In broad daylight, beneath the clear and open heavens.
Outside the window, the sky was brilliantly sunny and cloudless for miles, yet a thunderclap exploded out of nowhere.
The thunder came abruptly, deafeningly loud. It shook the empty plates on the table until they rattled and bounced.
The burly men about to seize them shuddered in fright. The proprietor shrank his neck and instinctively retreated half a step, his little eyes flickering with alarm and uncertainty.
Though ordinary townsfolk coveted wealth and profit, they still held a measure of reverence for Heaven.
Thunder on a clear day.
To mortals, that was a sign of Heaven's wrath.
Both the proprietor and Guo Yanei began muttering inwardly, suddenly stricken with guilt. Had their blackhearted business of stealing paintings and selling people gone too far?
Had even Heaven found it unbearable and sent down thunder to give them a warning?
While these men hesitated, plagued by fearful suspicions, an opening appeared.
"Hmph." Chen Xiaochan snorted coldly and pointed at the rafters overhead. "Don't commit deeds that offend Heaven and violate all decency in broad daylight. Three feet above your head, the gods are watching. Karma brings its reckoning. Watch out, or you'll be cast into the animal realm in your next life and reborn as pigs!"
Had those words come from an old Daoist, they might have intimidated these scoundrels.
But right now.
They had come from the mouth of a little beggar reeking of sour sweat.
Once the brief fright passed, Guo Yanei recovered his senses. Feeling that he had lost face, he felt fury rush straight to his head.
"The gods?"
"Become pigs?"
"Hahaha!"
Guo Yanei tipped his head back and burst into wild laughter.
His laughter carried through the screen, drawing sidelong looks from the diners in the main hall.