The others were lost in a fog, unsure what had happened.
Yun He asked quietly, "Nephew Yun, had you met Yun Ao before? What did he do?"
Fang Yun said, "Nothing much. He made a few odd remarks before meeting me, and I overheard them, so I treated them rather coolly. Afterward, Yun Ao began shooting his mouth off, slandering me, framing me, and cursing me behind my back. In short, I said then that Yun Ao would never amount to much. Lacking talent and virtue was one thing; the real problem was that he was incompetent and shameless, yet loved attacking people of higher Literary Rank for no reason. Thinking back now, my judgment was remarkably accurate. Look-today, his incompetence and shamelessness will bury him in Axe Mountain!"
By the time Fang Yun finished, many of the scholars could not help shuddering. Pronouncing a Metropolitan Graduate's fate with a few words was truly frightening.
Yun Ao said angrily, "Yun Fang, we're both members of the Cloud Family, after all. Leave others a way out-why must you wipe us out to the last man? I only wanted to secure more Dragon-Pattern Rice for the Cloud Family. Now I'm giving it all to you. I won't take a single grain. Why must you press us so relentlessly?"
Fang Yun stared at Yun Ao and sneered. "Who splashed filth outside my door? Who said he would kill me? Who wanted to cut off my arm? And who sold me out to the bear demons?"
Yun Ao hurriedly said, "I was only talking. I never actually did anything. An apology should settle it. As for the filth, that had nothing to do with me. Yun Yu and a few other Licentiates did it. They all stayed in the valley and didn't come along."