Gu Cai'er nodded frantically, her head moving so fast it nearly left afterimages.

Gu Changhuan lifted his tea bowl. His voice was soft, but everyone could hear the chill beneath it.

"I don't think you understand at all.

"Forget it. I can't be bothered to explain.

"You two, search Cai'er's quarters."

The two middle-aged women understood immediately and hurried off.

Less than a quarter-hour later, they returned carrying three bottles of Pills, a thick stack of silver notes, and a small chest filled with jewelry and ornaments.

Gu Cai'er's face turned ashen. She no longer dared look at Gu Changhuan.

She stared at the ground, and suddenly her eyes flashed with desperate inspiration. She cried out,

"Young Master!

"I know I was wrong, but Sister Xiaoqin told me to do it!

"She's older and has served here longer. I didn't dare disobey her!

"She gave me all this silver!

"She said you and the Old Ancestor were both too softhearted to punish anyone!

"Even if you found out, nothing would happen. And if you did punish me, she promised to plead for mercy!

"Young Master, it really isn't my fault!"

Gu Changhuan watched her spew wild accusations, desperately trying to drag someone else down even as she faced her end. He actually smiled.

Gu Cai'er took his smile to mean he believed her. She scrambled over to his feet and reached for his robe, only to find that her hands could not get close enough to touch him.

Just then, Gu Xiaoqin walked out from the back courtyard. She strode to Gu Cai'er's side and slapped her hard across the face.

"Disgraceful wretch!"

She'd used too much strength. Half of Gu Cai'er's face swelled instantly.

Gu Xiaoqin let out a long, satisfied breath after the slap, then immediately knelt before Gu Changhuan and Gu Changze.

"Young Masters, this madwoman is slandering me.

"Let these two women search my room too, to prove my innocence and put an end to any gossip. You can even send people to my family's home down the mountain!

"See for yourselves whether I've ever betrayed those I serve!"

Gu Cai'er hadn't expected Gu Xiaoqin to be so fearless. She froze in shock.

Gu Changhuan waved his hand. The two women exchanged glances, then went.

They did find some silver in Xiaoqin's quarters, but only a few hundred taels and a few pieces of gold and jade jewelry.

Still kneeling, Gu Xiaoqin explained the source of each item one by one.

Her explanation dispelled even Gu Changze's doubts; Gu Changhuan had still less reason to suspect her.

"Cai'er, things have come to this. What more do you have to say?"

Gu Changhuan looked at Gu Cai'er, who had collapsed in a helpless heap. His unnervingly calm voice sent a chill through everyone present.

"I...

"I..."

Gu Cai'er could no longer form words.

Gu Changhuan glanced at the bottles of Pills. Though the bottles looked identical, they held more than one type of medicine.

"You're a mortal. Taking these Pills would do you no good. Silver is all you can use.

"Who have you been selling the clan's stolen Pills to?"

"It was...

"My lover. He said if we sold the stolen Pills to other Immortals...

"They'd be so pleased that they'd take us as disciples. Then we could become Immortals too..."

Gu Cai'er finally broke down and confessed everything through her tears.

Gu Xiaoqin stared at the lovesick fool. Was her head just for show?

Gu Changhuan, having pieced everything together, gave a quiet laugh.

"Who is this lover of yours?

"Who were you going to sell these Pills to?

"And who bought the ones you stole before?"

Gu Cai'er stammered and refused to answer.

"Fine.

"You don't have to tell me."

Gu Changhuan's tone was indifferent.

"As long as you're not afraid of dragging your family down with you."

Gu Cai'er's expression didn't change.

Gu Changze's face, however, darkened. He snorted coldly.

"Hiding it won't help. The methods of cultivators are beyond what you mortals can imagine."

With that, he cast a Soul-Bewildering Technique on Gu Cai'er.

He had learned the Soul-Bewildering Technique mostly for amusement. It worked only on mortals and some low-tier Demon Beasts, not on cultivators.

He hadn't expected it to come in handy again.

Under the spell, Gu Cai'er readily confessed every detail of her crimes.

Since she had begun working in Gu Wanhao's courtyard, she had stolen nearly ten bottles' worth of Pills. She took only one or two at a time from bottles already opened, making the thefts hard to spot.

The stolen Pills had already paid for a thousand qing of fertile farmland and several residences down the mountain.

She did not know who the buyer was. He always wore a broad-brimmed hat and spoke in a low voice, coming and going without a trace. She had never seen his face clearly.

Three days from now would be their next meeting.

Gu Changze snorted coldly, wishing he could kill this traitorous wretch on the spot.

Gu Changhuan shook his head and addressed the two women.

"Take her outside the wall, beneath the tree. Carry out the punishment according to clan law.

"Have everyone watch.

"Spare her family. She isn't close to them."

The two women nodded. "Young Master is kind," they murmured, then dragged Gu Cai'er out, one on each side.

The punishment for stealing a cultivator's property was flogging.

