I want to tread the heavens

Before the morning mist had completely dissipated, Guo Dahai arrived with his men.

There were eight of them, all trusted henchmen he had cultivated in the outer courtyard over the years. Each of them was burly and had an unfriendly expression. Guo Dahai walked at the front, wearing a silk-lined jacket that only a manager would wear. He had a fake smile on his face, but his triangular eyes flashed with undisguised coldness.

The gate was slammed shut, startling several sparrows flying away from under the eaves.

"Guo Rong! Ling Xiao! Open the door! There's urgent business in the warehouse!"

Yue Rong had already gotten up and was slowly practicing his body-strengthening boxing in the courtyard. Hearing the sound, he didn't stop, but his eyes turned colder. Ling Xiao came out of the house, his face still showing some morning sleepiness, but his eyes instantly cleared. Fa Cai followed at his feet, ears perked up, a low, warning growl escaping its throat.

Ling Xiao gave Yue Rong a wink, signaling him to handle the situation. Yue Rong nodded slightly, withdrew from his stance, and retreated into the shadows under the eaves, but his hand was already on the broken sword at his waist.

"Creak—" Ling Xiao opened the courtyard gate, his face displaying the perfectly measured surprise and respect he had learned in the outer courtyard: "Master Hai? You're here so early, what brings you here?"

"What is it?" Guo Dahai asked with a forced smile, his gaze sweeping over Ling Xiao's shoulder and brazenly scanning the courtyard. "Last night, during the inventory of the storeroom, three bottles of 'Body Tempering Pills,' five catties of 'Red Copper Sand,' and... a fragment of a second-tier protective array diagram were missing. These are all important supplies. Someone saw you leaving the storeroom yesterday afternoon."

Upon hearing this, the thugs behind him immediately stepped forward, forming a semi-encirclement, their eyes fixed on Ling Xiao with hostility.

The Body Tempering Pill is a basic elixir used by outer courtyard disciples to aid in body tempering; red copper sand is a material for refining weapons; and the fragments of a second-order array are even more precious. If these three items are stolen and left in the outer courtyard, it would be enough to break their limbs, cripple their cultivation, and expel them from the family.

Framing. A blatant frame-up. And the timing was particularly malicious, right before a major competition.

Ling Xiao sneered inwardly, but his face betrayed a perfectly calculated mix of fear and grievance: "Master Hai, please understand! I did go to inventory the storeroom yesterday, but I checked everything against the accounts, item by item. Young Master Guo Xiaohu was also present and can testify to that. When I left, the storeroom door was locked by Brother Liu San on duty, and he has the key. How could I possibly…?"

"Enough with the nonsense!" a burly man with a fierce face shouted from behind Guo Dahai. It was Guo Si. "Someone saw you lurking around the warehouse! If you didn't steal it, who else could it be? If you know what's good for you, hand over the stuff right now, kneel down and admit your mistake, and maybe Master Hai will let you off the hook!"

"Why waste your breath on him! Search! The stuff is definitely hidden in the yard!" another thug shouted.

Guo Dahai raised his hand to silence the commotion, and said to Ling Xiao insincerely, "Ling Xiao, I don't want to believe it was you either. But the warehouse theft is a fact, and there are witnesses pointing to you, so I'm in a difficult position. Let us go in and check. If it's not there, you'll naturally be cleared of suspicion. If…"

He drew out his words, a cold glint in his eyes: "Then don't blame me for being ruthless."

Having said that, he gave Ling Xiao no chance to argue and waved his hand: "Search!"

The eight thugs, like wolves and tigers, were about to rush into the courtyard.

"Wait!" Ling Xiao stepped forward, blocking the doorway, his voice turning cold. "Master Hai, the theft from the warehouse is a matter for the Enforcement Hall to investigate. Your trespassing and forced search of a private residence is probably against the rules, isn't it? Even if you want to search, you need an order from the Enforcement Hall, or... permission from the Third Elder."

