Chapter 6
The moment the cold wind rushed into his nose, Lin Queli felt his feet leave the ground. He was launched into the air right where he stood.
“?!”
Lin Queli was grabbed by the wrist and thrown directly onto the stone slab by Helan Xue, slamming him so hard it made him dizzy. Before he could even recover, his neck was seized by another large, ice-cold hand, and his entire body was pinned down on the freezing platform.
“Shizun…! It’s-it’s me! Cough…!”
Terrified, Lin Queli grabbed at Helan Xue’s hand, his face turning a pale, bluish-white, his legs kicking frantically like a rabbit caught in a trap.
【Congratulations, Host, for completing physical contact: Choking. Reward: 3 points!】
Lin Queli: “…?”
No, wait, isn’t this a bit too dark?!
Lin Queli couldn’t stop coughing, weakly beating at Helan Xue’s hand as he struggled. “Shi-zun…”
Sob, sob, sob, Helan Xue’s subconscious reaction is too terrifying!
But in reality, Lin Queli had no idea just how senseless and insane his actions had been.
A person in deep meditation entrusts their divine sense to the heavens and earth, absorbing spiritual energy. This is when their spiritual energy is most abundant. To protect its unconscious master, this energy will attack anyone who approaches without reservation. If one’s own cultivation is not higher than the meditator’s, they risk severe injury at best, and death at worst!
Lin Queli should have been thankful that Helan Xue’s cultivation was so incredibly high.
It was precisely because it was so high that he was one of the few cultivators who could suppress and control his spiritual energy, even while in deep meditation.
Helan Xue’s face darkened. “This Venerable let his guard down around you, yet I never expected you to push your luck. Truly arrogant.”
“Ugh…”
Lin Queli no longer had the strength to cough. He could only open his mouth and kick his legs weakly, his body drenched in a cold sweat. Even the strands of hair clinging to the nape of his neck and his cheeks were damp with moisture.
Why… hadn’t Helan Xue let go of his neck yet?
Not only did Helan Xue not release his grip, but his tone also grew colder. “Do you know where you went wrong?”
“This disciple… this disciple was wrong… cough… to touch Shizun?”
Lin Queli trembled all over, a few involuntary tears squeezing from the corners of his eyes.
He was confused. He didn’t think his crime deserved this! What was the big deal? Was Helan Xue a cultural relic? Did he get fined for touching him?!
Helan Xue’s eyes were stern, the pressure from his hand not lessening in the slightest.
Lin Queli struggled to turn his head and saw Helan Xue, who had remained in a meditative posture from beginning to end. He hadn’t moved at all. Sitting beside Lin Queli, he still looked elegant and leisurely, able to pin down the struggling Lin Queli with just one hand as easily as crushing an ant.
In his daze, Lin Queli’s eyes met his.
As always, they were as tranquil as an ancient well, without a single ripple, as if he didn’t even see him. Yet, he was punishing him for his mistake. But Lin Queli had no idea what he had done wrong, nor could he decipher what answer Helan Xue wanted before he would spare him.
“What do I do?! Da Zhuang! System! Help me!”
【I-I don’t know! How about we use our ultimate trump card?!】
The ultimate trump card—fainting.
But he couldn’t faint. He simply couldn’t. The moment Lin Queli tried to faint, the pressure on his neck and the feeling of suffocation would make him gasp for air again.
After a few futile struggles, Lin Queli grew more and more frantic, unable to understand what major line he had crossed to activate the Xianzun’s “murder-in-the-snow.exe” mode.
Lin Queli tilted his head back, his reddened eyes no longer able to hold back the forced tears. They streamed down his cheeks, and unexpectedly, as they reached his neck, they dripped onto Helan Xue’s hand.
Helan Xue’s hand was almost freezing. When the warm teardrops hit it, they actually turned to ice.
No matter how much pain he was in, Lin Queli didn’t resist in the slightest, nor did he channel any spiritual energy, as if he had truly placed his life in Helan Xue’s hands—something that was difficult for any cultivator to do.
—Unless, of course, they were a total noob.
Helan Xue paused.
He released Lin Queli.
Freed, Lin Queli was like a fish returned to water, curling up and coughing for a long time as he tried to recover.
