Chapter 676 – The So-Called Punishment

　　Hai Kuanglang curled his lips up in delight at Yan Tianhen’s misfortune. “I heard that the Rong family regarded that scroll as the most precious treasure in the family. You stole the scroll and was even discovered, so it’s not a loss to suffer a little.”

　　Yan Tianhen, “…”

　　Yan Tianhen looked bitterly at Zhan Fengting, who was smiling beside him, and tattled, “Eldest Shixiong, Hai Shixiong is throwing stones at me when I’m down, and he even likes to watch me make a fool of myself.”

　　AD

　　“He’s wrong to watch you make a fool of yourself, but you were too daring this time. You should be punished.”

　　Yan Tianhen, “…”

　　Hai Kuanglang immediately laughed.

　　The discouraged Yan Tianhen felt that he was like a little cabbage no one loved, so he could only follow Lin Xuanzhi back to Myriad Dao Academy dejectedly.

　　After reaching Little Penglai, Lin Xuanzhi smiled slightly as he placed the 《Spirit Sect Admonitions》 in front of Yan Tianhen. “Originally, you’d have to copy this inside the sect’s ancestral hall, but the conditions on Little Penglai are simple and crude — we only have these bamboo houses, so after thinking about it, Ah Hen should just lie on that meteorite and copy the rules.”

　　Yan Tianhen stared with wide eyes. He almost knelt down. “Dage, are you joking? I can’t even kneel on the World’s Hardest Rock, yet you’re actually willing to let me suffer through copying the rules on there? Dage, can you leave me a way to live?”

　　Are you kidding? When he finishes copying, his knees would probably be broken.

　　Lin Xuanzhi, however, still had a slight smile. “It’s non-negotiable. Just obediently accept the punishment.”

　　Yan Tianhen, “…Fine, you’re fierce!”

　　Yan Tianhen angrily took the brush and paper and walked towards the World’s Hardest Rock. He placed the brush and paper on top and laid down on the rock, as though his entire person was plastered to the stone.

　　Yan Tianhen grimaced as he used spiritual Qi to lift him up by his elbows.

　　A rabbit squatted next to him, looking clever and cute as it raised its head to watch Yan Tianhen. Two white tigers transformed into human shape and stood beside the rabbit, also watching Yan Tianhen.

　　The tall, young, and handsome tiger said, “Your posture just now looks like a dog eating mud.”

　　“Shut up, are you so bold now?” Yan Tianhen turned his head around with difficulty and almost fell from the stone. He asked in surprise, “How did you become so big?”

　　He saw a young man in white with a high ponytail on his head. The man’s pair of purple eyes looked a bit sinister. Isn’t this Ah Bai?

　　What kind of master was I? I only left for a little over half a month, but how come my family’s Ah Bai had grown into this!?

　　Ah Bai showed his tiger teeth and said happily, “I can grow up once I’ve reached a certain age and my cultivation becomes high enough. Look, don’t you think I’m particularly handsome?”

　　Yan Tianhen, “Hahaha!”

　　Hu Po, “…”

　　“Looks like you’re still quite free.” Lin Xuanzhi walked over leisurely as his black eyes swept a glance over these people. Ah Bai and Hu Po immediately turned into white tigers and ran into the forest without stopping for even a second.

　　Rongrong looked at Lin Xuanzhi, then at Yan Tianhen. It seemed to be hesitating over whether it should stand up for its master right now.

　　“Ao ao ao– Are you stupid? If you don’t run right now, are you waiting for death?”

　　Ah Bai ran back and roared twice, resentful that the rabbit didn’t grow smarter. He picked up the rabbit’s collar in his mouth and ran for his life at an even faster speed.

　　Yan Tianhen, “…”

　　Tch, every single one of them is more of a scaredy-cat than the previous one. They’re all unreliable.

　　Yan Tianhen coughed twice to clear his throat. “About that, Dage, they were the ones disturbing me. This isn’t my fault, you can’t blame me.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi asked, “When did I say I would blame you? If you didn’t do anything wrong, then why do you look so guilty?”

　　“After thinking about it, I’m afraid that you would be lonely, so I decided to stay by your side. Do whatever you need to do.”

　　Yan Tianhen, “…”

　　Damn, I can’t even slack off? What hatred and what grudge do you have ah?

　　Yan Tianhen said, “The dew is heavy at night. Dage had better go back and rest early; it would be bad to catch a cold.”

　　“No harm.”

　　Yan Tianhen could only snort and bitterly lie on the World’s Hardest Stone while copying the sect rules.

　　At first, he could still barely persevere and stop himself from making any sounds. After copying a few characters, he could no longer endure the burning pain on his back and the heavy weight of the meteorite, so he gnashed his teeth and let out a few grunts of pain.

　　Lin Xuanzhi stood to the side and watched quietly. A scene from the past came to mind.

　　……

　　Chang Sheng had a scroll in his hand. Although it was placed in front of his eyes, he couldn’t read a single character on it.

　　“Do you admit your mistake?” The man in white asked calmly.

　　“No. I’m not wrong. He cursed at me first.” The child wasn’t tall, but he was extremely stubborn.

　　He was just punished, and the cold sweat from his body almost soaked his clothes. His small face looked like he’d faint immediately. But even so, he still refused to admit that he had done anything wrong.

　　Chang Sheng asked, “Just what did he say? Was it worth you breaking both his arms and giving him a poison pill that brought unbearable pain all over his body? If someone didn’t find him in time, even his cultivation realm might’ve fallen. Did Dao Zu teach you alchemy just so you can poison the disciples in your sect?”

