The He Family's Frenzy

Early the next morning, what happened in the He Family turned out exactly as Chu Yuntian had expected. At daybreak, a guard came running in and shouted, "Bad news! Bad news, Family Head! The things—the things are gone!"

The He Family Head frowned. "What's gone? Why are you panicking like this? What kind of spectacle would it be if others saw you?" The Family Head did not punish him too harshly. He knew these men. They were absolutely loyal to the Lineage and specifically assigned to guard the medicine vault. From what he said, some herbs or Spirit Medicine had probably gone missing. It was not as if such things had never happened before.

Some people in the Lineage would occasionally take medicine for their own use without informing them in time. Whenever the daily inventory did not add up, they would come report it. Other than members of their own Lineage, could outsiders possibly get inside?

The guard took a breath. His face remained full of urgency, though he slowed his speech considerably. "Family Head, what was lost this time was the Body Tempering Pills. The Body Tempering Pills are gone." His voice dropped, but the panic in his tone remained unmistakable.

"What? Body Tempering Pills? Did those brats take them without permission? They were meant for them anyway, but taking them without a word is truly disgraceful. Tell me, how many were taken?"

The guard cautiously glanced at the Family Head, then said quietly, "Family Head, one bottle, one bottle..."

"What? One bottle was taken? Fine, I'll ask about this matter. Continue guarding the place. Do not let anyone take any more."

The guard hurriedly said, "No, Family Head, not one bottle was taken. There isn't a single bottle left. We checked. It wasn't the young masters, nor was it anyone else in the Lineage. This was theft." The guard finally got the whole sentence out. If he did not make things clear, trouble would come crashing down on his own head later.

The Family Head's face was full of shock. "What did you say? Not a single bottle is left? How is that possible? Take me there at once." The Body Tempering Pills were far too important to the Lineage. They were precious items used to cultivate the next generation. A third of this year's income had been spent purchasing those Body Tempering Pills.

Originally, these Body Tempering Pills would have lasted the younger members of the Lineage for several years at the very least. After all, using too many Body Tempering Pills at once was not good. The youngsters lacked experience and found it difficult to restrain themselves from advancing too quickly. Every Lineage was the same in that regard. Unlike the Huo Family, the He Family only allowed its members to compete for Body Tempering Pills at set intervals.

And with each competition, each person could only obtain one pill. If they had all vanished just like that, who could bear such a tremendous loss?

When they reached the medicine vault, the Family Head's face turned somewhat pale. They really were gone. Damn it, how could this have happened? Such a massive loss was difficult to bear even for him as the Family Head. The He Family was not like the Huo Family.

The Huo Family had few members, and the main branch never needed to fight over resources. The He Family, however, flourished with people. If he did not perform well as Family Head, the other elders would definitely drag him down from his position and replace him with someone else. Among the outstanding descendants of the He Family alone, there were several from his generation. The He Family had never lacked candidates for Family Head.

"Wait, what is this?" Suddenly, the He Family Head noticed something. After moving aside several medicinal materials, he discovered a small round hole in the cabinet. It was just large enough for a pill bottle to pass through.

"Have none of you noticed this? You let someone calmly come in, drill a hole, and take the goods without knowing a thing. Were you all asleep?" The He Family Head suddenly flew into a rage, leaving the guards at a loss.

The Family Head was doing it deliberately, shifting the main responsibility onto these guards at the door. Perhaps he could even push it onto several others. This would not only absolve him of responsibility, but also solidify his position. This pill theft might even turn out to be a good thing. Anyone who could become Family Head was skilled at turning bad things into opportunities that benefited themselves.

"Family Head, we deserve to die ten thousand deaths." The surrounding guards immediately dropped to one knee without offering a single word of rebuttal.

The Family Head nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand. "It cannot all be blamed on you. Think about it. Who would be most capable of entering the medicine vault and stealing the items without alerting any of you?" The Family Head began guiding them deliberately.

The guards did not have so many twists and turns in their hearts. They exchanged glances and began thinking. Entering the medicine vault without alerting anyone—how could that be possible? They had been guarding this place all along. Unless... everyone's eyes lit up.

"That's right, unless it was one of our own He Family members." Every day, He Family members entered the medicine vault to look for herbs they needed. There were not only high-grade Spirit Medicine and pills here, but also herbs for treating illnesses and restoring one's health. Some people might take a few extra things after entering, then later forget to register them.

That was why things often went missing from the He Family's medicine vault. When he first received the report, the Family Head had assumed it was that sort of matter. Only after arriving at the medicine vault did he realize things were not so simple. This was outright theft.

