Who's the Coward is the Guilty One

"Help!"

The five people rushed out onto the street in panic. It was dawn, and early risers were already out.

The bald man being smashed down from the second floor with a single blow and landing on the ground was enough to attract attention.

Then, four more people ran out of the inn, shouting for help, and many passersby immediately gathered around.

"What's going on?"

"Why did he jump from the building?"

The innkeeper, a local, saw the familiar faces of his neighbors and quickly said, "Someone was causing trouble in my shop, smashed it up, and beat me and my guests."

The bald man and the others chimed in, recounting Mo Qiong's earlier unreasonable behavior.

They said this, of course, because they were still thinking about the children upstairs. Those children couldn't withstand scrutiny or questioning.

If they just ran away, no one would be there to look after the children, and the police would definitely investigate, exposing their involvement.

Even if they managed to escape, they would have to live as fugitives, and the innkeeper would have to abandon his business and hide.

So, abandoning the children and running away was absolutely out of the question under normal circumstances; it would be like leaving behind the evidence of their own crime.

But just now, they were too terrified to stay put.

The few people who ran out were afraid Mo Qiong would beat them to death.

Mo Qiong's earlier troublemaking had established him as someone with an explosive temper.

Even when they tried to reason with him and swallow their pride, Mo Qiong's temper was still fiery.

Given that they had intended to use deadly force earlier, they couldn't imagine what Mo Qiong, with his displayed temper, would do.

At that moment, they were all thinking: We're going to die, we'll definitely be beaten to death! This hothead will absolutely kill us!

In their fear, they abandoned the children and fled in a panic.

But upon seeing their neighbors, a glimmer of hope suddenly arose.

If they could incite the neighbors to help them now, they wouldn't have to run.

They could beat Mo Qiong half to death, then transfer the children before the police arrived, and then they could say whatever they wanted.

"Here he comes! It's him!" the innkeeper pointed at Mo Qiong as he walked out of the inn.

Mo Qiong naturally wouldn't let them go. He needed to get information about Qin Liang from these people.

"Don't worry, with so many of us here, how much trouble can he cause?"

"Exactly, he wouldn't dare to attack..."

Just as the neighbors finished speaking, they saw Mo Qiong slap the innkeeper across the face, sending him flying twenty feet.

Instantly, several people who had been eager to help deal with Mo Qiong froze.

They were stunned. They hadn't thought much of it when they heard about it, but seeing it firsthand, they immediately felt it was too outrageous!

He dared to hit someone in front of so many people?

"Running? Can you escape?" Mo Qiong saw the bald man and the others trying to slip through the crowd, and immediately strode after them, grabbing one in each hand and pulling them back into the fray.

"Damn it, I'll fight you!" The man who had cursed Mo Qiong earlier had the worst temper. Seeing Mo Qiong unarmed, he regained some courage and lunged at him.

Mo Qiong kicked out, sending the man flying and knocking down another.

The bald man looked at Mo Qiong effortlessly subduing them, trembling, and knew they couldn't escape.

He probably didn't realize those children weren't mine...

There's still a chance...

The bald man didn't know that Mo Qiong had already called the police. He still thought this was just a street brawl.

The bald man quickly shouted, "Neighbors, help!"

A few spirited individuals couldn't stand by and watch. In their eyes, Mo Qiong was a rude, unreasonable outsider.

He hit someone in front of them, and they couldn't just stand by, could they? They had to help.

Two people rushed forward, intending to restrain Mo Qiong. Mo Qiong spread his palms and pushed hard against their chests.

The two men staggered back seven or eight steps, crashing into a car across the street.

"Everyone, don't listen to their nonsense and help blindly. These people upstairs..." Mo Qiong hadn't finished speaking.

He heard the men he pushed away curse, "Nonsense! I saw you hit them with my own eyes. I don't care what your reason is, hitting people is wrong."

Mo Qiong raised an eyebrow and said plainly, "Is that so? In that case, everyone just surround them and don't let them run! The police will sort it out when they arrive..."

Hearing this, some people immediately wanted to call the police.

"Yes! Call the police and arrest him. He hit you in front of so many of us. You won't have to be afraid when the police get here," someone said to the bald man.

