Chapter 12
This whole affair was unjust, but not entirely unjust. Let’s say it was slightly unjust.
It all started when Lin Queli left the Ice Cave Abode, and his first thought was—I’m starving.
Having just recovered from a serious illness, Lin Queli was both thirsty and hungry, his mind filled with the roasted chicken in his spirit pouch. Then he remembered Helan Xue’s warning that if he was found making another mistake, he would be punished.
Lin Queli was instantly energized. He felt that this chicken had to be roasted. After all, he still found it strange. When he was so afraid of being punished by Helan Xue, it felt like he could be spanked at any moment, but when he wanted to be spanked, Helan Xue wouldn’t do it.
He had now accumulated a total of 37 points, very close to his goal of 50. With one more push, he could lie back and win the grand competition!
So Lin Queli found a corner, ready to roast the chicken, eat and drink his fill, and then “casually” let Helan Xue know.
But just as he was halfway through roasting, he saw an old man suddenly appear. Upon seeing him, the old man showed a shocked expression. “Where did this young man come from, to do such an arrogant thing here!”
And so, things developed to this point—
When Helan Xue and the others arrived at the ancestral hall, they saw Lin Queli being held down by Elder Ding, kneeling before the altar and ancestral tablets with a bewildered look on his face. His expression was quite innocent, but the chicken he was holding was not innocent at all.
The commotion had also attracted other elders and disciples to watch, making the small ancestral hall quite lively for a while.
When Lin Queli saw Helan Xue, he didn’t know whether to be happy or not for a moment. He lowered his head. “Shizun…”
His original intention was to secretly let Helan Xue know and just get a spanking, but now it had become a big deal. The scene made him feel like he had gotten into trouble. Looking at the people surrounding him, he was at a loss for what to do for a moment.
When Elder Ding saw Helan Xue arrive, he immediately explained the situation to him.
“This brat… is too unruly and mischievous! If he is not punished, how can we maintain the sect’s rules and discipline?”
The others looked at each other.
In fact, it was not an ironclad rule that Myriad Sword Sect disciples could not kill and eat meat, but eating it was not a “crime punishable by death.” It was just that Helan Xue advocated for fasting and abstinence, so everyone gradually adopted it, not encouraging disciples to indulge in pleasure. And Elder Ding happened to be the most conservative and devoted elder in this regard, so…
A few young disciples looked at each other.
“I think Young Master Lin is done for. He was caught by Elder Ding, and now the Xianzun is here…”
“Yeah, I’m scared just looking at it…”
Lin Queli knelt on the prayer mat, his hands nervously twisting the corners of his clothes, his teeth chattering as he looked at Helan Xue.
Helan Xue looked down and met Lin Queli’s pitiful gaze, then lowered his eyes. “He should be punished.”
“Exactly! If we let this go, it will affect the sect’s atmosphere. It is absolutely unacceptable!” Elder Ding patted his chest. “In my opinion, such a mischievous disciple should be put in solitary confinement. Even the most rebellious disciple will become obedient after being locked up without food or drink for seven days. Or, we could give him a dozen strokes of the paddle!”
With every punishment Elder Ding mentioned, Lin Queli’s face turned a shade paler. These punishments could be said to be fatal to him!
Lin Queli was so scared he curled up to the side and didn’t dare to move.
Many disciples on the side looked on with sympathy. Ji Chun was even more worried. How could such a fair-skinned, delicate young master endure this…
Elder Ding stepped forward towards Lin Queli. “Xianzun, please leave it to me. I will teach this disobedient young man a good lesson…”
“No need.” Helan Xue’s tone was calm, but he stood in front of Lin Queli, blocking Elder Ding. “All of you may leave. This Venerable will handle it himself.”
“This…” Elder Ding was stunned. It was rare for Helan Xue to intervene in such trivial matters. But on second thought, if the Xianzun punished him personally, the punishment would definitely be several times heavier than his. That would be fine, but this young man…
Elder Ding glanced at Lin Queli. He had been angry before, but now he only felt pity.
