Chapter 3 Framed

  Xu Ziyuan had just steadied herself, and the girl's cultivation was obviously higher than hers. Xu Ziyuan couldn't dodge in time, and she also didn't have any combat experience. She stood there blankly, watching as the slap was about to land on her face. The young man suddenly took a step forward, reached out and grabbed the girl's wrist, pulling her back. Smiling at Xu Ziyuan, he said:

  "Never mind, Xi Mei."

  After finishing, he let go of the hand holding the girl's wrist and walked away. The girl glared at Xu Ziyuan fiercely, just about to take a step forward, when she saw a 12 or 13-year-old boy bump into her body, then quickly ran forward.

  "Looking for death!"

  The girl vented her anger on the boy, lifted one foot and kicked the boy's buttocks, kicking the boy to the ground. The boy turned over without saying a word, lowered his head and ran away.

  This kick seemed to have vented her anger, and the girl no longer looked at Xu Ziyuan, but instead chased after the brother in front of her.

  Xu Ziyuan shook her head, not intending to cause trouble and also didn't have the qualifications to do so. She rearranged her mood, gathered her courage and continued to visit each shop one by one, hoping to buy cheap materials for refining dan and making talismans.

  She walked east and west in a daze, and Xue Ziyuan entered another store. As soon as she stepped inside, she heard a surprised cry with a sob:

  "It's you! How dare you come here? Fourth Uncle, it was she who stole the token from me!"

  Xu Ziyuan was shocked, looked up and felt a surge of anger. The one pointing at her and shouting was the same girl who had slapped her earlier, with tears still streaked on her face. However, the boy she called Lin Gege was nowhere to be seen.

  "Fourth Uncle, it's her, she's the one who stole the token from me!"

  That middle-aged man named Fourth Uncle looked at Xu Ziyuan with suspicious eyes, while Xu Ziyuan stared blankly at the girl. However, when she heard that the girl said she had stolen her things, she suddenly became furious, her face flushing red as she loudly scolded:

  "What nonsense! What could you possibly have that's worth stealing?"

  "You stole my badge!" The girl said angrily.

  "Shut up, Xi Mei!" The fourth uncle rebuked, turning his head to sternly look at Xu Ziyuan and said in a slightly softer tone, "Miss, do you have any explanation for this?"

  "What's there to explain? Why should I explain?" Xǔ Zǐyān said indignantly, her eyes welling up with tears.

  "Fourth Uncle, she's acting guilty," the girl said through gritted teeth.

  "What have I stolen? When did I steal from you? What did I steal from you?"

  Xu Ziyuan had just arrived in Zhongdu City, everything was still unfamiliar, and after walking for a day, she still couldn't find what she needed. She was physically and mentally exhausted. Now, she was also being framed by others, the grievances she suffered were imaginable. She stubbornly endured the tears in her eyes, not letting them fall.

  "It was you and a twelve or thirteen year old thief, you deliberately bumped into my brother Lin, then the little thief took advantage of the situation to bump into me and steal the token I brought for Fourth Uncle... Waaahhh..." As she spoke, the girl actually started crying first.

  She said that, and Xu Ziyuan immediately remembered that there was a twelve or thirteen-year-old kid who bumped into her and was kicked in the head by her. She thought it must have been that kid who stole her token. Thinking of this, Xu Ziyuan felt a wave of relief in her heart, and a hint of mockery flashed across her mouth. The fourth uncle had been staring at Xu Ziyuan's expression all along, and seeing the change in her expression, he was 90% sure that Xu Ziyuan was not involved in this matter. However, when he turned to look at Xi Mei's painful and flustered expression, he felt a bit unbearable. He knew that she had lost so many tokens, and the family would definitely not let her off. Moreover, he and her father were very close friends. He couldn't help but secretly sigh in his heart. He thought to himself, it's better to pin this matter on the girl in front of him. Although this way, the girl would surely die, but it's better for someone else to die than for someone from his own family to die. Besides, looking at her attire, she didn't seem like a person with a background, and her cultivation was only at the first level of Qi Refining. If she died, then so be it. Thinking of this, he sank his face and coldly said:

  "Miss, you'd better have an explanation, otherwise I'll have no choice but to take you to the family's torture chamber."

  "Where am I going, I didn't steal anything either." Xu Ziyuan's heart had already sunk, relying on her experience, she had already seen that the fourth uncle in front of her was prepared to pin this matter on her head, but she couldn't move her hands, relying on her current cultivation, if she moved her hands, she would definitely die even faster.

  "Good!" Fourth Uncle's eyes were icy cold as he said calmly: "Someone, come and tie her up for me."

  Two people rushed out from the side and tied Xu Ziyuan's hands behind her back. Xu Ziyuan wasn't without thoughts of resisting, but the fourth uncle opposite her suddenly released his aura, pressing Xu Ziyuan tightly in place, unable to move an inch.

  Just as he was about to get angry, he saw Xi Mei suddenly rush in front of him and slap his face with a loud smack, scolding him viciously:

  "You this cheap woman, I see where you're running off to this time?"

  Xu Ziyuan clenched her lips tightly, staring fixedly at Xu Ximei, a thread of fresh blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

  "Take her to court." Fourth Uncle said coldly.

  "What's going on that requires disturbing the family's ancestral hall?"

  With a sound, a middle-aged man in blue robe walked in, smiling and looking at the fourth uncle.

  "Second brother, how did you have time to come here?"

  "Hehe, no big deal, just passing by and thought I'd drop in for a look."

  "Nice to meet you, Second Uncle." Xi Mei said timidly.

  "Oh, it's Xi Mei, what are you still doing here? Where is your brother Lin?" Er Bo asked with a smile.

  "Lin Gege went to catch the little thief."

  "What little thief?" Second Uncle asked dazedly.

  "It's this woman thief's accomplice." Xǔ Xǐmei pointed at Xǔ Zǐyān with hatred and said: "She and that little thief stole the token from me, Lín Gēgē has gone to catch that little thief."

  "Did you lose the token I gave you to take to the store?" Er Bo's tone suddenly turned cold.

  Xu Xi Mei's face suddenly turned pale, "thud" sound knelt on the ground, lowering her head and dared not speak again.

  He let out a cold hum and turned his head towards Xu Ziyuan, his gaze as sharp as a knife, making Xu Ziyuan feel like her skin was being cut open.

  "Did you steal Xi Mei's hairpin?"

  "I didn't steal." Xu Ziyuan glared back at Second Uncle with a stubborn expression.

  "Little girl, you probably don't know the value of this talisman yet." He said, taking out a talisman from his pocket and placing it in front of Xu Ziyuan, saying lightly: "This one talisman is worth 500 taels of silver. You stole 50 talismans from me, why not return them to me? I won't make things difficult for you."

  After finishing speaking, a cold face stared steadily at Xu Ziyuan.