Shu Wanzhao was beautiful, with rosy lips that looked dewy and tempting. When she spoke, she revealed pearly white teeth and a hint of her tongue. Shen Changan, seated, could see all of this clearly.
He watched her quietly, lost in thought.
He let her rant and rave, and even handed her a cup of water when her throat went dry.
Shu Wanzhao froze, glancing at him with suspicion and uncertainty. Her two small hands obediently took the cup, took a couple of sips to moisten her lips, then continued her “arrogant and domineering” act.
This time, the System didn’t make a peep in her head. It should be satisfied with her performance, right?
Shu Wanzhao waited nervously for this beast-in-human-clothing Senior Brother to order someone to whip her to death.
She waited.
And waited.
Finally, he spoke.
“Incorrigible.”
Yes, that’s right, scold me like that, then have someone drag me out and whip me. Then I can legitimately hold a grudge against him, and then find a way to blind his eyes.
Shu Wanzhao braced herself to be dragged out.
But instead, she heard him say slowly, “Come here.”
His voice was gentle, like he was calling a little cat or dog, with no sign of anger whatsoever.
“Huh?” She looked confused. Wasn’t he supposed to drag her out and whip her?
Unless… he was going to do it himself?
She shuffled over reluctantly.
He said again, “Give me your hand.”
She was scared of this man to the bone, so she obeyed instinctively.
But the next second, she saw his jade-like fingers holding a ruler that had appeared from who knows where, and it came down without mercy.
Everything happened too fast—so fast that the System’s “Pain Transfer” didn’t even have time to activate. Her palm instantly turned red and swollen.
Shu Wanzhao had been coddled at home, with a well-behaved personality. She had never been hit before and couldn’t tolerate pain at all.
The pain made her breath catch, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.
But her fingers were gripped tightly.
The man didn’t even blink as the ruler came down again, viciously.
Ten strikes in total. She couldn’t break free, crying until she was gasping for air. Her eyes and nose were red, her lower lip nearly bitten through. Big teardrops fell in large droplets, dripping from her small chin. In her struggle, they landed on the back of the man’s hand.
His movements paused. He tightened his grip on her fingers.
He pressed, “Does it hurt?”
“It hurts…” Actually, the last few strikes had been transferred by the System, but the first two she had endured herself, and they hurt like hell.
“This is merely a flesh wound. How can it compare to the pain brought by Demonic Qi?”
After the ruler came the whip. Shu Wanzhao didn’t dare make a sound, sniffling and sobbing.
Perhaps seeing that she had learned her lesson, Shen Changan set down the ruler and gently rubbed her palm with his thumb.
“Senior Brother does have a responsibility to protect you, but you must remember—protecting you does not mean others have to sacrifice their lives for you. All lives are equal. You are no nobler than anyone else. If you want to court death, don’t drag innocent people into it. Understood?”
“Understood.”
She nodded, tears still clinging to her eyelashes. Her pretty face looked like a weeping pear blossom in the rain, her eyes misty and pitiful.
He looked at her a moment longer, then withdrew his hand. From his storage pouch, he took out a small bottle of swelling-reducing, pain-relieving ointment and pressed it into her uninjured hand.
“You may go. Starting tomorrow, you will practice sword swings ten thousand times a day, and I will personally supervise. Until you reach Foundation Establishment, you will stay in the courtyard and not leave.”
What?
Shu Wanzhao blurted out, “You’re not going to whip me?”
Shen Changan: “?”
He looked up in surprise. “In your heart, Senior Brother would treat you that way?”
Yes, exactly! You’re the one who whipped the female supporting character in the original story!
Shu Wanzhao lingered, unwilling to leave, until she saw him reach for the ruler again. Her heart skipped a beat, and she scurried off in a flash.
Shen Changan was left alone, watching her retreating figure. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
On them lingered a delicate sensation.
She… seemed different somehow.
Over the next two days, Shu Wanzhao was in dire straits. Shen Changan set aside most of his affairs just to watch over her and make sure she wasn’t slacking off.