"Rules?" Guo Dahai sneered. "In this outer courtyard, my word, Guo Dahai's word, is the rule! You, a bastard of unknown origin, dare to talk to me about rules? Get out of my way!"

Two thugs behind him immediately stepped forward and reached out to shove Ling Xiao.

Just then—

"Whoa—!"

A gray shadow suddenly darted out from beside Ling Xiao's feet, as fast as lightning, and pounced straight at the thug in front! It was Fa Cai!

The thug was startled and instinctively raised his hand to block. Fa Cai, however, was exceptionally agile. He twisted in mid-air, dodging the thug's hand. After landing, he did not attack anyone but instead buried his head in the arms of another thug next to him—who had his shirt open, revealing his muscular chest.

"What are you doing! Get out of my way!" The thug was both shocked and angry, and reached out to grab Fa Cai.

Fa Cai burrowed into his arms, its little head quickly poking and hooking into his inner shirt pocket before leaping out, a brightly colored, soft little thing in its mouth!

In the sunlight, the thing fluttered in the wind—it was a water-red bodice embroidered with twin lotus blossoms! The silk was smooth and soft, and it even carried a faint fragrance of perfume!

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

All eyes were fixed on the undergarment, then slowly shifted to the thug—Guo Laowu, one of Guo Dahai's confidants.

Guo Laowu's face instantly turned a deep liver color, then turned white, and finally green. He frantically tried to cover his chest, only to find his inner pockets empty. When he saw what was in Fa Cai's mouth, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "No, it's not mine! This beast framed me!"

"Framed?" Ling Xiao barely suppressed a laugh, his face a mixture of shock and indignation. "Fifth Brother, this...this...this is a woman's personal item! How could you...keep it on your person! If word gets out, where will the Guo family's reputation be?!"

At the opportune moment, Fa Cai tossed the undergarment to Guo Laowu's feet, then quickly ran back to Ling Xiao's side, squatted down, tilted his head, and looked at everyone with innocent and pure amber eyes, as if to say, "Look how great I am, I helped you find the stolen goods!"

"Pfft—" Someone couldn't help but burst out laughing first. Immediately afterward, the other thugs also had strange expressions, wanting to laugh but not daring to, their eyes darting back and forth between Guo Laowu and the undergarment, the atmosphere extremely eerie.

Guo Dahai's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He stared intently at the undergarment, then glared fiercely at Guo Laowu, wishing he could strangle him on the spot. Of course, he knew this was Fa Cai's doing; that beast's reputation for petty theft, especially of women's clothing, was already infamous in the outer courtyard! But the thing was, it had been "searched" from Guo Laowu's clothes, right under everyone's noses!

"Hai, Haiye! It's really not mine! It's this beast! It stole it! It stuffed it into my arms!" Guo Laowu was so anxious that he was incoherent, pointing at Facai and jumping up and down to defend himself.

"Fifth Brother, you can't just say things like that." Ling Xiao said with a "sincere" expression. "Fa Cai is a dog, what does it know? It must have picked up this... this filthy thing from somewhere and accidentally got it on you while playing. But..." He changed the subject, looking at Guo Dahai with "clear" eyes, "Master Hai, you said the warehouse was robbed, and there's a 'witness' pointing the finger at me. So what about this 'physical evidence'...? Could it be that what was actually stolen from the warehouse is this..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning couldn't be clearer. The expressions of the thugs around him became even more interesting; some were already shaking from trying not to laugh.

Guo Dahai was trembling with rage. He knew that this whole mess had been turned into a ridiculous farce by that damned kid and that even more damned beast! If he continued to entangle himself, he would only be the one to lose face!

"Enough!" Guo Dahai roared, forcibly suppressing his anger, and stared at Ling Xiao with a sinister look. "Sharp-tongued, colluding with scoundrels, distorting the truth! Ling Xiao, do you think you can get away with this? I will definitely investigate the warehouse theft to the end! Let's go!"

He flicked his sleeve and turned to leave with his men. He felt his face burning with embarrassment at staying there even a moment longer.

