"Raising a banner of justice, they came after us," Xia Fang said with a scoff. "They openly bad-mouthed us to anyone who would listen, claiming we had acted with impropriety by giving in to our greed when we robbed that rogue cultivator of the Celestial Light Hawthorn, which ultimately led to his wife's death," she added, her gaze turning darker.
"They declared that the consequences we suffered were nothing more than heavenly retribution, punishment for our unjust actions that the heavens could no longer turn a blind eye to," Xia Fang said.
"Then they dragged our founder into the conversation, accusing us of shaming him and ignoring his precepts. They even went so far as to fabricate more lies to reinforce their claims. But in truth, all that talk of us dishonoring our ancestor was nothing more than a ploy, one that was aimed at ruining our reputation externally, especially in the eyes of the Silver Crane Sect, while also fostering insurrection within the clan."