The bald man's face crumpled, and cold sweat streamed down his face.

Under normal circumstances, seeing a situation like this, everyone would help, pull the attacker aside, subdue him, and then call the police to wait for them.

He was waiting for that opportunity, to buy himself time to hide the children.

However, Mo Qiong was too formidable. He easily pushed away the few people who tried to help, and coupled with Mo Qiong's words, the crowd's sentiment immediately shifted, deciding to call the police directly.

This would have been normal, but these few individuals absolutely could not be seen by the police.

"Don't call the police! Everyone, don't call the police," the bald man hurriedly called out to stop them.

The crowd shouted, "Why not?"

The bald man exclaimed, "It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. There's no need to trouble the police over such a small matter."

Everyone exchanged glances: What the heck? Weren't you just shouting for help a moment ago? How is it a small matter now?

Mo Qiong tilted his head, a smile playing on his lips.

Immediately after, they saw the bald man scramble up with a forced smile, his face swollen from being punched. "Little brother, you're amazing, we admit defeat, we really do..."

"Let it go if you can. Stop hitting us. We won't call the police... Let's just forget about it, okay?"

All he wanted now was to get rid of this plague god as quickly as possible...

However, his words caused an uproar among the onlookers.

They were too cowardly! Five people beaten like this by one person, and they didn't want to pursue it anymore?

"What are you afraid of him for!"

"Yeah, call the police! You're the victim!"

The onlookers were dumbfounded. In their eyes, these five men were innocent victims of a sudden calamity. Mo Qiong, this brutal perpetrator, had beaten them so badly over a trivial matter.

No matter where this happened, they were in the right. What did they have to fear?

The bald man and the others also felt wronged. They were clearly in the right, and it was Mo Qiong who had picked a fight, escalating the conflict.

But now, after being severely beaten, they could only beg for mercy and dared not call the police...

This was guilt, this was something that couldn't see the light of day. They had no leg to stand on, even if they were in the right.

"Forget it? Who said forget it!" Mo Qiong delivered another slap, sending blood gushing from the bald man's nose.

"Stop hitting... Stop hitting..." The bald man covered his face with his hands, trembling as he knelt on the ground.

However, Mo Qiong took out a longevity lock and dangled it in front of him. "Do you recognize this?"

"What is this? I don't recognize it..." the bald man glanced at it and said.

"Slap!" Mo Qiong threw another punch. "Take a good look! Think carefully before you speak!"

"I really don't recognize it. I'll give you money! I'll compensate you! I'll pay you! Stop hitting!" the bald man wailed, pulling out a wad of cash from his pocket.

But Mo Qiong didn't even look at it. Instead, he said, "If you don't recognize it, I'll still hit you. You can call the police."

"Damn! Too arrogant!"

"He's hitting you like this, and you're still giving him money? Are you an idiot!"

The bystanders couldn't stand it, feeling that Mo Qiong was being outrageously overbearing.

Just as a few onlookers grabbed makeshift weapons and prepared to charge forward, they heard the bald man shout, "Don't trouble the police, let's settle this privately... I'll add another twenty thousand, I admit defeat, okay? I really admit defeat! Just stop hitting!"

The bystanders were truly impressed by the bald man's reaction...

Mo Qiong sneered, "Do you really know why I'm hitting you?"

"What?" The bald man was stunned, staring blankly at Mo Qiong.

Just then, the onlookers shouted, "The police are here!"

Sure enough, more than a dozen police officers entered from outside the crowd, a formidable presence!

"It's him! He's the one hitting people!"

"So arrogant, I've never seen anyone hit people so arrogantly!"

"As expected, someone finally called the police. So many of them showed up."

Everyone pointed at Mo Qiong, and the police looked over.

They saw Mo Qiong chasing after the two who were trying to escape. Because Mo Qiong was busy beating the bald man, and then seeing the police arrive, they tried to slip away.

However, Mo Qiong casually threw a stone, hitting one of them and knocking him down. He then strode over to the other, kicked him down, and dragged him back.

"Stop hitting!" one of the police officers shouted.

Mo Qiong, hearing the shout, still delivered another blow, knocking another person to the ground.