During his earlier struggle, Lin Queli’s robes had been pulled loose. Now, as he lay prostrate beside Helan Xue, coughing, his robe slipped down, and his smooth, soft chest was suddenly exposed to Helan Xue’s eyes.
Helan Xue averted his gaze, only for it to land on Lin Queli’s flushed cheeks and beautiful, tear-filled eyes, a result of his difficulty breathing. At this moment, he was tilting his head back, gasping for air. The line of his neck was clearly visible, his Adam’s apple bobbing dramatically with each strained breath, and the expanse of skin below his collarbones rose and fell in tandem.
Lin Queli’s dark hair was also a mess, with a few strands stuck to his tear-streaked cheeks, making him look as if he had been terribly bullied, the very picture of pitifulness.
Helan Xue said, “Go outside and kneel. When you’ve recognized your mistake and know what you did wrong, you may come back in.”
Lying on the stone platform, Lin Queli looked at Helan Xue in a daze, reaching out a hand to grab the hem of his robe. “Shizun…”
Helan Xue raised a hand and burned a teleportation talisman.
By the time Lin Queli realized what was happening, he was already face down in the snow.
“…?”
Lin Queli took a deep breath, telling himself, it’s okay, it’s okay. First time’s a charm, second time’s a habit. Transmigrated for two days, punished by kneeling for two days. A day without kneeling just doesn’t feel right. I’m determined to check off every single spot in the Myriad Sword Sect on my punishment-kneeling punch card!
To prevent future joint pain, Lin Queli even thoughtfully plucked two thick leaves to place under his knees as he knelt.
When Ji Chun arrived outside the Ice Cave Abode, he saw Lin Queli kneeling again.
But fortunately, this time he was wearing thick clothes. Aside from the snow on his hair and shoulders, his complexion looked acceptable.
“Young Master Lin…” Ji Chun smiled wryly. What trouble had he gotten into this time?
Never had a disciple been punished so repeatedly right after entering the sect, nor had any disciple provoked Helan Xue to punish them like this.
Seeing Ji Chun was like seeing a savior. Lin Queli immediately looked up at this kind senior. “Brother Ji! You have to save me!”
Ji Chun’s gaze fell on the purplish-blue fingerprints on Lin Queli’s neck, and he was startled. “What happened to you…?”
Following Ji Chun’s gaze, Lin Queli looked down, clutching his neck and becoming even more agitated. “Brother Ji, I almost died!”
“Oh my, my…” Ji Chun felt both sympathy and a sense that the Xianzun wouldn’t actually want someone to “die.” He said, “I was just about to deliver a message to the Xianzun. Your senior martial brother is about to return. When I go in later, I’ll check things out for you, hmm?”
Ji Chun also felt that this Young Master Lin was truly a peculiar person.
Helan Xue cultivated his very being, his emotions rarely stirred. In the past hundred years, he had never seen him punish anyone…
Lin Queli nodded like a bobblehead. “Thank you, Brother Ji!”
A moment later.
When Ji Chun came out, his expression was extremely strange.
“Young Master Lin…”
Ji Chun took a deep breath. “Perhaps you did something out of line or misleading, which made the Xianzun think you wanted to… dual cultivate with him.”
“…”
Wow, in that case, the Xianzun thought correctly.
Lin Queli was a little surprised. How did Helan Xue know?! It was just a touch, yet Helan Xue immediately associated it with dual cultivation… Could it be that his intentions were that obvious, that he couldn’t hide things on his face??
Lin Queli rubbed his bracelet, completely unaware that the culprit was still on his wrist.
Ji Chun sighed. “When the Xianzun comes out of his meditation later, you should hurry and explain it to him properly.”
How am I supposed to explain this?
Lin Queli was extremely troubled. He scratched his head and said, “But taking a step back, even if I did want to dual cultivate, what’s wrong with that? Why would Shizun punish me for it?”
“Young Master Lin…! You can’t say things like that!” Ji Chun stepped forward and couldn’t resist patting the top of Lin Queli’s head. “You’re still too young! Do you know what dual cultivation means? And do you know what price you would have to pay to dual cultivate with the Xianzun?!”
