Xian Yuzhu’s eyes darted around as he seemed to realize the gravity of his situation. He slowly lowered his head.
“Fine, I admit it.”
Before the words had fully left his lips, the beauty, who had been speaking with a bowed head, suddenly lunged forward. He snatched the Shadow-Recording Stone from the table and, with a swift motion, hurled it out the window. The stone, which contained the evidence of Yuzhu’s misdeeds, vanished from sight. It flew into the distance, falling somewhere unknown within the vast expanse of the Yuxian Sect. Finding a single, grey stone in such a place would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
“Hahaha!”
Xian Yuzhu snapped his head up. “Fooled you! I will never admit it!”
He turned his captivating, sparkling peach-blossom eyes toward the grim-faced man opposite him. He smiled like a fox that had just successfully pulled off a grand scheme. There was not a trace of fear or guilt in his bright eyes; they were filled entirely with triumph.
“You old fossil, this move of mine is called making a feint to the east while attacking the west.”
Xian Yuzhu was incredibly proud of his wit. He hummed twice and made a move to stand up. “The evidence is gone. Now, I am leaving.”
“Is that so?”
Huo Yan stared at him with an unchanging expression. His thin lips moved slightly as he spoke. “But who told you that I only had one Shadow-Recording Stone?”
Several stones, identical to the one Xian Yuzhu had just thrown away, were tossed onto the table.
“Framing a fellow disciple and destroying evidence. According to Article 90 of the Sect Rules, the offender shall be punished with thirty strokes of the Discipline Whip.”
Yuzhu’s expression changed instantly.
“You!” He took a step back. “You did that on purpose. You played me?”
Huo Yan raised his eyelids and stared at Yuzhu’s beautiful face, which was flushed with anger. His mood inexplicably improved slightly. He spoke indifferently. “I warned you to choose wisely. It was your own cleverness that undid you.”
When dealing with someone like Xian Yuzhu, whose mouth never held a word of truth and who was always acting on a sudden inspiration, it was only right to prepare several backup plans. As it turned out, Huo Yan did not even need to set a proper trap; the brainless fool had jumped straight into the pit himself.
“If you do not want to be beaten like last time, sit down obediently.” Huo Yan slowly turned a page of his book. “My patience is limited. Behave.”
Xian Yuzhu gritted his teeth, his eyes spitting fire. But if he actually behaved, he would not be the fiery-tempered Young Sect Master. He let out a cold laugh.
“Behave? You are not worthy.”
A surge of spiritual power lunged toward Huo Yan’s face! Huo Yan was caught off guard by the sneak attack. He raised his hand with a sharp clap, blocking Yuzhu’s offensive. However, the spiritual energy still grazed his cheek, leaving a thin wound that welled with beads of blood.
“Incorrigible,” Huo Yan muttered coldly. He clamped one hand around both of Yuzhu’s slender wrists and slammed them down with force.
Thud!
Having succeeded in his sneak attack only to be overpowered, Yuzhu was violently pulled forward. Half of his body was pressed against the desk. The bamboo slips piled on the table clattered to the floor, and dust danced in the shafts of light. Huo Yan looked down from his height, one hand gripping the youth’s delicate nape. The pressure of a Great Circle Nascent Soul cultivator descended instantly.
“It hurts!” Yuzhu cried out. His snow-white cheek was pressed against the open manual on the desk. The cold, wet ink smudged onto his face, and his nose was filled with the scent of old paper. From his perspective, he could only see Huo Yan’s black belt and the jade pendant hanging beside it, swaying slightly.
He was visibly dazed. By the time he reacted, he found himself tied to the chair by Huo Yan, unable to move a muscle.
“Aaaah! Huo Yan!” Xian Yuzhu shouted in rage. The corners of his eyes were flushed red, and his full lips moved rapidly. “Do you have some kind of shameful fetish? Kill me or cut me if you want, but you are a lunatic! Why do you keep tying me up?”
“I told you, no more swearing.” Huo Yan frowned and pinched Yuzhu’s face. His fingertips wiped away the black ink smudge. His voice was cold. “Xian Yuzhu, must you go out of your way to make me angry to be happy?”
Yuzhu broke free of the grip and rolled his eyes in exasperation. Going against the people he hated was simply his nature. He would curse whenever he felt like it. Yuzhu pursed his lips tightly, his beautiful eyes unblinking. Then, the moment Huo Yan relaxed his guard and let go, he screamed, “Ah! Huo Yan! You are a big stupi—”
The remaining words were cut off. The dark-faced Huo Yan had used the Silence Spell on him again.
“You really never learn your lesson.” Huo Yan’s calloused thumb rubbed heavily across the youth’s pointed chin.