At this moment, the five men were slumped on the ground, trembling, while only Mo Qiong stood tall.

"Don't move! How dare you still hit people when you see us!" the police officer glared at Mo Qiong and shouted.

The bystanders watched, thinking Mo Qiong was truly too barbaric, still hitting people even with the police present. Was he looking for death?

Unexpectedly, Mo Qiong smiled at the police officer. "If I don't stop them, what if they run away?"

"The children are on the second floor. Take them to the hospital first. I saw some of them were injured."

The police officer was taken aback, looking at him. "You are..."

"Oh, I'm the one who called the police. These five on the ground are all human traffickers," Mo Qiong said.

The dozen or so police officers immediately stopped advancing on him. The one in front suddenly said with realization, "So that's how it is. We thought you were the human trafficker..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt that it wasn't quite right, as if it implied Mo Qiong was too fierce.

He coughed twice, and the policeman continued, "Your phone number is..."

"It ends in 1440... Right, I also know the parents of five of the children. I can help you contact them." Mo Qiong took out his phone and showed them his number.

"That would be great... Uh... You hit them too hard, didn't you?"

After confirming Mo Qiong was the one who called the police, the officers became much more amiable.

However, upon seeing the injuries of the five people on the ground, they were somewhat surprised.

"If I didn't hit them hard, it wouldn't have worked. They were on the second floor, and they almost killed me. They were smashing iron bars at my head. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would probably be dead. Oh, and they also used knives. They're all on the second floor," Mo Qiong said.

The police officers nodded one after another, "That's true. You did the right thing. You can't go easy on such vicious criminals."

Hearing the police's approval, everyone present was stunned.

"Aren't they the vicious criminals? What... you mean these five lying on the ground?" someone asked, bewildered.

But someone who understood said, "Haven't you figured it out yet? These five are human traffickers! The abducted children are upstairs. This kid wasn't just randomly beating people; he's the one who called the police!"

Suddenly, everyone understood why Mo Qiong had beaten them so righteously, and why the battered ones were so cowardly, desperately trying to de-escalate.

"Damn it! This motel has been around for years, and the owner is a human trafficker!"

"How hateful! They're twisting the facts. They're the criminals, yet they accused him of being unreasonable?"

"How dare you call for help! I almost made things worse! If I had known, I would have beaten you to death!"

As he spoke, a few people who particularly hated human traffickers even stepped forward to kick them.

When they saw Mo Qiong beating them so enthusiastically earlier, they now wished they could have joined in.

For ordinary people, hitting human traffickers felt like a free-for-all. If the police hadn't stopped them, they might have even beaten them to death.

The bald man and the others lay on the ground, their faces ashen.

They hadn't expected Mo Qiong to have already realized that the children were abducted. From his words, it seemed Mo Qiong knew the children's parents, or perhaps he had seen the missing child posters for those children.

Indeed, as Mo Qiong called the parents of the five children, he said to the police, "Originally, I just wanted to find a place to sleep, but they insisted I was looking for trouble and said I deserved to be beaten, that they would cripple me. I got into a fight with them and chased one upstairs, where I saw those children. I had seen information on the 'Homecoming Network' posted by the parents of five of those children, and I recognized them as the abducted children, so I knew they were human traffickers."

"Afterward, perhaps fearing I would expose them, they tried to kill me, so I had to use severe force and beat them into this state."

Hearing this, the bald man and the others burst into tears.

It was too unfair. Just because of a petty argument, their big operation was exposed.

They no longer had the energy to criticize Mo Qiong for the omissions in his account, such as the fact that they had actually been restrained and wanted to resolve the conflict peacefully, but Mo Qiong was too unreasonable, forcing them to resort to lethal force.

But could they say that? What was the point of saying it now? Would the police be willing to listen? Would the public be willing to listen?

At this moment, the crowd around was already incensed. Even the police were merely holding back bystanders who wanted to land a few more blows and paid no mind to Mo Qiong's heavy-handed methods in subduing them.

And this was precisely the confidence Mo Qiong had in daring to stir up trouble, using a commotion to expose this group.

The moment Mo Qiong personally saw those children, it was decided that this beating was in vain for them.

Even if he was truly causing trouble, could dealing with human traffickers be called a fight?