“If you were a disciple of the Hehuan Sect, it would be one thing. But you are in the Myriad Sword Sect, and under the Xianzun’s tutelage. To say such a thing, anyone who heard it would consider it heresy!”
(TN: The Hehuan Sect is a fictional sect name that literally means “Joyful Union,” often associated with dual/sexual cultivation in xianxia novels.)
“Oh…” Lin Queli blinked and said, “But Brother Ji, I’m being punished by Shizun right now. My neck hurts, and I’m cold and hungry. I can’t think. I don’t know how to explain myself to Shizun.”
“Ah?”
…
An incense stick’s time later.
“Quick, quick! The Xianzun is coming out, hurry up and kneel properly!”
When Helan Xue walked out of the cave, he saw Lin Queli frantically trying to extinguish a small fire in front of him.
Skewered over the fire was a half-eaten chicken. With one hand, Lin Queli was putting out the fire, and with the other, he was hastily stuffing the chicken into his spirit pouch to hide it. He then looked at him with a terrified expression. Ji Chun, standing to the side, also looked surprised, clearly not expecting Helan Xue to come out so soon.
Helan Xue: “…”
Helan Xue looked at Ji Chun. “This Venerable thought you were familiar with the rules of the Myriad Sword Sect. Yet now you are covering for this brat?”
Lin Queli gestured wildly. “It-it was my fault! It has nothing to do with Brother Ji!”
Helan Xue knew Lin Queli was prone to acting cute. He glanced at Ji Chun and said coldly, “Leave.”
“Yes…!”
Helan Xue walked step by step towards Lin Queli.
The air seemed to grow colder. Lin Queli watched the tall man approaching and swallowed hard.
His cheeks were stuffed full, and his lips were still glistening with chicken grease. He was now looking up at Helan Xue with a guilty expression.
Helan Xue stopped in front of Lin Queli, casting a shadow over him.
“Shizun—!”
Before Helan Xue could speak, Lin Queli beat him to it and hugged his thigh.
Hugging thighs was also something that became familiar with practice. A few more times, and he could probably recite the circumference of Helan Xue’s thigh from memory.
Lin Queli thought to himself, I have to save myself, or else with the dual cultivation and the roasted chicken combined, I’m definitely not going to have a good time!
He didn’t know if this method would work…
“Shizun has misunderstood this disciple!” Lin Queli hastily swallowed the roasted chicken, coughed a few times, and then quickly said, “How would this disciple know anything about dual cultivation? This disciple just… just admires Shizun! I wanted to be a little closer to Shizun… Is that wrong?”
But Helan Xue’s expression darkened even more. “Do you know what you are saying?”
“Of course! I’m not talking nonsense! Shizun is heroic and majestic, as graceful as a jade tree, noble and magnanimous… What’s so strange about this disciple admiring Shizun? This disciple fell for Shizun at first sight. After finally being able to enter the Dao of Cangsheng, my joy was uncontrollable, and I only made a mistake that all men in the world make…”
“If Shizun wants to drive this disciple away…” Lin Queli’s eyes welled with tears. “Then this disciple can only go back. But this disciple will not take a second master, and I will never be willing to cultivate the Dao again in this life. If Immortal Lord Changming asks, just say that my heart already belongs to Shizun!”
Anyway, Helan Xue cared about his reputation, but he didn’t!
“…?”
Helan Xue looked down and saw that his pure white robes were stained with chicken grease. He frowned, and with a flick of his sleeve, he pulled his leg away, feeling that this was all absurd. “Do you know that This Venerable is of the same generation as Immortal Lord Changming, and is your elder?”
Lin Queli was thrown back slightly by the force, but he was unyielding. He raised a hand and declared forcefully and solemnly, “So what! Cultivators do not tell lies, or they will suffer the tribulation of ten thousand lightning bolts! This disciple swears here that everything I have said is true. I have indeed had designs on Shizun for a long time, and my feelings are uncontrollable!”
It’s true that it was premeditated, after all.
“…”
Silence.
A strange silence fell over the area.
Lin Queli’s voice grew louder, like a little bird flapping its wings. “This disciple truly loves Shizun! The heavens can bear witness to my feelings!”
