Courtyard House: Starting with handing over the keys, the state helps me abuse birds.

The silence of the Intermediate People's Court was like a thick layer of ash, pressing down on everyone's throat.

Jia Zhangshi stood there, covering her face. Half of her face was swollen and shiny, her mouth was crooked, and her eyes were unfocused, as if her soul had not caught up with her body.

She wanted to regain her composure and restart her tantrum routine, but every time she opened her mouth, her cheeks throbbed with pain, bringing tears to her eyes and even distorting her voice when she cursed.

Yi Zhonghai stood at the front, his chest heaving noticeably. He wanted to regain control of the situation and calm everyone down with a simple "Stop making a scene," but he found his words stuck in his throat and he couldn't get them out.

Because Xie Weihong stood there with such a steady gaze, as steady as a nail, that all the descriptive words seemed unreliable.

Xie Weihong withdrew his hand, flicking his fingertips lightly. He didn't look at Jia Zhangshi again, nor did he argue with anyone. He simply swept his gaze across each face slowly, as if he were keeping accounts.

The system notifications kept ringing in his mind.

[Warning: The emotions of the demons continue to escalate.]

[Warning: Increased Intensity of Oppression in the Trial Venue]

[Recommendation: Evacuate immediately to avoid being surrounded and attacked!!!]

Xie Weihong knew very well that this group of people had already been beaten into a state of shame and anger today, and that shame and anger would become an excuse for even more madness, a denser "organization", and a more thorough banding together. His staying here would only give them more opportunities to muddy the waters.

He raised his head and looked at Yi Zhonghai. His voice wasn't loud, but he enunciated each word clearly: "Uncle Yi, I've finished speaking. I didn't chase after anyone to beat you up. If you want to have a meeting, continue. I'm not going to keep you company."

Yi Zhonghai's face darkened, but he maintained his composure: "You think you can just leave like that? This matter hasn't been resolved yet. Do you think this place is a place you can come and go as you please?"

Xie Weihong glanced at him: "You've already said your piece and made enough judgments. If I stand here and listen, it will only embolden you."

He paused, his gaze falling on Jia Zhangshi's face, a very short, sharp look, like the tip of a knife: "As for her, she was the one who reached out first, and she was the one who tried to push again. I took action to make her stop. If you really want to follow the rules, then you should make these two things clear first."

After those words were spoken, the courtyard fell even quieter.

Yan Bugui's lips twitched. He wanted to interject, but his mind was racing with thoughts of how to extricate himself from the situation. In the end, he simply pushed his glasses up tighter and forced out, "Wei Hong, you can't say that. We're all doing this for the sake of unity in the hospital, for..."

Xie Weihong raised her hand to interrupt him, her tone indifferent: "Third Uncle, put the abacus away for now. Everyone knows who's been plotting against me today."

Yan Bugui's face stiffened, as if he had phlegm stuck in his throat, unable to swallow or spit it out.

Liu Haizhong stepped forward, arms crossed, his face flushed as he spoke in an official tone: "Your attitude is very problematic, your thinking is very problematic. If you resort to violence today, will you still do it tomorrow? We need to report this to the neighborhood committee, we need to get the organization to educate you!"

Xie Weihong nodded casually: "Report it, go report it. Don't just shout it out. If you really want to go, then go. Remember to write down the trespassing and who pushed the person first. Write everything down so you can feel at ease."

Liu Haizhong choked on his breath, his face turned purple, his lips moved but he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

He Yuzhu sat on the stool, clutching his ribs, his eyes so dark they could drip water. He wanted to stand up, but his legs were weak. He wanted to shout, "You hit someone and you want to leave?" but he couldn't produce enough sound.

He could only stare intently at Xie Weihong, his eyes turning red, as if trying to etch that face into his mind.

Qin Huairu stood to the side, her fingers clenched so tightly they turned white. Her mind was in turmoil. She saw Xie Weihong standing very straight, as if she wasn't afraid of any of the "elders" in the courtyard at all, and she suddenly had a very ominous premonition.

She had a premonition that from today onwards, Sha Zhu's path would become increasingly difficult, and that those two houses would become more and more like a thorn, piercing everyone's eyes and her heart.

The deaf old woman leaned on her cane, her chest heaving violently. She stared at Xie Weihong with eyes that looked like she wanted to devour him. She wanted to use her seniority to suppress him and use the phrase "I've lived to be this old" to push him back.

But she found that this statement didn't work today. The people in the courtyard looked at her with evasive, hesitant, and calculating silence in their eyes. For the first time, she clearly felt that her little bit of prestige was waning.

Xie Weihong didn't give them any more chance to escalate the situation. He turned and left, his steps slow and even a little leisurely, but each step was steady, as if he were walking on his own turf.

As he walked through the crowd, the people next to him instinctively made way for him.

It wasn't someone who gave the order.

The echo of that slap still resonates in everyone's ears.

