Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

'This is just like in a team fight when the enemy's ADC is right in your face dealing damage, and your support is still asking, "Huh? Did the fight start?" What's the difference?! Are you playing "Who's the Spy" here?!'

OneSwordToRule took a deep breath. Pointing at the servants and maids who were still tightly bound and about to be sacrificed, he said, word by word, "We all saw it with our own eyes, and we recorded it with a Memory Stone! You were about to strangle them! And you still dare say you haven't been wantonly taking human lives?!"

However, Li Hanlin just sneered. He pointed a finger at the rescued servants, his voice suddenly rising. "My father has passed on and is about to journey to the land of our ancestors. As his son, should I not ensure he has servants to attend to him in the underworld? Should I let my father travel that road all alone and in desolation?! *That* would be the height of unfilial piety!"

OneSwordToRule's jaw dropped slightly as he stared at Li Hanlin in shock. 'Isn't... Isn't that exactly what should happen?! Your dad died, what the hell does that have to do with them?!'

Before he could get another word out, Li Hanlin stepped forward, his presence menacing. "Having household slaves buried with their master is precisely my way of fulfilling my filial duty! It is a grand affair in accordance with the Book of Rites of our Daqian! What business is it of yours?!"

Li Hanlin pointed at the servants awaiting sacrifice as if he were pointing at his own livestock. "These people belong to the Li Family in life and are ghosts of the Li Family in death! They are all property of the Li Family!"

"I am willing to let them continue serving my father in the underworld. That is their honor! You are an outsider. What right do you have to interfere with how I dispose of my own property?!"

The moment he said this, the players' minds were collectively blown.

'Holy shit! How can someone be so damn self-righteous about wantonly killing people?! Reasonable my ass! Where we come from, this kind of behavior would land you in jail for life! Someone in your family dies, and you have to drag a bunch of living people to be buried with them? Where the fuck do you get the nerve?!'

'Honor?! Honor my fucking ass! If you've got the guts, why don't you go down there and serve your father yourself as a filial son?!'

Just then, Mr. Zhao, who had been trailing behind, finally came scrambling forward.

He grabbed OneSwordToRule's arm, sweating profusely and stammering, "Sir! Please, calm down, sir! This... this is all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"

"A misunderstanding?!" OneSwordToRule shot back, looking at him. "You call *this* a misunderstanding?!"

"It... it is a misunderstanding," Mr. Zhao was on the verge of tears. He pointed at Li Hanlin. "Mr. Li... his... this... human sacrifice... in our Daqian, it... it's actually lawful..."

OneSwordToRule: "???"

He stared at Mr. Zhao in shock, then glanced at his equally dumbfounded teammates. "Are you sure?!"

Mr. Zhao nodded with difficulty. "I... I'm sure. The Daqian Law does indeed permit this..."

OneSwordToRule whipped his head around to face his teammates. "Wait... what's the deal with you guys? Did any of you read that... what was it... Daqian Law? You came to arrest someone without even looking at it?"

The players behind him looked at each other, then shook their heads in unison. One of them couldn't help but spit on the ground. "Pah! As if you read it either!"

Another player chimed in sympathetically, "Isn't that thing just like the 'User Agreement' that pops up before you start a game? It's like, tens of thousands of words long. Who the fuck reads that? Don't you just scroll to the very bottom and click 'I Agree'?"

"Well... good point..." OneSwordToRule was speechless.

Seeing this group of "City Guards" who hadn't even read the Daqian Law before trying to enforce it, Li Hanlin could no longer hide the smug look on his face.

He took a step forward and said aggressively, "As 'City Guards,' you don't even understand the most basic laws and rites of Daqian, yet you dare to trespass in my Li Family's private residence, disturb my late father's spirit, and alarm my entire clan! This matter is against the law and utterly unreasonable!"

With his hands behind his back and his chin held high, his eyes were filled with the unyielding integrity of a scholar who believed he was "setting the moral compass for the world."

"I, Li Hanlin, will remember what happened today! Even if the Immortal herself were to arrive, I will report this to the magistrate! I will report this to the Immortal! I will file a formal complaint against you all! Let her see what kind of lawless brutes she has recruited!"

'These words almost made OneSwordToRule's nose twist with rage. 'Holy shit! Is there any justice in this world?! You murder people and you're the one acting all high and mighty, is that it?! If I wasn't afraid of my name turning red, I'd fucking kill you right now!''