"Go? Where to?"

An aged yet authoritative voice came from outside the crowd.

The crowd parted, and Guo Yun, supported by two trusted maids from the third branch of the family, slowly walked over. Today, she wore a deep purple brocade robe, held a phoenix-headed staff, and her gray hair was neatly combed. Her face was calm, but when her eyes swept over, they carried a chilling pressure.

Guo Dahai paused, his face darkening further. He had no choice but to turn around, forcing a smile: "Third Elder, what brings you here?"

"If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known the outer courtyard was in such a mess." Guo Yun's gaze swept indifferently over the glaringly red undergarment on the ground, then looked at the ravenous thugs behind Guo Dahai, finally settling on Ling Xiao and Yue Rong. Her tone was unreadable. "The theft from the storeroom is such a serious matter, why didn't you report it to the Enforcement Hall first, or to us elders? Instead, you brought your private soldiers and stormed into the disciples' courtyard, shouting and killing. Guo Dahai, are you becoming more and more arrogant in your role as manager, or do you think you've already got the reins on the Guo family?"

A series of questions, clearly structured, each word piercing the heart.

Guo Dahai broke out in a cold sweat and quickly bowed, saying, "Third Elder, please calm down! It was an urgent matter with irrefutable evidence, so my servants thought of taking the suspect into custody to prevent him from destroying the evidence or escaping..."

"Evidence?" Guo Yun interrupted him, pointing with her cane at the undergarment on the ground. "Is this the evidence you're talking about? Or are you saying that the Body Tempering Pills and Red Copper Sand that went missing from your storeroom have become these women's private possessions?"

Suppressed snickers rose from the surroundings.

Guo Dahai's face flushed red and then paled, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Third Elder, this is a frame-up by that beast... that demon wolf! Ling Xiao is in cahoots with this wolf, and he's adept at such tricks! The warehouse was robbed, and a disciple on duty saw him acting suspiciously..."

"Oh? Which disciple is on duty? Call him here to confront Ling Xiao face to face," Guo Yun said calmly. "The people from the Enforcement Hall are right behind us; we can interrogate them together. If it really was Ling Xiao's doing, caught red-handed, I will show no leniency and punish him severely according to the clan rules. If someone has made a false accusation..."

Her gaze, sharp as lightning, pierced Guo Dahai: "Those who make false accusations will be punished accordingly, their cultivation stripped, and they expelled from their families. Guo Dahai, do you dare confront him?"

Guo Dahai choked, unable to speak. He had no disciple he had "seen with his own eyes"; it was just a pretext he had instructed Guo Si to fabricate. A real confrontation would immediately expose his deception.

Seeing him speechless, a barely perceptible chill flashed in Guo Yun's eyes, but her tone softened slightly: "It seems there are still some doubts about this matter. The theft from the warehouse certainly needs to be investigated, but it must be done according to the rules. Guo Dahai, as the manager, your reckless and impetuous actions almost led to a wrongful conviction and disturbed the disciples. What punishment should you receive?"

Guo Dahai was filled with resentment, but he had no choice but to lower his head: "It was...it was my oversight and hasty actions. Please punish me, Third Elder."

"You're fined three months' wages and sent back to your quarters for three days to reflect on your actions. The theft from the warehouse will be handled by the Enforcement Hall; you are not allowed to interfere again." Guo Yun made the final decision, giving him no chance to argue. "Now, take your men and disperse!"

Guo Dahai clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, almost drawing blood. He glared fiercely at Ling Xiao, his eyes filled with venomous resentment, before finally squeezing out two words through gritted teeth: "...Yes, sir."

He led his group of disheveled thugs away in a sorry state. Before leaving, Guo Laowu tried to pick up the undergarment, but Guo Yun gave him a cold glance, which frightened him so much that he withdrew his hand and ran away without looking back.

The storm seems to have subsided for the time being.

After the outsiders left, the courtyard returned to tranquility, but a lingering sense of tension remained in the air.