Poor her—her hand had just been swollen from the beating, and now she had to swing a sword.
If she hesitated for even two seconds, he would glance at her, raise the ruler that had struck her before, press it against her wrist, and gently lift it.
“Continue.”
“…”
No wonder the original owner was so afraid of him. Compared to that so-called master, this one was the strictest teacher of all.
She still hadn’t gone through the whipping scene from the plot. She wanted to deliberately cause trouble so he would punish her with a couple of lashes, but this time, since she hadn’t committed any major offense, the man was surprisingly patient and let her do as she pleased.
The person who had punished her that day seemed like a figment of her imagination.
Swinging a sword ten thousand times was simply not something a human could accomplish.
She complained to him, trying to reason with him: “How about you just let me go accept my punishment? Use the whip, okay? I don’t want to practice swordsmanship.”
Shen Changan pressed his fingertip against her brow and gave a gentle push. “Stop fooling around.”
He had no hobby for whipping people, and besides…
Little Junior Sister had such delicate skin. Even a couple of strikes from the ruler had made her cry so pitifully.
She often caused trouble, but it wasn’t enough to warrant the Soul-Suppressing Whip. Somehow, she seemed especially eager about the whip.
Could it be that going out that time had damaged her brain?
Before he could think further, a disciple came running over in a panic.
“Senior Brother! Second Senior Brother is awake and asking for Shu Wanzhao.”
Xie Hansheng’s awakening today did not surprise Shen Changan, but the disciple’s form of address… He withdrew his hand. “What did you call her?”
The disciple froze, meeting his gaze, and his face turned pale. “This disciple erred. Third Senior Sister.”
How strange—they had always addressed her that way before, and the Senior Brother had never minded.
“Come, let’s go see the trouble you’ve caused.” Shen Changan paid him no further attention, pulling along Shu Wanzhao, who was unusually lively now that she no longer had to practice swordplay.
These past days, while Xie Hansheng lay unconscious, attendants had been by his side constantly. Though he woke on the third day, he still struggled to recover—his meridians ached throughout his body, and he could not circulate Spiritual Qi.
But none of that mattered.
His first words upon waking were: “Where is the Little Junior Sister?”
The attending disciple, caught off guard by his inquiry about Shu Wanzhao, hurriedly sent someone to fetch the Senior Brother while he comforted Xie Hansheng, recounting everything that had happened over the past few days.
As the conversation went on, the topic somehow circled back to Shu Wanzhao.
How Shu Wanzhao had caused great harm, yet the Senior Brother had only given her a light punishment as a warning. How the Senior Brother had been seeking out Shu Wanzhao these days, teaching that useless one swordplay, and so on.
Xie Hansheng’s brow furrowed, his voice cold and sharp. “He punished her?”
“Ah, I only saw her covering her hand and crying. As for the extent of the punishment, I didn’t see it. Second Senior Brother, if you feel it’s not enough to vent your anger, you can speak to the Senior Brother again. After all, she nearly cost you your entire cultivation base this time, and who knows how long you’ll need to recover. Not to mention whether the Demonic Qi might affect your training—you can’t let her off easily.”
“It wasn’t her.”
Xie Hansheng threw off the covers, about to get out of bed.
“Ah, Second Senior Brother, what are you saying? You’re injured—you mustn’t move recklessly.”
“I told you, she didn’t cause it. I did it willingly.”
Ignoring the disciple’s stunned gaze, he rose, dressed, and made for the door.
At that very moment, the door was pushed open.
He lifted his eyes, and the instant he saw who it was, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He hurried forward to take her hand, but his gaze suddenly sharpened, his cold, piercing eyes fixing on Shu Wanzhao’s wrist.
Then, following that hand, he looked at Shen Changan, a faint displeasure rising in his heart.
Men and women should not touch.
The Senior Brother, who so strictly observed propriety—how could he be so lacking in discretion?
Moreover, the Little Junior Sister had already shared intimate contact with him.
Even if he did not care for her, he could not allow other men to take advantage of her.