Seeing that reasoning with him was useless, OneSwordToRule stopped wasting his breath and directly opened the chat channel only they could see.

[Anhe City Area — City Guard Channel]

[OneSwordToRule]: The Li Family, Li Hanlin! Anyone know this bastard? If you've got any dirt on him, send it over now! Damn it, this guy is killing people right in front of me and claiming it's legal! Is there no justice?! Can any of you guys deal with him?!

The channel was silent for a moment before a message popped up.

[LightOfJustice]: Li... Li Hanlin? Holy shit! What a coincidence! We just caught a guy named Liu San, and he's confessing right now! I think he just mentioned him! He said he only acted on his greed after seeing people like Li Hanlin get away with it, and he was trying to shift the blame!

[BigBroLeader]: Yeah, he confessed to a bunch of stuff about using dirty tricks to force lonely old people to their deaths to seize their property. Li Hanlin was one of the names he gave. We were planning to go after them one by one for the achievement points, but you nabbed him first! I don't think he's confessed everything yet, though. LightOfJustice is still interrogating him.

[OneSwordToRule]: Forced old people to their deaths?! Damn! I knew that bastard was no good! Hurry up! Compile the confession and any evidence you have and send it over! But this whole human sacrifice rule still doesn't sit right with me. We'll talk more about this later, guys!

At that moment, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded in the inner hall.

The "City Guards," who had been so aggressive just moments ago, were now frozen in place as if paralyzed, their eyes staring blankly forward, completely unfocused.

Mr. Zhao watched them, his heart pounding with anxiety. 'I... I just explained the law. Why do they look like their souls have left their bodies? It can't be that bad, can it? Even if you can't do anything about this, there's no need to be this terrified, right?'

Li Hanlin, on the other hand, saw their dazed and numb expressions, and the smug satisfaction in his heart was about to overflow.

'They're completely intimidated! Just as I thought—a bunch of uncultured peasants. Daring to cause trouble at my door without even knowing the law. They show their true colors with just a little pressure.'

He cleared his throat, hands clasped behind his back. "Your trespassing in my Li Family's residence today and disturbing my late father's peace will absolutely not be settled amicably! However... considering you are new 'City Guards' and don't know the rules, it's not impossible for me to offer you a way out."

"If you are willing to kneel down now, kowtow to my father's spirit to atone for your sins, and then personally send these sacrificial servants on their way as a sign of your repentance, then I might, at my discretion, only report you for 'trespassing'… That way, you might still be able to keep those official uniforms of yours."

After speaking, he stood with his hands behind his back, his head tilted slightly upward, waiting for them to kneel and beg for mercy in grateful submission.

However, one second passed... then two... The leader of the "City Guards" remained in that same dazed state, his eyes lifeless. Never mind kneeling, he didn't even offer a change in expression.

Li Hanlin: "..."

The arrogance on his face froze for an instant. 'Come on... give me some kind of reaction!'

'Even if you were scared witless by what I said, you should at least tremble a little or show a look of terror, right? You're just standing there like a wooden post. This is giving me no sense of satisfaction at all!'

The corner of Li Hanlin's mouth twitched. He felt like a renowned actor who had just delivered the performance of a lifetime, a spectacular one-man show, only to find that the only person in the audience had fallen asleep. It was terribly frustrating!

Just as he was simmering with frustration, OneSwordToRule, who had been "dazed" all this time, slowly raised his head.

His eyes refocused, and he looked with some confusion at Li Hanlin, whose expression seemed a bit... constipated.

"Huh? When did you get so close? Did you... say something just now? Sorry, I kind of spaced out."

Li Hanlin felt his temples start to throb. 'You spaced out *that* badly?'

Just as he suppressed his anger and prepared to repeat what he had just said—"Now, if you are willing..."

"Hold it!" OneSwordToRule looked at Li Hanlin. "Forget your little speech. You're pretty cocky, huh? But now we're talking about straight-up murder!"

Li Hanlin was surprised. 'So after all that arguing, you didn't understand a single word I said?'

"I already told you..."

But... OneSwordToRule's next words tumbled out: "Speaking of which, the old master of your Li Family... you're the one who killed him, aren't you?"

Li Hanlin: "!!!"