Do not be fooled by the fact that the pills were stored in only a cabinet. The wood used for that cabinet was an extremely high-grade material. Moreover, formations inscribed by a Spirit Formation Master covered it, making it incomparably sturdy. Drilling a hole through it was no easy matter.

Over such a long period, with such a great disturbance, how could no one have noticed? The only possibility was that someone had repeatedly taken advantage of chances to sneak inside, drilling a little each time until, after enough time, they had made the hole.

"Family Head, are you saying there is a traitor within the Lineage? That one of our own people stole them?" At last, one guard carefully voiced it. If that was the case, then this matter was truly troublesome. Stealing a little ordinary stuff was one thing, but these were Body Tempering Pills bought with a third of the Lineage's yearly income. This was no small matter.

No matter who it was, once discovered, they would definitely have no good fruit to eat. The Family Head nodded blandly. "That's right. That is exactly it. I never expected such a parasite to appear within our Lineage. No, this time, there will be no mercy."

The Family Head wore an expression of firm resolve, then shouted, "Men, immediately notify every member of the Lineage to gather at the medicine vault. I want to see exactly who did this." With that one order from the Family Head, the entire He Family sprang into motion.

After discovering the pill theft, no one looked pleased, especially the young disciples who had originally been due to receive Body Tempering Pills. Their expressions were even uglier. In order to catch the thief, everyone began searching. Under the Family Head's deliberate guidance, the target gradually became locked onto the He Family itself.

Thus, a great upheaval in the He Family began at that very moment. Even Huo Hai himself had not expected that his actions would cause such a huge commotion. At this moment, Huo Hai was still concealing himself.

Every day remained as before: catching insects and gathering herbs. The rest of his time was spent quietly adjusting his condition. To achieve perfect Foundation Establishment, one needed not only a large number of Body Tempering Pills, but also an excellent condition.

"Brother Hai, have you heard? Something big has happened in the He Family these past few days. It seems something was stolen, and it was supposedly done by someone from the He Family itself. Because of this, several people in the He Family have already been removed from their posts." That day, Huo Hai was outside catching insects. Huo Yuner stood beside him, teasing Little Gold as she spoke softly.

"What happened to the He Family? How did things get so serious that people were removed from their posts? What sort of people were dismissed?" Huo Hai asked without changing expression. Huo Yuner did not notice in the slightest that the person responsible was the brother standing beside her.

Huo Yuner curled her lips. "Hmph, what else could it be? Dogs biting dogs. The He Family is far more chaotic than ours. Who knows what is really going on? The Family Head's faction is desperately striking at the other factions. Maybe the Family Head stole the things himself."

Huo Hai smiled faintly. Of course, he had stolen them—twenty full bottles of Body Tempering Pills. However, Huo Hai suddenly asked, "Yun'er, how do you know about these things? Even I had no idea. You could not have come up with all this scheming and infighting on your own, could you?" Huo Yuner was so innocent and adorable. How could she understand such things?

Huo Yuner stuck out her tongue and said embarrassedly, "Ah, you saw through me. Yesterday, I heard my father telling my mother about it, so I overheard." Just as he had thought. How could this girl understand such matters?

"Then what else did you hear? For example, how is the He Family's situation now? Have they found out who stole the things?" Huo Hai asked without revealing anything. Had it been someone else, Huo Hai would not have dared probe so casually.

Huo Yuner thought for a moment, then said quietly, "It seems they caught someone. Some say the second branch did it, while others say the third branch did it. The He Family seems to have split into several factions now, and they are almost about to fight. The Family Head insists it was those few, but none of them will admit it. Don't you think that's strange?"

After thinking briefly, Huo Hai roughly understood what was happening. He had not watched all those dramas full of schemes and intrigues for nothing.

"Hmph, but this is fine too. You can fight among yourselves slowly. Now, even if I use these Body Tempering Pills, it will not draw your attention." Once Huo Hai realized their attention was no longer on catching the true thief, he knew what he should do.

Over the past few days, Huo Hai had adjusted his condition almost completely. Next, he could use these Body Tempering Pills to raise his strength and achieve perfect Foundation Establishment. This was not something that could compare to forcefully increasing one's cultivation with Body Tempering Pills. It was a secret method, an openly known secret method. Many people knew of it, yet few could accomplish it.

It was said that many people in truly major powers were cultivated this way. The Western Frontier was tiny, and even the Southern Cloud Kingdom was tiny. Since he had the chance to use this legendary method for Foundation Establishment, how could he not be delighted?