Wasn't he the one who had almost been killed? Shouldn't he be the one crying for help?
Why was it that the horse slave, still clutching the weapon in his hand, was the first to shout for help toward the outside?
Before Gu Qiyue could make sense of the situation, Xuancui had already found people to kick the door open.
Gu Changyuan had indeed sent people to wait for Xie Licheng early on, but he hadn't expected someone else to take Xie Licheng away first.
And the person who took Xie Licheng away was someone from Gu Changyuan's own courtyard.
Thinking about this, Xuancui felt furious inside.
She led her people into the room, and upon seeing Xie Licheng covered in wounds, she quickly took him away.
No matter how capable she was, she was still just a maidservant.
She had no right to accuse Gu Qiyue.
As for that treacherous little attendant who bit the hand that fed him, she also had him brought back along with them.
Before she could bring the people to see her young master, Xie Licheng, whose old wounds had not yet healed and now bore new ones, fainted.
Of course, Xie Licheng hadn't actually fainted.
His injuries weren't serious—his forehead had a scraped patch of skin, and the wound on his arm looked frightening but wasn't actually deep.
Both injuries together only cost him four Health Points, which wasn't really much damage for him in his current state.
Given the situation at the time, Xie Licheng could have completely killed Gu Qiyue and then hidden away in the Portable World.
But thinking of the timid Gu Changyuan, this time he was the one who had accompanied the Gu family on their trip to the temple.
If the Second Branch's young master were to die suddenly in the temple today, he would likely have a hard time answering to the Second Branch's uncle.
Gu Changyuan had shown him kindness, and he had always remembered that goodwill in his heart, so naturally he didn't want to leave him to clean up a mess.
Also, he was quite curious.
Having encountered something like this today, how would Gu Changyuan, as the master, handle it?
Would he believe him, or would he believe his cousin?
As for why he pretended to faint—it was simply to appear pitiful on purpose.
He had said before that he wasn't a good person.
Sometimes, to achieve his goals, he would stop at nothing.
Whether it was being ruthless and merciless, or putting on a show of weakness and misery, he could do it all without any pressure.
Xie Licheng remained unconscious until the next morning, by which time Gu Changyuan had already led the Gu family back to the city.
They had traveled back during the night. The reason they left in such a hurry was twofold: first, because of the scandal Gu Qiyue had caused, Gu Changyuan didn't want anyone else at the temple to discover it. Second, Gu Changyuan had also heard that the northern part of Lingzhou was not very peaceful lately, and he had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right.
To prevent anything from happening to everyone while they were out, he had everyone pack up and return to the city overnight.
No matter what, the city was always much safer than outside.
When Xie Licheng woke up, he found that he hadn't been sent back to his stable but was sleeping in a side courtyard within the inner residence.
He had been pretending to faint yesterday, but when he saw that Gu Changyuan was quite concerned about him and that Xuancui was personally keeping watch by his side, he fell asleep peacefully.
Seeing that he was awake, a maidservant went to inform Gu Changyuan.
When Gu Changyuan came with Xuancui, he also brought Gu Qiyue along.
He had brought the man home yesterday and hadn't let Gu Qiyue return directly to the Second Branch's courtyard, intending to hold him for a proper interrogation.
If it were just for a horse slave, it really wouldn't warrant such a show of force.
But… Gu Qiyue had made the gravest mistake by reaching his hand into Gu Changyuan's courtyard over a horse slave.
Yesterday he could coerce Gu Changyuan's servants into doing his bidding over a horse slave.
Tomorrow he might cause even greater and more serious harm to Gu Changyuan over some other horse slave.
This was no small matter. Gu Changyuan truly couldn't let it slide easily, and he wasn't the type to suffer losses willingly.
Whether for Xie Licheng's sake or his own, he had to teach Gu Qiyue a lesson.
Only by demonstrating the authority of the eldest young master could he manage the household well in the future.
Gu Changyuan came to the bedside where Xie Licheng was resting and said, "Tell me in detail what happened yesterday. I will give you an explanation."
His voice was gentle, and his appearance was as beautiful as an immortal.
Xie Licheng looked at the person standing by the bed, and even his cold, sharp eyes couldn't help but soften a few degrees.
Xie Licheng: "Young master need not trouble yourself on my account. I was also at fault in what happened yesterday. I am but a Criminal Slave. For the Second Young Master to take a liking to me is a blessing I must have cultivated over three lifetimes. I… I should have served the Second Young Master properly, but… then I thought of how I now belong to you, so I didn't obediently submit to the Second Young Master. Unexpectedly, the Second Young Master became very angry and even wanted to…"
Before Xie Licheng could finish speaking, Gu Qiyue, standing outside the door, could no longer bear to listen.
Gu Qiyue burst in, fuming, "He's talking nonsense! Yes, I did covet his body, but it's not what he said. He had a knife on him—a knife that long—pressed right against my neck. Brother, you can't believe a word he says. He's a ruthless thug, and you must send him to the authorities today."
Gu Changyuan looked at him with cold indifference, showing no sign of believing a single word.
Seeing this, Gu Qiyue grew even more furious. "How can you not believe me? He really does have a knife on him. If you don't believe me, I'll search him myself and show you."
With that, he lunged forward to tear at Xie Licheng's clothes.
