The fortune telling was so accurate that I accidentally accumulated a huge amount of merit!

Chapter 379 Deterrence
If it's just minor squabbles involving crickets, Gu Yuan will turn a blind eye. Even if he's a bit petty at times, he wouldn't interfere with other people's opinions.

But if things escalate to this point and become slander, he naturally cannot sit idly by.

He immediately smashed the teacup in his hand on the ground. The sound wasn't loud, but it gripped everyone's hearts tightly.

A cold laugh followed: "I see you guys have no shame at all, you can even make jealousy sound so noble."

Yun Ran was personally recruited by Director Xie, yet you all keep calling her a heretic. I think you might as well just suggest removing Director Xie from his position!

Gu Yuan is not one to easily use his power to oppress others, but if you really provoke him, no one will have a good outcome.

Xie Xuzhi, a scion of a prominent family who knew absolutely no esoteric arts, had secured his position as the second-in-command of the Special Administration Bureau. He was not someone who could be easily dismissed.
Normally, as long as they don't cross the line, no one will care if they make a fuss or even secretly oppose Xie Xuzhi.

But if they were to openly provoke Xie Xuzhi, no one would dare.

Hearing Gu Yuan shift the blame to Xie Xuzhi and even suggest dismissing him, he was shocked.

The person who was excited just moments before suddenly felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them, leaving them feeling chilled to the bone.

Even those powerful families who weren't on good terms with Xie Xuzhi had to be polite to him on the surface. Who did those clamoring people think they were?

In no time, all the people who had been surrounding him quickly moved a few meters away, turning his location into a hollow area.

This behavior clearly shows that she is afraid of being implicated by him.

At that moment, he realized that his words had been too impulsive, and that someone had caught him red-handed.

A chill from the depths of his heart instantly swept over his entire body, filling him with endless fear.

Fear spread through his body, and the man immediately closed his eyes and collapsed straight down, having scared himself unconscious.

Gu Yuan: ...

Everyone:...

Good grief, when he was talking nonsense, did he not think about the consequences? Now look what happened, he's passed out and left them with a mess!
Some people glanced at Gu Yuan with knowing looks. They were familiar with Gu Yuan, but they had never seen him make such a move.

As people in this circle, they know very well that some things can be said casually, and they can even often act recklessly in front of Gu Yuan or Xie Xuzhi without any problem.

But there are some things, some words, that you can't say even if you hate someone to death. If you do, you've crossed the line.

The representatives around Gu Yuan, who hadn't given him a friendly look before, now had stiff expressions, especially when they saw the ambiguous smile on Gu Yuan's face.

The delegates could only force out a few obsequious smiles: "Director Gu, you see, we can't ruin our competition for a rotten fruit, can we..."

However, in their hearts, they were already cursing the person who had just spoken so arrogantly: he had the ability to cause trouble, but he made them grovel here.

Gu Yuan coldly looked at these people. If it were a normal situation, they would have bowed their heads, and he would have mostly gone along with it and accepted the situation while he was ahead.

Having been by the boss's side for so long, he knew very well what methods to use to intimidate those below him.

But now that he's brought up the boss, he can't just let it go like that. Otherwise, bringing up the boss again in the future won't have any deterrent effect.

"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Today, with just a few words from you, Yun Ran has become a heretical cultivator and a heretic. If you just let it go lightly..."

"In the future, you might say even more outrageous things, since the price has been too low." Upon hearing this, the representatives' expressions worsened, clearly indicating that they were not willing to give up.

But they did agree with the meaning of Gu Yuan's words: if people could say whatever they wanted without any consequences, then anyone could talk nonsense in the future.

"Yes, yes, Director Gu, what kind of punishment do you think should be given?"

Gu Yuan glanced coldly at the person who had fainted from fright, but his words completely absolved him of any responsibility.

"I'm not the one being slandered. I'm just reminding everyone according to the rules. As for how to punish them, let the parties involved and Director Xie decide!"

If he punishes that person today, it means he's letting that person off the hook.

But if it's postponed, and Yun Ran, the victim, and Xie Xuzhi, whose reputation has been implicated, are punished, it means that this person will never have a chance to rise again in the Xuanmen sect.

After understanding the meaning behind these words, many people couldn't help but gasp in shock.

Because of a single sentence, his future was ruined, and his family also suffered hidden exclusion. The price was far too high.

But the deterrent effect has indeed been achieved. At least now, many people are secretly warning those in the family who are not smart enough or good enough with their mouths.

Anyone who dares to make careless remarks and cause trouble will be dealt with according to the strictest clan rules.

Long Ling observed Gu Yuan's handling of the situation with a detached eye and was somewhat satisfied.

If Gu Yuan had dared to handle it lightly, he would have lost his temper.

It's one thing for him to hate Yun Ran, but to do this to Yun Ran in front of him and get away with it is to slap him in the face!

Yunran, who was eating dry rations, had no idea that simply asking the little paper doll to come out and dry her hair had triggered such a series of events.

Those three young masters from noble families ate their dry rations while staring wide-eyed; to an outsider, they looked like they were about to choke to death.

"This dry food is really hard to eat."

Yun Ran nodded in agreement, a rare occurrence. Of the five members of the team, apart from Xin Fu, they had all grown up in luxury.

Although Yunran was able to endure hardship, her body ultimately belonged to the original owner, and her basic bodily instincts for eating and drinking made it truly difficult for her to swallow the dry rations.

Xinfu had no particular requirements for food and drink; as long as he could fill his stomach, he was content.

However, seeing that Yunran and the others were clearly having some difficulty eating, he didn't rush to persuade them to make do or say anything like that.

"I'll go catch some fish. There are plenty of fish in this sea that can be made into sashimi. It'll be nice to change things up a bit."

Upon hearing this, the other three quickly shook their heads: "No, no, no, we can endure it!"

Actually, it wasn't that they could endure it, but rather that Yunran had bound them with gauze ribbons, so if Xinfu went to catch fish, they would have no choice but to go into the sea with him.

They were forced to swim here because they had no other choice. They are quite strong, but they are carbon-based life forms, so they get tired.

For the sake of satisfying a craving, let's not go through all that trouble again.