At that moment, Hupo pointed a finger in shock at the undergarment Yanze was holding. She snatched it away, hid it behind her back, and stammered, "This... this is the Young Miss’s undergarment! You pervert, where did you steal this from?"
"Uh..." Yanze stared at his empty hands, then glanced at Chu Nanxi, who was blushing deeply with her head bowed. "This... I... I don’t know, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! It’s all my hands’ fault—how did they get so fast?"
After speaking, Yanze turned to look at Beigong Ying with a troubled expression. "Brother Ying, I... I really didn't mean to."
Beigong Ying walked over to Yun Li, whose belt was still dangling at his waist, not yet fully fallen. "Put your clothes on properly first."
Beigong Ying then looked at Chu Nanxi and asked, "Nanxi, is this yours?"
Chu Nanxi bit her lower lip in embarrassment and nodded. "Yes... I had just given it to Hupo, thinking I’d find a place to wash up and change later. I never expected that in such a short time, it would... I don’t know how it ended up on Young Master Yun."
"I didn't take it. I can't even wear the thing; what use would it be to me? It’s not even absorbent enough to wipe my feet with," Yun Li said, finishing his adjustment of his clothes before Beigong Ying could even ask. Hearing this, Shen Huaixu looked up at the sky, suppressing a laugh, terrified of breaking his composure during such a serious moment.
"You lecher! You stole our Young Miss’s things and you still won't admit it? Do you really think the Young Miss would ruin her own reputation just to frame you? Look at yourself—are you even worth it?"
The corners of Yun Li’s mouth curled into a smirk. "Whether this is a setup, you and your mistress know best. From the moment I joined this group, your mistress has been targeting me. From start to finish, I’ve had no physical contact with you or her—the only time was just now when you bumped into me, and suddenly this undergarment appeared on my person. As a man, if I were going to hide an undergarment, I would tuck it away in a Qiankun pouch or some other secret spot in my robes. To leave it stuffed in a belt where it would fall out with any sudden movement—are you stupid, or do you think I am? Are you worried people wouldn't notice I was hiding it?"
Hupo pointed an angry finger at Yun Li. "You... you... how can you be so unreasonable? It’s obvious you stole our Young Miss’s item!"
"Heh. As your mistress’s personal maid, once you discovered her undergarment in a man’s hand, shouldn’t you have claimed it was yours to protect her reputation? Instead, you’re shouting at the top of your lungs that I stole it, as if you’re afraid someone might miss it. Is this something to be proud of?"
"You..."
"Enough, Hupo. Isn't this embarrassing enough?" Chu Nanxi bit her lip, stepped forward to stand before Yun Li, and said with tears in her eyes, "I apologize, Young Master Yun. My maid is ignorant and offended you. As for this garment... let’s just say I lost it by accident. It has nothing to do with you. If you must blame someone, blame me."
Yun Li stood to the side, arms crossed, sizing up Chu Nanxi’s display of "green tea" tactics with an amused look. "Let’s just say you lost it by accident? You accidentally lost it into my belt? You truly are clumsy. You should be more careful in the future—don't accidentally lose yourself to someone else one day. You might find that not everyone is as easy to bully as I am."Yun Li turned to look at Beigong Ying. "Although I've only been in this team for a few short hours, you've all been very nice. But since someone has no room for me here, there's no need for me to stay and be an eyesore. Who knows what might get planted on me next time? If someone ended up framing me with a human life, I really wouldn't be able to bear the guilt. We're all heading to Kongming Palace anyway, so I'll see you at the examinations." Without waiting for anyone to react, Yun Li cupped his fists in a salute and simply walked away.
Shen Huaixu stood stunned as he watched Yun Li leave; he hadn't expected Yun Li to just up and go. He wasn't the only one frozen in shock—Chu Nanxi was too. She had wanted Yun Li gone, but not like this! He was supposed to be despised and driven out by everyone. With him leaving in this manner, what would everyone think of her? They would definitely assume she couldn't tolerate him and had deliberately framed him to chase him away.
"Brother Ying..." Chu Nanxi looked cautiously at Beigong Ying, wanting to explain.
Beigong Ying smiled slightly and said, "It's fine. If you want to go wash up, go ahead. Just put your clothes away properly and make sure you don't accidentally lose them again."
"I didn't... Yes." Chu Nanxi wanted to explain further, but seeing the look in Beigong Ying's eyes, she wisely shut her mouth and took Hupo with her to find a place to wash up.
After Chu Nanxi left, Shen Huaixu stood in place and looked at Beigong Ying. Having grown up in the palace, he had seen plenty of such schemes; he could see right through it, let alone Beigong Ying. It was simply that, compared to Yun Li, Chu Nanxi had a much closer relationship with him.
Yanze walked up to Shen Huaixu and asked in a low voice, "Did you know this was going to happen all along? Is this what you meant when you said something fun was about to happen?"
Shen Huaixu rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I just happened to overhear the mistress and her maid talking while I was keeping watch for you earlier."
Yanze opened his eyes wide in surprise. "So it really was a deliberate frame-up by them? Why didn't you say anything just now? Yun Li has already left."
"Do you think Beigong Ying didn't know? He grew up in the palace. Yun Li is just someone we met only last night, while Chu Nanxi, no matter how despicable, belongs to the Chu family. If Beigong Ying wants to shield her, what can we do about it?"
"Is Big Brother Ying bewitched by Chu Nanxi or something? How can he lose all sense of right and wrong?"
"Tsk, watch your tongue. Yun Li may have been wronged, but he's just a passerby. Chu Nanxi might well marry Beigong Ying in the future. Know where loyalties lie—don't ruin our brotherhood over a passerby."
Yanze sighed, pouted, and said, "Fine, I get it."
After leaving, Yun Li found a random tree branch and rested there for the night. Although he had been forced out of the team, a thorn had been left in each of their hearts. To them, he was now just a passerby; even if they knew Chu Nanxi had issues and were dissatisfied with her, they wouldn't expose her. But it didn't matter. There was plenty of time ahead—they would see.
Early the next morning, Yun Li woke up in the tree, raised a hand to block the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the branches, stretched lazily, and sighed, "What lovely weather."
Yun Li climbed down from the tree and pulled out a map to check their location. From here to Qingfeng Town, the closest town to Kongming Palace, was still a distance of two cities, but it wasn't too far, and there was plenty of time for field training. Yun Li drew his sword from his spatial storage and set off on his own to hunt Mystic Beasts. Gradually, all the low-tier Mystic Beasts in the surrounding area took a beating from Yun Li, to the point where any low-tier Mystic Beasts that ventured out now did so in packs, terrified of losing their lives.