There was a hint of anger in his touch, and he did not know how to describe his current mood. Xian Yuzhu was more vibrant than he had imagined, but also more stubborn. Even though the boy knew he would gain nothing from Huo Yan, he refused to give in until he faced certain doom.
The remnant soul in his mind spoke gloomily: “I see this beauty provocatively challenging you time and again. Why must you continue to endure this, young friend Huo?” Its gaze lingered greedily on Yuzhu’s face, regretting that its current state prevented it from possessing such a beauty. Once it took over Huo Yan’s body…
The remnant soul grew excited at the thought and continued its coaxing tone: “If you like this peerless skin so much, I have a poison that can turn a soul into an idiot. Within three days of taking it, I guarantee you a submissive and beautiful dual-cultivation furnace.”
An idiot? Xian Yuzhu was not very smart to begin with. Submissive and obedient? Huo Yan could train the boy himself. Huo Yan’s lips curled slightly as he gave a cold refusal. “No need.” He was not so useless as to require that. Furthermore, Huo Yan did not want a soulless Xian Yuzhu.
There were countless beauties in the world controlled and trained by those in power; if he were truly that superficial or lecherous, he would have made his move long ago. It was only because Yuzhu was exceptionally interesting that Huo Yan felt a rare desire to tease him. As for the others, such as that Xie Shurong of questionable origin who appeared out of nowhere, if his behavior became suspicious or obstructive, Huo Yan would not hesitate to kill him. At the thought of having an unknown fiancé in his way, a wave of gloom naturally rose in Huo Yan’s eyes. Regardless of whether the person was a threat, it was safer to kill him.
Xian Yuzhu had no idea what dark thoughts were swirling behind Huo Yan’s cold, righteous facade. He only knew he was extremely uncomfortable. He could not open his mouth or move. He could only flounder in his chair, and even his spiritual power was suppressed! People came and went in the Library Pavilion. Even though few cultivators were qualified to enter the fifth floor, there were still dozens within the sect. He could not bear to think of the humiliation if a single person saw him in this state.
Curse that Huo Yan. He used the same trick every time, and Yuzhu’s current cultivation was not enough to break it. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Yuzhu’s eyes were red, and he looked like he was about to cry from the sheer frustration of losing face.
“Do not look at me with those eyes. You brought this on yourself.”
Huo Yan ignored him and pulled a manual from his storage bag. “Since the Master entrusted you to me, I will not allow you to slack off in your cultivation like the Martial Uncles do.”
Xian Yuzhu was stunned.
“Ten days. You will stay here and finish learning this book. In ten days, I will personally come to test you.”
The thin book tapped against the junior brother’s soft, beautiful cheek before landing on his lap with a sharp thwack. Xian Yuzhu instinctively wanted to shake it off, but his gaze froze when it landed on the cover. The book Huo Yan had given him was none other than the legendary, long-lost, and top-tier Lingshuang Whip Technique!
Xian Yuzhu loved whips. His natal spiritual treasure was a long whip given to him by his father on his eighteenth birthday. For a beauty as bright and vivid as he was, he looked most majestic when lashing out with a whip. If the whip had barbs that could tear flesh away, the scene would be truly magnificent.
Seeing his dazed look, Huo Yan knew he had chosen the right sweet date to follow the stick. He waved his hand to release the Silence Spell and the restraints on Xian Yuzhu, giving a chilly warning. “The thirty lashes from today will be recorded for now. If you fail the assessment, the punishment will be doubled.”
Xian Yuzhu ignored the threat and lunged forward with excitement. “Is this book real? You really gave it to me?”
His mind did not work like others; one second, he was at someone’s throat, and the next, he was so happy he forgot about personal space. As he stood on his tiptoes to get closer, his exquisite face was very near to Huo Yan’s. He was so close that when he spoke, Huo Yan felt a fragrant breeze against his skin.
Huo Yan frowned slightly, unused to the proximity. His throat felt dry as he commanded in a low voice, “Get down.”
Xian Yuzhu acted as if he had not heard. He leaned in like a small animal, scrutinizing Huo Yan’s face for a moment. “Wait, you did not just find a fake book to trick me, did you?”
He grabbed Huo Yan’s collar and shook it forcefully. “Hey, say something! You definitely are not that kind-hearted. You actually want to see me fail the cultivation and suffer a qi deviation, do you not?”
Xian Yuzhu felt he had uncovered the truth. Otherwise, why did that ugly face look more and more suspicious? The man was as treacherous as his character! Seeing Huo Yan’s expression grow darker and darker, as if he were about to strike, Xian Yuzhu jumped away instantly. He then slammed the priceless Lingshuang Whip Technique onto the floor.
“Haha! I will not fall for it! Practice it yourself!”
“…”
Huo Yan took a deep breath and slowly rolled up his sleeves. He had changed his mind; he would beat the boy first to vent his frustration.