Inside the Gu punishment hall, the air was thick with the scent of aged incense, coiling from the ceiling like a silent curse. The spirit tablets of the Gu family ancestors lined the tall, menacing shelves.
Alone in the vast, empty hall, Gu Yingjie knelt before the rules wall. The statue of Guan Yu stared down from the center, flanked by the cold, unforgiving list of one hundred sixty-two rules. He was still reeling from being so violently dragged here, yet a part of him understood. This must be about Zhu Mingyang. He knew his father could never accept his forbidden love for Zhu Mingyang. If this was the true charge, he would accept the suffering willingly, without a word of protest.
The heavy door creaked open, silencing the hall. Gu Tingfang strode in, flanked by Gu Tianjian and Gu Xunsu. Gu Tianjian, the co-leader and his calm, silent uncle, and the terrifying figure of Gu Xunsu—the rules and punishment enforcement chief, whose reputation chilled the blood of every guard—took their places. The three leaders stood before Gu Yingjie, their gazes icy and devoid of warmth.
Gu Yingjie braced himself. He was ready to pay the price for love, but he was utterly unaware that the true, far deadlier charge against him was about to be laid bare.
Gu Xunsu stepped forward, her voice a chilling whip. "Do you confess to your crime?"
Gu Yingjie maintained his composure despite the fear tightening his chest. "Gugu, I don't know what crime I committed, so I am not confessing."
Gu Tianjian, the calmer co-leader, placed the two broken arrows on the stone floor right in front of Gu Yingjie. The sound was flat and final. He asked softly, yet piercingly, "Don't tell us that you don't remember these two arrows?"
Gu Yingjie looked at the broken shafts, genuinely puzzled. "I don't."
Gu Tingfang lost his temper, immediately throwing the two recovered arrowheads onto the ground. The sharp, clear sound of metal on stone echoed violently in the silent punishment room. "Yingjie," he began, his voice laced with bitter disappointment, "when you asked me permission for the younger siblings to pick their guard before you, I thought you were a perfect leader. Over the years, you've shown me that you have the ability to be a great leader. This is why I chose you as my heir." He sighed heavily, the sound of profound regret. "Tell me, were you in danger when you released these two arrows?"
Gu Yingjie looked at the elders, his voice steady despite his confusion. "I don't understand the accusation of the crime."
Gu Xunsu delivered the terrible charge, her voice cutting through the silent room. "The murder of your sister Gu Zhiruo."
Gu Yingjie's eyes widened in shock. "Zhiruo and her guard?" He looked up at Gu Xunsu, trying to reconcile the horrific accusation with the broken arrows on the floor. "Gugu, why do you think I killed Zhiruo and her guard?"
Gu Tianjian delivered the cold, damning evidence. "Because the arrowheads that were found in your flowerpots—the broken line—matched the arrow that was taken from Zhirou and her guard's body."
Gu Xunsu leaned in, her eyes burning with condemnation. "When you killed Zhiruo and her guard, you must have pulled out the arrows in a hurry. Maybe you didn't have enough time, so you chose to break them and leave. You kept the very evidence that tied you to their murder!"
Gu Yingjie looked directly at his calm uncle. "Tianjian Shushu, if I were the real murderer, do you think I would carry such strong evidence with me?"
Gu Xunsu dismissed his defense with a chilling certainty. "That night, only you and Zhu Mingyang were the last to appear. No, no matter how you deny it, every piece of evidence points to you. If it wasn't you, it would be Zhu Mingyang."
Gu Yingjie immediately rejected that possibility, his voice firm. "It's not Mingyang."
Gu Tianjian stated the cruel logic of the situation. "Then it's you."
Gu Yingjie insisted, "It's not us."
Gu Tingfang glared down at his son. "Who believes you?"
Gu Yingjie finally revealed the painful, suppressed truth he had carried for a decade. "I was there when Zhiruo was killed. There were two people there. They came to kill me, but they saw Zhiruo and they killed her in anger."
Gu Tingfang looked at his co-leaders, his face grim. "You two heard him."
Gu Xunsu was enraged, seeing Gu Tingfang's restraint as a sign of blatant favoritism. "Chief, I know that you favor Yingjie more than your other children, but you have to remember that killing your sibling so you can ascend to the leader seat is unacceptable in the Gu Household!" She punctuated her fury by violently striking the nearby stone lamb, smashing it to pieces.
Gu Tianjian, trying to maintain order and adhere to procedure, directed the question back to Gu Yingjie. "I'll ask again, do you confess to your crime?"
