"Please, Master, punish me once more! Make the punishment heavier! Let me remember the lesson forever!"
The faint light from the window fell perfectly on her kneeling figure.
Disheveled black hair hung down to her waist, obscuring her frail body.
Chen Ye closed his eyes.
His disciple should not be like this.
She should never become the "sickly and prideful" person from her past life.
He only wished for his disciple to be mentally healthy and grow up happily.
But... where exactly did the problem arise?
Zhiwei’s current state was not a result of a single day. The lashings of the Bone-Scraping Whip could only be deemed the trigger that completely unleashed the darkness within her.
As the saying goes, the good eliminate harm at its root, and the wise cure the disease at its source.
Chen Ye opened his eyes and looked at the girl on the ground,
"Zhiwei, what is this?"
He spoke softly, and under the girl’s hopeful gaze, he tightened his grip, holding the cold Bone-Scraping Whip.
To all three of them, this whip held extraordinary significance.
From his past life, it symbolized "rules" and "punishment."
He exerted force in his palm, and the spiritual power of the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer surged wildly into this first-tier lower-grade Magical Artifact.
In an instant, the dim small room was blindingly illuminated.
"No..." Zhiwei instinctively wanted to stand.
But Chen Ye ignored her panic, and the overwhelming spiritual power continued to rage into the Magical Artifact,
"Boom!"
The continual spiritual power finally overwhelmed the Bone-Scraping Whip!
It instantly shattered into pieces.
"Have you ever heard the story of Chaos?"
Chen Ye’s voice slowed, carrying a touch of ancient melancholy,
"In ancient times, there was Chaos, born without orifices and ignorant of the seven emotions. The two Emperors of the South and North Sea, in gratitude, forcibly opened the seven orifices in him. They drilled one every day, and after seven days, Chaos died."
"What I did for you, as the two emperors did for Chaos."
His gaze fixed on Zhiwei’s suddenly widened pupils,
"I saw your nature and felt it was a stubborn disease, eager to remove it swiftly with thunderous means. Eavesdropping is a sin, forcibly forbidden! Attachment is a desire, whipped away! Yet I forgot, a person’s nature is like the grass and trees, forcibly bending its form harms the root."
"Master... do you mean..."
The girl, always intelligent, immediately grasped the meaning in her master’s words, yet dared not be sure.
"In fact, Master is not displeased with Zhiwei’s spying... but only worried it’s a stubborn disease."
Chen Ye sighed.
This was a lie.
But a necessary one.
Chen Ye seemingly realized, that Zhiwei had already had a peculiar reverence for him, and spying was among her few... nearly only acts of disrespect.
When he forcibly eradicated Zhiwei’s final act of disrespect, what was left was the near-twisted, wholehearted submission.
"Master is lying to Zhiwei."
"Actually, Master enjoys being taken care of by Zhiwei. Master takes care of many, but only Zhiwei will earnestly take care of Master."
"..."
"Sometimes, when Zhiwei puts on a stern face and lectures Master, it’s quite cute too."
"Master..."
"If Zhiwei, in the future, didn’t dare defy Master and believed in Master unconditionally... would Zhiwei still dare to take care of Master then?"
"I... I..."
Chen Ye smiled, extending his hand, steadily stopping in front of Zhiwei:
"Let’s go, come outside with Master."
Zhiwei lowered her head, looking at her kneeling knees, looking at the scattered whip fragments on the ground, and at Master’s warm hand.
At this moment, whether Master was lying or not was no longer important.
Her cold, slender hand, still slightly trembling, finally cautiously placed itself on Master’s hand.
Amidst the messy strands of hair, those obsessive eyes, at this moment, were filled only with the bewildered helplessness of someone just pulled from drowning.
"After going out, take a good bath."
"Hmm, Zhiwei can be a little black furball or a snowball, but Master doesn’t wish for a dirty ball."
Listening to Master’s endless chatter, she finally couldn’t help but retort in embarrassment and annoyance:
"Zhiwei is not dirty! Master used to say Zhiwei smells nice."
"A month without bathing, still smells nice? Yuck..."
"Master!!"
In conclusion, Chen Ye dislikes ’sickly prideful’ traits but loves his disciple.
And outside, a little girl had been waiting eagerly for a long time.