Xuancui quickly stepped in to stop him. "Young Master Yue, he's just a lowly horse groom. Even with ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare lay a hand on you. Besides… you say he has a knife, but I was the one who took him away yesterday. We even had a physician examine him—there was no knife on him at all."
A knife—Xie Licheng naturally had one.
Not just a knife, but a sword, and a gun…
Of course, he kept all of those stored in his Portable World.
When Xuancui kicked down the door yesterday, he had already returned the knife in his hand to the Portable World.
On his person, he only carried a small bamboo basket for snakes and a pouch with a few bits of silver.
How could he possibly let anyone discover something as dangerous as a knife?
As for the male servant who had been present, he hadn't seen the knife at all when Xie Licheng knocked him unconscious.
Moreover, that servant belonged to Gu Qiyue—the two of them, master and servant, were in league together.
They had already tried to harm Xie Licheng yesterday. Even if he could prove Xie Licheng really had a knife, as long as Xuancui and the others hadn't found it, then it was the two of them who were lying.
So no matter what Gu Qiyue said, he was lying, he was scheming against Xie Licheng, and his words now were nothing but empty noise—they couldn't harm Xie Licheng in the slightest.
Gu Qiyue: "How could there be no knife? I saw it with my own eyes yesterday. He has a knife—he really does! You can't believe him."
"No, no—it must be Xuancui. She must have hidden the knife to protect him. You're all in cahoots! I'm going to see my father right now—I want to see my father!"
Gu Changyuan's head was throbbing from the racket. He frowned and called out, "Someone! Gag him, tie him up, and make him kneel in the courtyard."
Gu Qiyue flew into a rage and lunged forward to grab at Gu Changyuan's clothes.
Gu Changyuan took a half-step back, and Gu Qiyue was intercepted by Xuancui and an elderly maid.
Gu Qiyue cursed loudly, "How dare you! Gu Changyuan, you're just a young master—how dare you treat me like this?!"
Gu Changyuan was getting angry too. "Why wouldn't I dare? You had the audacity to stick your filthy hands into my courtyard—you should have known this day would come."
Before Gu Qiyue could say anything more, two martial maids entered and dragged him out.
Martial maids were exceptionally strong—many had trained in martial arts since childhood, quite unlike ordinary maids.
They were big and burly, and dragging the thin, scrawny Gu Qiyue out was effortless for them.
It wasn't until Gu Qiyue was bound hand and foot and gagged that Gu Changyuan finally felt some peace and quiet.
Hearing the commotion outside, Xie Licheng cautiously said to Gu Changyuan, "Young Master, is it really alright to treat Second Young Master this way? What about Second Master…"
Gu Changyuan: "It's fine. My father specifically said before he left that I have the authority to discipline the younger siblings of the household."
The main branch and second branch hadn't divided the family yet, and as the eldest young master of the main branch, he still had the right to discipline his younger brother.
What Gu Changyuan meant by "disciplining the younger siblings" was dragging Gu Qiyue to the Gu family ancestral hall and giving him eighteen lashes with the family rod.
The whip used for family discipline wasn't as terrifying as the one Gu Tinghe used, but it still hurt plenty when it landed.
Throughout the entire punishment, the Second Master of the second branch never once showed his face.
If it had just been bullying a horse groom, Gu Qiyue wouldn't have earned himself the family rod.
But the situation was that he had reached into Gu Changyuan's inner courtyard.
He could command the main branch's servants to do his bidding—and for such a filthy scheme at that.
Gu Changyuan's anger was justified, because this touched on the authority of the main branch and his position as eldest young master.
So when Gu Qiyue was being beaten, even though the Second Master's heart ached, he didn't step in to stop it.
He felt his second son truly deserved the beating—if he wasn't disciplined now, he'd probably turn the household upside down later.
The incident of Gu Qiyue's beating also silenced Gu Tinghe, who had been restless and plotting.
Gu Qiyue was a son—a male heir of the Gu family.
If Gu Changyuan dared to beat even him, then if Gu Tinghe didn't stay in line now, he figured he'd end up worse off than Gu Qiyue.
Gu Qiyue was a young master of the second branch; he was a young master of the main branch.
Gu Changyuan would find it even easier to discipline him than to discipline a young master of the second branch.
Because of this incident, Xie Licheng enjoyed a few comfortable days afterward.
He still didn't need to do any work, and still stayed in that small shabby room in the stable to recover from his injuries.
Gu Changyuan had said that no one would come to disturb his recovery, and naturally, no one did.
Xie Licheng took advantage of these few days to raise his level from twenty-two to thirty-five.
Thirteen levels meant thirteen attribute points.
He raised his Luck to 20, and put the remaining 9 points all into Strength.
At this point, Xie Licheng's Luck was 20, and his Strength was 39.
After these days of rest and recuperation, his weight reached 56 kilograms, having gained another four jin compared to before.
He was very tall; without enough weight to support him, not only would he look terrible, but his physical condition would also be very poor.
If a person is too thin, their qi and blood will be insufficient.
When qi and blood are insufficient, many problems arise.
For example, insomnia and excessive dreaming, poor mental state, weak immunity, and being prone to illness, and so on.
Being sick also causes Health Points to drop, and sometimes when one is in a bad mood—if a person becomes depressed—Health Points will drop as well.