　　Lingyu stuck out his neck, so angry that his eyes almost became red. “He said I was a little bastard with a father but with no mother to raise me. I’m not a bastard — I’m a pure demon! He’s the bastard, his entire village is a bastard!”

　　Chang Sheng, “…”

　　The more Lingyu spoke, the angrier he became. “Shixiong, he also said, he said you… I can’t say it! He actually dared to curse you. It’s fine if he curses me, but he dared to insult you. I absolutely had to make him regret it and swallow his own words!”

　　Chang Sheng’s heart suddenly softened. So he was actually protecting me.

　　He had already looked after this child for a year. Although this child was generally a little naughty, he still knew what lines he shouldn’t cross. This was the first time he had been punished.

　　Chang Sheng raised his hand and gently rubbed the child’s head. “Will you attack anyone who says something you don’t like? If so, then Lingyu’s future days will contain a lot of excitement.”

　　Lingyu pouted. “But I just can’t bear anyone speaking ill of Shixiong. Shixiong is so great. How can they curse you?”

　　“In this world, even saints will be gossiped about. The higher their status, the more rumors, slanders, and idle gossip there will be. It’s enough to simply hear it. Just pretend that you didn’t hear it. You can cover their mouths, but you can’t control their thoughts. Even if they take back their words one time, they’ll say even harsher things when you’re no longer there in the future. So why should we bother putting so much effort into this?”

　　Lingyu’s eyes were wide. He thought for a long time but didn’t know how to refute this.

　　Chang Sheng continued, “However, my family’s Lingyu can’t be cursed at for nothing. If someone dares to curse at you again in the future, just tell me, and Shixiong will stand up for you.”

　　Lingyu’s eyes were red. He raised his hands and hugged Chang Sheng’s thigh, rubbing his waist. He whispered, “Shixiong, that rock really is the World’s Hardest Rock. Even the rock I slept on in the demon realm was much more comfortable than this one. Once I knelt on it, I couldn’t stand up no matter what. I thought that after I did something wrong, Shixiong would no longer want me and would ignore me from now on.”

　　Chang Sheng let this child rub snot and tears all over his clothes.

　　“You’re my Shidi. If you do something wrong, I will only teach you and punish you. How can I give up on you? Chang Sheng patted him on the back. “Alright, alright. Go take a bath, change clothes, and get some rest. There’s no need to worry about other things.”

　　After Lingyu recovered, he energetically sought to make a comeback.

　　“Fucker, we agreed that no matter who lost the fight, no one was allowed to go back and tattle. That brat actually dared to sell me out. I’m going to beat him up again!” Lingyu couldn’t swallow this anger, so he went to find the culprit and give another warning.

　　“Ah!” The little attendant spoke, “Lingyu, I’m afraid you won’t be able to find him anymore.”

　　“What? Did he go to another peak?”

　　“No. When you were recovering from your injuries a few days ago, Chang Sheng told Dao Zu that this boy’s moral conduct was dishonorable and humiliated other disciples, and he even sold people out when he was equally guilty, so he was expelled from the sect.”

　　Lingyu, “…”

　　Can this be the legendary “ruthless person of few words”?

　　……

　　With Lin Xuanzhi standing watch beside him, Yan Tianhen absolutely didn’t dare to slack off. He carefully copied the 《Spirit Sect Admonitions》, howling as he did so. He even glanced at Lin Xuanzhi from time to time, hoping that Lin Xuanzhi would have a change of heart after seeing his miserable state and give him a way to live.

　　Finally, when Yan Tianhen was copying down the third line, Lin Xuanzhi put down the scroll in his hand. “What, are your eyes uncomfortable?” Lin Xuanzhi looked calm and unruffled as he asked Yan Tianhen.

　　Yan Tianhen laid pitifully on the stone, wailing, “I don’t want to copy any more. My entire body hurts. Dage, I was wrong. I really understand that I was wrong.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi smiled slightly. “I seem to have heard this before somewhere.”

　　Yan Tianhen, “…”

　　Lin Xuanzhi said, “Admitting your mistakes, but never repenting.”

　　Yan Tianhen took a deep breath and stared at Lin Xuanzhi bitterly.

　　“What are you staring at me for? You still haven’t finished copying these few lines. Back then, it took Lian Hua ten years to finish copying everything. Since you have such a good relationship with him, how about moving closer to the number of lines he copied?”

　　Yan Tianhen immediately denied, “I don’t have a good relationship with him at all. I hated him when he screwed me over.”

　　“If your relationship wasn’t good, then why did the two of you still work together to deceive me, hmm?” Lin Xuanzhi’s tone was light.

　　Yan Tianhen knew that Lin Xuanzhi was determined to punish him this time, so he could only sigh sadly. He finally gave up and obediently started earnestly accepting his punishment — are you kidding? Right now, he was most afraid of Lin Xuanzhi wanting to settle old debts with him. He would die without a doubt if Lin Xuanzhi ever wanted to settle old accounts with him, and there wouldn’t even be room for a dying struggle.

　　When Yan Tianhen was copying the fourth line, Lin Xuanzhi left Penglai Island. These days, Lin Xuanzhi had always been waiting for “visitors” from afar.

　　As expected, the Rong family really couldn’t swallow this anger. They sent seven clan elders, and even the Rong family’s Patriarch made a personal appearance at Myriad Dao Academy to demand an explanation.

　　The Rong family’s best skill was conversing with all living things. They were all born with the magic to control plants. It’s just that different members of the clan had varying strengths of this skill.

　　Long willow branches covered the sky and earth, blocking the sky above the sect. The Yin Qi was thick and dense, very much resembling the environment in the Tomb of Youshan.