Another elder saw that Lin Queli’s eyes were about to turn red and couldn’t bear it either. “Xianzun… this young man should be punished, but there’s no need to punish him too severely…”
Looking at the usually impartial, cold, and ruthless Helan Xue, the elders actually started to worry.
Helan Xue didn’t answer, just played with his prayer beads, seeming to be waiting for the others to leave, a subtle impatience in his aura.
The few of them shivered. How could they dare to provoke Helan Xue? They quickly and resentfully took their leave.
Bang.
After the ancestral hall door closed, the surroundings became dark.
Besides the flickering candlelight on the altar, there was no other light source. Lin Queli couldn’t see Helan Xue’s expression, and the darkness around him made him feel even more oppressed and scared. He crawled over with a sob and hugged Helan Xue’s thigh. “Shizun, Shizun, I was wrong! Sob, sob, sob… this disciple really knows his mistake.”
Judging by the others’ reactions, it seemed Helan Xue was going to punish him severely. Could there be a punishment even more terrifying than what Elder Ding had said?
【Congratulations, Host, for completing physical contact: Hugging Thigh. Reward: 3 points!】
Sob, sob, sob, sob!! 30 points would be useless at a time like this!
…Okay, 30 points would still be useful.
But his life was so bitter! He was going to lose his life for eating a roasted chicken. This wasn’t what he had imagined?!
“Do you truly know your mistake?” Helan Xue looked down.
Lin Queli nodded like a bobblehead. “Mmm, mmm, mmm!!!”
Helan Xue played with his prayer beads and said condescendingly, “Making mistakes has consequences. Don’t deliberately cause trouble again.”
Lin Queli looked up and said with a tremble, “This disciple didn’t…”
Okay, there was a little bit, but, but…
Helan Xue said coldly, “It seems you are not truly repentant.”
“No, no! This disciple knows his mistake. This disciple will never deliberately cause trouble again!”
Lin Queli was screaming in his heart. Sob, sob, how did Helan Xue know he was doing it on purpose? How could he see through that?
How was he supposed to scam points after this?
But the current Helan Xue scared him even more. He hugged Helan Xue’s leg and used all his tricks to say softly, “I beg Shizun to spare me…”
“You will be punished. Otherwise, how will you learn your lesson? Take out the discipline ruler.”
“…!”
Lin Queli instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
So it wasn’t the terrifying punishments the elders had mentioned, or even worse. It was just a spank with the ruler, and he could even earn points!
Lin Queli quickly took out the discipline ruler and offered it with both hands.
Helan Xue grabbed Lin Queli’s wrist. Seeing that Lin Queli had returned to his carefree state, he felt a rare trace of anger. “Being punished is not something to be trifled with, Lin Luo. I am not playing with you.”
A layer of frost suddenly condensed on the discipline ruler in Helan Xue’s hand.
Lin Queli was stunned. He felt Helan Xue’s low pressure and the cold air emanating from the ruler.
The ordinary wooden ruler had turned into a heavier, rougher blade of ice, making one feel awe. Lin Queli shrank back. “Wait, Shizun, I…”
Helan Xue grabbed Lin Queli’s wrist and pulled him forward.
Smack!!
The ruler drew an arc in the air and hit Lin Queli’s palm, sending a spray of ice shards.
“Waaah—!!”
Lin Queli’s whole body twitched, and he let out a pig-like squeal.
The ruler left a clear red mark on Lin Queli’s palm. The soft flesh was covered in red, and the pain made his entire hand tremble.
Seeing Helan Xue expressionlessly raise the ruler again, tears welled up in Lin Queli’s eyes. “Sob, sob, sob, no more, no more, this disciple was wrong…!”
Lin Queli struggled to escape, but his wrist was held tightly by Helan Xue.
Helan Xue didn’t use any force, but Lin Queli couldn’t move an inch even with all his strength. He felt himself being dragged back in front of Helan Xue again, and then he tightly clenched his fist, unwilling to open it for Helan Xue to hit, saying helplessly, “Shizun, it hurts, it hurts so much…”
Lin Queli had thought it would be like getting spanked for not doing his homework in elementary school, but he didn’t expect the discipline ruler of the cultivation world… or rather, the ruler that Helan Xue had specially “processed” this time, to be so different. He didn’t know what method Helan Xue had used, but the pain made his whole body twitch.
