Otherwise, could they say they were all nothing but wine sacks and rice bags?
Wen San was quick to react as well and immediately said,
"That's not right. Everything you said is just speculation. When I lost that ring, the whole village knew about it. If I had really found the ring again halfway through, why wouldn't I have told anyone? I spent quite a bit of silver on it!"
Meng Zhao immediately seized on the weak point and hurriedly said,
"There, there, there! Everyone heard that, right? Wen San himself said the whole village knew he'd lost his ring, yet someone still deliberately used that ring to frame Wen San and pin the blame on him. Isn't that like taking off your pants just to fart—an utterly needless extra step?
"So my suspicion isn't without reason. Wen San did this deliberately, trying to clear himself of suspicion while striking back at his enemies. That must be it!"
Han Dali and the others looked at Wen San with speechless expressions. Fine, speak if you wanted to speak, but could you think first? Naturally, not everyone in the village would know that he had lost the ring, yet he had said exactly that. Wasn't that digging a pit for himself?
Wen San was somewhat embarrassed into anger now.
"Bullshit! If I wanted to kill Crippled Li, would I need to sneak around? So what if I killed him? He was an old bachelor in the village, hated by people and loathed by ghosts. His death would benefit everyone. What would I be afraid to admit?
"But if I did it, I'll own it. If I didn't, no one's going to smear filth over my head!"
Mere verbal sparring was not particularly convincing, but some things still depended on the opinions of