical Evidence Present (Part 1)

"Young master, please wait a moment."

While speaking, Xi Zhizhao stepped away from Li Yi, took two strides forward, and arrived in front of the kneeling Japanese men.

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was unprepared, he "swiftly" "searched" the bosom of one of the Japanese men and produced a folded piece of yellow paper.

"Young master, this is the evidence that these three stole the recipe from our Drunken Immortal Tower!"

As he replied, Xi Zhizhao turned back to Li Yi, presented the "evidence" to him with both hands, and then said solemnly, "To prevent these Japanese from quibbling and denying the charges, the manager instructed us subordinates not to remove the evidence hidden on their persons until now."

Hearing this, Manager Xu was slightly stunned and filled with astonishment, thinking to himself, *When did I ever know anything about any evidence?*

Manager Xu only remembered that they had personally caught these three Japanese men red-handed in the back kitchen, but as for a "recipe," it had never existed in the first place.

The culinary skills of the chefs in the back kitchen were all taught to them by Master Song step by step, and they had long since mastered the preparation of the "Orleans set meal" through sheer practice.

After pondering for a brief moment, Manager Xu instantly understood the true nature of this "evidence."

"Well done, young master!" Manager Xu nodded in satisfaction at Xi Zhizhao, then bowed with cupped hands and smiled at Li Yi, "This humble servant knew that these Japanese people always have skins as thick as city walls, so I deliberately kept a trick up my sleeve."

Immediately, Inugami no Mitauki and Hichin looked startled and narrowed their eyes.

The three kneeling Japanese men also wore expressions of utter shock.

They clearly remembered that they had found nothing whatsoever in the back kitchen. How was it that Xi Zhizhao had now conjured this piece of evidence straight from their bodies?

The three of them remembered the sequence of events with crystal clarity.

Not long after entering the kitchen, they had been discovered by the restaurant's waiters, who immediately swarmed them like wolves and tigers, beat them black and blue with fists and kicks, and then tied them up.

*Could this evidence... have been quietly slipped onto us while we were being beaten?*

Just thinking this made the three of them break out in a cold sweat.

If that was truly the case, they had fallen into Manager Xu's pre-arranged trap from the very beginning.

Their deep sleep must have been feigned as well!

It was all to create an opportunity for them, letting them reveal their flaws so they could be caught red-handed.

At this thought, the three kneeling Japanese men felt a wave of bitter regret. They raised their eyes and cast pleading glances toward Inugami no Mitauki and Hichin.

Seeing that the situation was turning unfavorable, Inugami no Mitauki and Hichin opened their mouths to speak, but before they could utter a sound, Li Yi took the yellow paper in one hand and said with a calm expression, "Well then, let this official take a look first."

At Li Yi's words, the sentences that had just reached their throats were abruptly swallowed back as if they had swallowed fish bones. Speechless, they could only grit their teeth and twitch their faces continuously.

After giving the yellow paper a rough glance, Li Yi's indifferent expression suddenly turned grave.

"Manager Xu." Calling out softly, Li Yi furrowed his brow, raised his head to look at Manager Xu, and asked with curious intent, "Isn't this recipe the secret formula for the 'Orleans set meal' that my Yue'er wrote for the Drunken Immortal Tower?"

"Precisely, young master!" Manager Xu nodded with a serious expression.

The next moment, Manager Xu bowed solemnly to Li Yi and said, "Young master, the chefs in the back kitchen were afraid they might forget how to properly prepare an 'Orleans set meal,' so this servant instructed them to keep this secret recipe hanging in the back kitchen as a reminder."

Pausing for a moment, Manager Xu's eyes filled with apologetic remorse as he continued, "Young master, it was all due to this servant's momentary foolishness. Who would have thought these three Japanese men would dare to secretly steal the recipe and almost ruin matters of great importance? Please punish me, young master!"

Manager Xu kept his head lowered, not daring to lift his eyes to meet Li Yi's gaze, portraying an appearance of deep fear and self-reproach.

"So that's how it is!" Hearing this, Li Yi nodded in sudden realization and waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Very well, this is not entirely your fault. Get up, Manager Xu."

"Understood, thank you, young master." After expressing his gratitude, Manager Xu slowly rose, straightened his posture, and maintained a stern expression.

With a grave look on his face, Li Yi pinched the piece of yellow paper slightly, gave it a gentle wave in front of Inugami no Mitauki and Hichin, and sternly interrogated them, "Two ambassadors, you just said... this was merely a misunderstanding? But now, from this official's perspective, this hardly looks like a misunderstanding at all, does it?"

"This..." Instantly, the faces of Inugami no Mitauki and Hichin turned as red and unsightly as pig livers, rendering them dumbfounded and speechless.

The already chilling air suddenly plunged into an extraordinary silence.

"Physician Li." After a moment of silence, Hichin suddenly took a deep breath, raised his gaze, and said, "Even so, one cannot rule out the possibility that the people of the Drunken Immortal Tower deliberately planted this to frame us Japanese!"

"Planted? Heh..." Li Yi let out a cold laugh and shrugged his shoulders.

"Now that both human and physical evidence are present, does Ambassador Hichin believe that simply because you Japanese are envoys sent to Tang, you can refuse to admit your wrongdoing and casually slander the people of Tang?" Li Yi pressed aggressively.

Boom!

The instant Li Yi's words fell, the surrounding diners, passersby, and Manager Xu's group glared fiercely at the group of Japanese men, their eyes burning with intense resentment.

"These Japanese people truly are shameless wretches! Now that both human and physical evidence are right here, they still dare to slander our Tang people, claiming we deliberately framed them?"

"Heh... Why don't they go pee and look at their reflections in it, taking a good look at their pathetic beggar-like appearance? Is there anything about them worthy of our Tang people framing them?"