And points couldn’t be repeated. Getting hit once and getting hit twice would give the same amount of points. He had already gotten his 3 points, painfully. So getting hit once was enough! It hurt too much!!
“This disciple really knows his mistake. This disciple will never deliberately cause trouble to make Shizun punish me again, nor will I sneak food again!”
Helan Xue: “You yourself have said that you have made two mistakes, so you will be hit twice.”
“…?!”
“Sob, sob, sob, sob, sob, sob, sob, sob, sob, ah, ah, ah! No, waaah—”
Sob, sob, sob, no one had ever hit him like this, no one had even been so fierce with him!
Lin Queli immediately screamed and cried, this time really like a pig being slaughtered.
Bang!
Shouyang, who seemed to be unable to bear it outside, pushed the door open and knelt down directly. “This disciple is being rude, but Young Master Lin is still young, he…”
Halfway through his sentence, Shouyang saw the scene before him—
Lin Queli was fine, except for a red mark on his palm that hadn’t broken the skin.
Shouyang: “…”
Shouyang swallowed hard.
After everyone had left, he had been listening outside with Ji Chun because he was worried. The noise… he thought something had happened to Lin Queli, but…
Helan Xue looked at Shouyang expressionlessly. “You’ve only known him for less than two days, yet you are so protective? Do you know what his temperament is like?”
Shouyang looked at the screaming Lin Queli and swallowed again.
Now he knew.
“Senior martial brother—!” Lin Queli said with teary eyes, “Senior martial brother! You have to save me!”
Shouyang knelt on the ground, his head bowed, not speaking.
“Sob, sob, sob, waaah!!”
Lin Queli was in despair.
Helan Xue looked at Lin Queli’s tightly clenched fist and said impatiently, “Open it yourself.”
Lin Queli: “Sob, sob, sob, sob…”
Lin Queli carefully opened his hand, closed his eyes, and sniffled, waiting for his fate to be decided.
Helan Xue saw that the red mark had already started to swell, with some bruising at the edges.
He frowned slightly, thinking he was just being delicate, but the force in his hand did indeed loosen.
Seeing this, Lin Queli quickly pulled his hand back and scrambled behind Shouyang, whimpering, “This disciple knows his mistake, I know my mistake! Don’t hit me anymore, my hand will break if you hit me again!”
Helan Xue narrowed his eyes.
It had better.
Shouyang said with difficulty, “Shizun…”
Helan Xue didn’t look at Lin Queli again, just left with a cold face.
Lin Queli clutched his wrist and sobbed, “It hurts, it hurts so much…”
Fortunately, there’s immortal medicine in the cultivation world!
But Shouyang shook his head. “The wounds left by the discipline ruler cannot be treated with medicine, otherwise the punishment would be meaningless. This is an ironclad rule of the sect. You have to endure it. Shall I get you a basin of cold water to soak it in?”
“???”
Lin Queli was even more devastated. “I hate Shizun—”
“Shh, shh! Keep your voice down! Shizun is still outside,” Shouyang said, feeling disappointed in him. “Haven’t you had enough?”
Shouyang tried to coax him. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Anyway, Shizun is going down the mountain, so you won’t be able to see him for a long time. When Shizun is gone, I’ll take you to practice. Practicing is very fun!”
Helan Xue was going down the mountain?
He wouldn’t be able to see him for a while??
Then Lin Queli cried even more sadly.
Shouyang: “!!”
…
And after Helan Xue returned to the cave, he finally felt that his six senses were clear.
Taxue Xianzun had lived for a thousand years, and this was the first time he had encountered such a “troublemaker.”
Ji Chun carefully reported to Helan Xue, “Young Master Lin has returned to his room. He didn’t use any medicine, but he… has started packing his bags.”
Helan Xue: “?”
A moment later, Helan Xue closed his eyes, his tone still without any fluctuation. “Since he hates This Venerable, let him go down the mountain. Back to his Changming Clan, no one will restrain him anymore.”
“But… this…” Ji Chun finally just sighed. “Yes.”