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Jia Zhangshi screamed, "He just left like that?! Uncle Yi! You just let him leave like that?! He hit me! He hit me!"

She screamed and tried to rush over, but the pain on her face pulled her back as soon as she took half a step. She covered her face and stomped her feet, tears and snot streaming down her face, looking as disheveled as a pig trough that had been overturned.

Yi Zhonghai subconsciously raised his hand as if to stop him, but stopped abruptly halfway through.

He swallowed hard, forcing a voice: "Stop making a scene! Don't cause any more trouble in the yard!"

But after those words, Jia Zhangshi became even more furious. She felt that she had been beaten and no one had immediately stood up for her. She felt that the "power" she had built up over the decades in the courtyard had been torn to shreds in public. The more she thought about it, the more she hated and the more afraid she became, fearing that anyone would dare to bully her in the future.

Her screams were shrill like knives: "I won't make a scene? Why shouldn't I! My face is all swollen from being slapped! I'm going to the neighborhood committee tomorrow! I'm going to the police station! I'll make sure he goes to jail!"

Xie Weihong had already reached the gate of the courtyard.

The system notification sounded again, cold and hard like a verdict.

[Detection: Host has escaped the "siege by demons" situation]

[Verdict: Successful evacuation from the high-pressure trial environment]

[Reward: Tier 2 Advancement Pill "Spirit-Eating Body-Refining Pill (Type II)"] [Can assist in breaking through to Tier 2]

[Reward: Bone-Refining Body Technique]

[Note: Please use the agent in a safe environment first to avoid interference during the breakthrough process.]

Xie Weihong paused slightly, and gently placed her hand on the door frame, as if sensing a boundary.

He didn't turn around, but mentally reviewed the two rewards: the potion and the cultivation technique. They perfectly complemented what he needed to do next. He slightly raised the corner of his mouth, a very shallow one, as faint as a sharp arc.

He stepped out the door, the night breeze hitting his face, leaving the noise of the courtyard behind.

None of the people inside the door chased after them.

Nobody stopped them.

They stood under the lamp, in their own sense of justice, in the blank space left by that slap, daring to be angry, daring to hate, daring to shout for action, but when it came to actually reaching out their hands, they felt their palms turn cold.

Xie Weihong is gone.

The intermediate court was instead in an uproar.

Jia Zhangshi plopped down on the ground, howling in a heart-wrenching manner, pounding her legs and pounding the ground, repeatedly cursing "ungrateful wretch" and "little wretched child" until the words became incoherent and all that remained was screaming.

Her face became increasingly swollen, turning a deep purplish-red under the light. Tears and snot smeared her face, making her look so pitiful that no one wanted to look at her a second time.

Yan Bugui stood to the side, feeling a chill run down his spine. He wanted to tell them to stop making a fuss, but only one thing remained in his mind: if this matter really escalated to the street, if people really brought up the "kicking down the door" and "pushing people" incidents, would all the old accounts in the courtyard over the years be brought up as well?

The more he thought about it, the more chills ran down his spine. He felt he needed to find a way out as soon as possible. He looked at Yi Zhonghai with a probing look in his eyes.

Liu Haizhong was so angry that his face turned blue. He couldn't stand the failure of authority. He felt that his official tone just now was a joke in front of Xie Weihong. His lips trembled, and he wanted to say something harsh, but he choked back halfway through.

He Yuzhu tried to stand up, holding onto the stool, but sat back down halfway up. His eyes were frighteningly red, and his teeth were grinding together. He wanted to rush out and chase after them, but his legs were weak. He wanted someone to stand up for him, but the silence around him chilled him to the bone. He suddenly felt like a piece of meat thrown into the middle. Just a moment ago, he was being treated like a "victim," but now that Xie Weihong was gone, everyone's concern had turned into "don't make a big deal out of this" and "how to clean up this mess." His heart sank, sinking to a point of darkness.

The deaf old woman leaned on her cane, her face pale. She stared at the darkness at the gate of the courtyard, feeling as if a lump of air was stuck in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

The thing she feared most had already shown itself. There was someone in the courtyard who didn't respect her seniority, someone who dared to take action in public, and someone no one dared to stop. She suddenly felt old, not as tough as before. When she couldn't be tough anymore, her sense of security would collapse.

Yi Zhonghai stood under the lamp, veins throbbing on his forehead. He wanted to yell at everyone to go back inside, but he knew his words wouldn't have the same effect as before.

He wanted to help Jia Zhangshi up, but he reached out his hand and then pulled it back. He was afraid that if he got closer, the pressure of "everyone is watching what he will do" would become even heavier. For the first time, he tasted the feeling of being out of control, a bitter and astringent feeling.

The courtyard was in complete chaos.

Some argued, some howled, some schemed, and some complained.

But everyone knows one thing in their hearts.

When Xie Weihong left, her back was very steady.

No one dared to stop them.

This is the most critical issue.