Gu Yingjie looked up at the ceiling, resolute in his innocence. "I didn't kill her. I won't admit it."
Gu Tianjian began, "You—"
Gu Tingfang abruptly cut him off, making a decision that betrayed his internal conflict. "Let's us go back and let him reflect for a bit."
Gu Xunsu was furious at the leniency. "I don't understand what is so special about him. You always treat him like this!"
Gu Tianjian placed a restraining hand on his sister's arm, reminding her of their hierarchy. "Xunsu, he is still the Chief."
With the argument left hanging, Gu Tingfang, Gu Xunsu, and Gu Tianjian walked out. The two guards immediately closed the heavy door behind them, plunging Gu Yingjie back into the lonely silence of the punishment hall.
After dark, the heavy door slowly creaked open, and Gu Xiaowen walked in. He stood right in front of Gu Yingjie, then slowly squatted down to meet him at eye level.
"Yingjie, I didn't expect you to kneel here one day," Gu Xiaowen said, his voice dripping with false concern.
Gu Yingjie looked at him, his expression cold. "Are you satisfied?"
Gu Xiaowen frowned, his jealousy instantly resurfacing. "Father... he must love you very much. He even wants us to shut up about what we saw between you and Zhu Mingyang, acting so shameless together. He still wants us to keep our mouth shut, just so you can ascend to the leader seat without difficulty." He sighed dramatically. "You are such a precious son to him."
Gu Yingjie shot back, refusing to be baited. "Perhaps if you spent all your time improving your skills instead of hurting me on purpose, Father would consider you for a promotion."
Gu Xiaowen leaned in, his tone turning utterly vile. "How is Zhu Mingyang in bed? With his physical strength, I don't think he would spread his legs for you." He chuckled maliciously. "Did you spread your legs for him?"
Gu Yingjie met his older brother's jealousy with searing confidence. "Jealous? I know how you look at Mingyang. It doesn't matter if I spread my legs for him, or he spread his legs for me. I know that at the end of the day, he is mine, not yours." He scoffed openly at Gu Xiaowen. "Do you want to kill me so badly because you wish to own Mingyang?"
Gu Xiaowen sneered. "Continue to mock. I don't care." He grabbed Gu Yingjie violently by the front collar, his eyes burning with resentment. "A bastard son like you... don't deserve to have such a good guard like Zhu Mingyang." He shoved Gu Yingjie back to the cold floor. "I know that no matter what you do to him, he will never leave you, so I asked father to have you choose a different guard." He smiled cruelly, revealing the depth of his malice. "I know that Zhu Mingyang is loyal to you, but that servant also loves you very much. If you change a guard, he will definitely leave you."
Gu Yingjie stared at him, his voice low and incredulous. "So, you set everything up?"
"Yes, and Zhu Mingyang has taken the bait," Gu Xiaowen replied, his smile widening with victory.
Gu Yingjie seized on the most heinous charge. "You killed Zhiruo?"
Gu Xiaowen only offered a chilling smirk. "Maybe."
"You and your brother killed Zhiruo and framed me?" Gu Yingjie pressed.
"What evidence do you have to link me to the crime? Last I checked, all the evidence points to you." Gu Xiaowen leaned back, his eyes full of malicious delight. "Since you are dying, I want to tell you that I hated you from the beginning. You are a bastard child, and father has no reason to love you so much. A bastard child will be called a bastard child anyway. If one day you become a Chief, you are still going to be a bastard child. From the first day of your marriage until right now, as you kneel on the floor here, I planned every step along the way."
He smiled, savoring the moment before turning to leave. "I will crush you to the ground and do whatever it takes." He then paused at the door, delivering the final, sadistic blow. "After Xunsu Gugu destroys all your meridians and locks you in a cell, I will fuck Zhu Mingyang in front of you every day. Ha...ha...ha... there is nothing you can do about it." As he walked out the door, his mocking laughter echoed through the punishment hall.
Gu Yingjie, fueled by a searing mix of rage and desperate resolve, surged to his feet and roared, "Gu Xiaowen!" He instantly scooped up several fragments from the nearby stone lantern and launched them with raw internal force. Three fragments slammed into Gu Xiaowen's chest, and the sheer power of the blow smashed Gu Xiaowen out of the door and onto the stone stairs.
Two guards rushed into the room, shields up. Gu Yingjie was a blur of motion, rushing forward to strike the chests of the two guards, sending them flying over and hitting the door frame, vomiting blood.
Gu Yingjie shouted his defiance, "Gu Xiaowen, let me see how far you can run!" He exploded out the door, quickly following the path of his fleeing brother.