"Truly, a tree cannot live without bark, and a person cannot live without shame, but a shameless person is invincible under heaven! Today, this fellow has finally broadened his horizons."

"How can such shameless street urchins even be allowed to come to our Tang country to study? We implore Young Master Li to enter the palace and report this to the Sage; absolutely no such despicable scoundrels must be allowed to contaminate the soil and air of our Great Tang!"

"We implore Young Master Li to uphold justice!"

A chaotic chorus of curses and appeals surged forth like a breached floodgate.

These resentful words almost drowned Inugami no Mitauki and his companions outright.

Seeing this, Li Yi raised a hand slightly, and the surrounding crowd quieted down.

At that moment, Li Yi glanced at Inugami no Mitauki and the others, smiled indifferently, and said, "Since the two ambassadors insist on thinking this way, very well, let us go together before the Sage and clear this matter up thoroughly!"

Before Li Yi could even issue an order, Cheng Chumo, standing beside him, stepped forward directly, raised his foot, and delivered a fierce kick to the three kneeling men.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

With three heavy thuds, the three men curled up in agony, their faces contorted, their bodies coiling up like dying snakes.

Everyone present froze instantly.

Li Yi was also somewhat stunned. He looked at Cheng Chumo, who had taken action, and asked in surprise, "Brother Chumo, what are you doing? Why resort to violence?"

"Brother Bo'an!" Cheng Chumo gritted his teeth, glared coldly at the Japanese men, and said with a dark expression, "In my view, it would be much more satisfying to beat them to death on the spot! How could such despicable acts be allowed to pollute the ears and eyes of the Sage?"

Having dropped these words, Cheng Chumo rolled up his sleeves and prepared to strike again.

"..." Li Yi's mouth twitched speechlessly.

He had known that bringing Cheng Chumo along was definitely the right decision. But watching him about to strike again, Li Yi could not simply stand by and watch.

If this fellow Cheng Chumo beat them to death, the Japanese would seize upon it as an excuse, and Li Yi would find it difficult to use the opportunity to severely punish these Japanese men.

"Brother Chumo, hold on!"

Crying out in alarm, Li Yi rushed forward in a stride and grabbed Cheng Chumo, who was ready to attack.

Annoyed, Cheng Chumo turned his head angrily, glared at Li Yi, and asked, "Brother Bo'an, why are you stopping me? Could it be that you still want to protect these shameless thieves?"

"Not at all, Brother Chumo." Li Yi shook his head and admonished him earnestly, "Brother Chumo, you must not act rashly. Even if they are in the wrong, they are still envoys sent from the Japanese nation. As people of Tang, we must not treat foreign guests in such a manner. Above all, we must wait until we enter the palace to see the Sage, and let the Sage personally inquire into the situation."

"Hmph!" Hearing this, Cheng Chumo glared angrily at the three men on the ground, still deeply dissatisfied.

Although he could no longer attack them, he still gave the three of them another kick before waving his hand dismissively and saying, "Very well, in that case, I shall personally escort them and go together with Brother Bo'an into the palace to see the Sage!"

"Very well." Li Yi smiled and nodded, agreeing with Cheng Chumo's proposal.

However, seeing this turn of events, Inugami no Mitauki and Hichin grew utterly unsettled at the prospect of the matter being escalated to the imperial palace.

Even if the Drunken Immortal Tower had no evidence, the fault still lay with these three Japanese men; moreover, they now possessed tangible proof.

If this matter were brought before the imperial palace, the ones suffering would not be merely these three Japanese individuals—it might even implicate their entire Japanese diplomatic mission!

Realizing the gravity of the situation, and knowing that Li Yi had a penchant for wealth, Hichin instantly conceived a plan.

"Physician Li, you exaggerate. We harbor no intention of slandering the Tang country."

Hichin immediately stepped forward, arrived before Li Yi, bowed, and said, "Physician Li, why must such a trivial matter be brought before the Sage and make things unpleasant for both sides? How about... we offer some compensation to turn a major issue into a minor one, and minor issues into nothing at all? What do you think?"

Although Inugami no Mitauki was extremely reluctant, considering Li Yi's greedy nature and the undesirability of blowing the matter out of proportion, he also smiled and chimed in, "Indeed, Physician Li, whatever the issue, everything is open to discussion."

"Heh." Seeing this, Li Yi let out a cold, mocking laugh, looked at Hichin and Inugami no Mitauki, and slowly said, "Two ambassadors, do you truly believe this is merely a trivial matter, and that a simple compensation can resolve it?"

"Hmph, utterly ridiculous!" Hearing this, Cheng Chumo let out a cold snort on the spot, glared furiously at the two men, and bellowed, "You Japanese scoundrels violated the laws of the Great Tang, refused to confess your crimes, and even slandered our Tang people by claiming we framed you! Yet you still dare to call this a trivial matter? Preposterous!"

Cheng Chumo flicked his sleeves angrily and stated solemnly, "Brother Bo'an, let's not waste words with them. Let us apprehend them and head straight into the palace to face the Sage!"

Without another word, Cheng Chumo strode forward, grabbed Hichin and Inugami no Mitauki by their collars, and dragged them toward the palace.

Startled out of their wits, Inugami no Mitauki and Hichin hurriedly reached out to resist, trying to pry themselves free from Cheng Chumo's grip, but no matter how hard they exerted themselves, they could not break away.

Meanwhile, witnessing this scene, Li Yi smilingly instructed Manager Xu to bring along several key witnesses and accompany them to the imperial palace.

Heading to the palace to face the Sage was an unavoidable development; after all, since they were diplomatic envoys, aside from Li Liushimin, ordinary people truly lacked the authority to deal with them decisively. One more chapter to go, no need to rush.