The lashes stopped only when the thief was dead.

Gu Changze lifted the Soul-Bewildering Technique. Gu Cai'er shrieked like a pig being led to slaughter as she was dragged away.

No matter how she struggled, it was useless.

Gu Changhuan said,

"Three days from now, we'll go as well.

"Let's see who dares steal from the Gu Clan."

Gu Changze sneered.

"Judging by what she stole, the buyer's probably just some Early Qi Condensation Rogue Cultivator.

"He couldn't afford Pills, so he found another way to get them."

A quarter-hour later, the two women returned to report.

"Young Masters, she has breathed her last."

Gu Changhuan nodded.

"Handle the rest as you see fit.

"I'll need you to clean up outside too.

"As for these things...

"You two and Xiaoqin can split the jewelry equally.

"Distribute the silver among everyone outside. Make sure they all get a share."

"Thank you, Young Master Changhuan!"

The middle-aged woman retreated from the courtyard, trembling. Outside, she repeated Gu Changhuan's words to the gathered servants.

The servants' faces were pale. Those with weaker stomachs ran to the corners to vomit.

They had watched Gu Cai'er go from struggling and screaming to a bloody, mangled heap beneath the whip. They'd heard her voice shift from vicious curses to powerless pleas, then finally to weak gasps before she fell silent. Every one of them had been deeply shaken.

Before this, none of them had ever witnessed how servants who broke the rules were punished.

Inside the courtyard, Gu Changze laughed.

"First the stick, then the carrot?"

"Something like that."

Gu Changhuan stood.

"The buyer probably isn't anyone powerful, but I'll ask Grandaunt to come with us.

"No sense getting caught out by someone we underestimate.

"Grandfather's busy refining Pills. I don't want to disturb him."

Gu Changze nodded, exchanged a few more words with Gu Changhuan, then walked out of the courtyard. The faint scent of blood still seemed to linger in the air.

Gu Cai'er had taken one wrong step and brought disaster upon herself. It was the same for mortals and cultivators alike.

If your luck ran out and you died in the wilderness, there might not even be anyone to collect your body.

Every year, the Gu Clan lost several cultivators to various causes. With luck, their relatives found their bodies and brought them back to Emerald Maple Mountain for burial. Otherwise, the clan could only wait for their Soul Lamps to go out as confirmation of death, then erect empty memorial tombs in the family cemetery.

The Gu Clan cultivators noticed that the mortal servants on Emerald Maple Mountain had all looked rather unwell recently. They wondered if some illness was going around.

But Emerald Maple Mountain was nourished by Spiritual Qi-even if the mortals were frail, they shouldn't fall ill so easily. And certainly not all at once.

A few curious cultivators asked, but the servants stammered and refused to say anything.

Since the servants didn't speak up but continued their work-more carefully than ever, in fact-the Gu Clan cultivators didn't press the matter.

The story of how Gu Changhuan had punished Gu Cai'er, and the full account of her crimes, had already spread through the servant quarters. Many of them now respected and feared Gu Changhuan's methods in equal measure.

They understood clearly what his actions meant:

Stealing from cultivators brought no benefit-only death.

Gu Changhuan's warning, backed by Gu Cai'er's bloody fate, put an end to the temptations a few of the servants had begun to entertain.

Better to work honestly on Emerald Maple Mountain. After a few years, they could return home as wealthy landlords. Wasn't that a fine fate?

Naturally, this matter didn't escape the notice of Gu Wanchang, the Gu Clan Patriarch.

When Gu Changze had brought the group of mortals to find Gu Changhuan, Gu Wanchang had already received word.

After learning the full story, he was very satisfied with how Gu Changhuan had handled it.

He had punished the offender while leaving no grounds for complaint.

Summoning everyone to witness the punishment had demonstrated authority, showing them all the consequences of violating clan law.

Dividing Cai'er's silver among the servants served two purposes: first, to offer a measure of kindness; second, to encourage them to watch one another.

Combining kindness and authority was the way to maintain order over the long term.

It seemed that although Changhuan had spent most of his time cultivating in the marketplace, he still had his own methods when it came to managing people and handling affairs.

In the future, they wouldn't need to worry so much about him stumbling into trouble through poor judgment.

Three days later, Gu Changhuan and the others went down the mountain and lay in wait at Gu Cai'er's house. They caught a cultivator at the third layer of Qi Condensation.

Gu Wanhua killed him with a single stroke of her sword.

Gu Cai'er's lover was given forty strikes with the rod, had his property confiscated, and was driven out. What became of him after that depended on his own fate.

What Gu Wanchang and Gu Wanhua knew, Gu Wanhao naturally learned as well.

He'd been refining Pills recently. When he heard the news, he too felt pleased.

But...

Gu Wanhao recalled the Communication Talisman Gu Xuanzhan had sent him the night he returned to Emerald Maple Mountain. His expression grew solemn once more.

He would have to try again.