Seeing Master leading her senior sister out, she immediately cheered and rushed forward: "Master is amazing, managing to pull Senior Sister out!"
"Brat, what do you mean by ’pull’? Watch how you speak!" Chen Ye was unhappy with the little girl; she was truly a rebel!
"How is it not a ’pull’?"
The little girl furrowed her brow, squinting her eyes with a look of disdain,
"Master is tall and strong, just like a mountain bandit! Qing Jun once heard, those bad guys love pretty girls like Senior Sister and Qing Jun! Besides, birds of a feather flock together! Master used to be neighbors with Taoist Zhang!"
That damned Taoist Zhang!
Being his neighbor became a stain on his life, constantly mocked by Qing Jun...
Chen Ye wasn’t angry.
Today, Qing Jun was particularly mischievous, but Chen Ye knew Qing Jun was merely trying to lighten the atmosphere in her own way, deliberately offending him to help Zhiwei let go of her fear.
"Hmm... you take Senior Sister to bathe." Chen Ye’s eyes flickered, sensing a strong presence approaching, but he showed no sign and remained gentle.
"Master is insincere! Master bullied Senior Sister; it should be Master who helps Senior Sister bathe!" The little girl delighted in causing chaos.
This time, Zhiwei finally couldn’t bear it, her face turning red: "Qing Jun, stop talking nonsense!"
"Hmm?"
The little girl squinted her eyes again, with a mischievous smile,
"That’s right, it should be Senior Sister helping Master bathe..."
"Xu Qingjun!"
In the end, the little girl successfully received a combined beating from her senior sister and Master.
...
At this moment.
In the Outer Valley.
A flying vessel, pulled by two magnificent azure luan birds, descended at the entrance of Lisong Valley amid a clear, melodious cry of the luan birds.
Upon the flying vessel, spiritual light flowed, auspicious mists stretched, exuding the stately air of a noble family.
Duan Ling had long been startled by this immense spiritual pressure, quickly stepping forward and standing respectfully to the side, not daring to breathe heavily.
The door of the vessel opened.
Leading them was a young man in a white robe with handsome and graceful features.
Cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer!
Yet, judging by his appearance, he looked even younger than the Stone Mirror Chairman Ji Yueze, a testament to his extraordinary talent!
Behind him followed several other young men and women, each with equally remarkable auras, all in the late period of Qi Cultivation, and sharing many similarities in appearance.
"May I ask which distinguished fellow practitioner this is?"
Duan Ling suppressed the shock in his heart, respectfully clasped his hands in greeting,
The leading white-robed youth, upon hearing this, didn’t even glance at Duan Ling.
A blue-clad youth behind him stepped forward with a haughty demeanor, coldly saying,
"We are people of the Xu Family from Moon Rhinoceros Lake! This is our Xu Family’s young master! Where is Chen Ye, the manager of Lisong Valley? Summon him quickly to greet us!"
Moon Rhinoceros Lake, Xu Family!
No wonder he had no impression of these cultivators. He was only familiar with the cultivators of Peach Mountain and Yunxi Second District, as well as the slightly renowned Loose Cultivators of the Moon Rhinoceros Lake District.
He naturally wasn’t familiar with such young cultivators who were still training in family or sect seclusion.
Most importantly... these visitors came with ill intentions!
Normally, when cultivators traveled outside, who would be so arrogant as to intentionally offend others? Unless their purpose was to humiliate others.
Duan Ling’s heart suddenly trembled, his mind racing, but he dared not show any neglect on his face, quickly bowing and saying, "Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist. This matter is significant, beyond my authority. I will inform the person in charge of the Valley immediately!"
"Hmph, useless!" The blue-clad youth snorted coldly, about to say more, but the leading Xu Qingsong finally slowly lifted his eyes.
His long, narrow eyes swept over Duan Ling indifferently,
"Go quickly."
He spoke only two words, then fell silent, turning his gaze toward the depths of the misty Lisong Valley.
Heh...
Half a year later, the time had finally come to meet this person again!
Xu Qingsong rubbed the rings on his hands, the corners of his lips curving into a cold smile.
He was impatient to see his adorable sister.
And also...
To thoroughly ask,
Why would the daughter of the Mao Family, the wife of Patriarch Xu, consort with men!