Chapter 15

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Chapter 15: Title

Ning Jiwei remained silent for a moment before shaking his head. \"You weren\’t wrong. This wasn\’t your fault. But worldly affairs cannot be changed by your strength alone. Next time, don\’t act so willfully.\"

Ye Qingshang murmured, \"Master…\"

Ning Jiwei bent down, summoning a pill through the air to her lips. Trusting him completely, she swallowed it in that position.

Ning Jiwei continued, \"By sect law, colluding with demons warrants six strikes of lightning punishment. Since matters stand thus, even I cannot shield you. This pill protects your inner core from the punishment\’s erosion. Go to the Punishment Hall immediately and accept your sentence. Dismissed.\"

\"Yes.\"

Her master still stood by her side—unchanged since her disciple initiation ceremony.

A faint smile touched her lips, as if she were headed for leisure rather than punishment. Yet her smile abruptly faded.

*Was it because Master favored me too much that Mu Rongyan… treated me that way?*

In Mu Rongyan\’s memories, one emotion burned brightest: jealousy. She didn’t know how deeply youths cherished their masters, but were their positions reversed, she doubted she’d have acted better than him.

After all, Mu Rongyan had been the head disciple before her arrival, commanding their master’s undivided attention. Both were orphans who saw their master as family. That sudden loss of favor—could that gap explain why Mu Rongyan turned his blade against her?

Her eyes dimmed. *Senior brother… is that truly what you believed?*

\"Ye Qingshang.\" Elder Shen’s solemn voice echoed from the Punishment Hall’s high seat, snapping her from her thoughts. She lifted her gaze. \"You stand accused. By sect law, you shall endure six strikes of lightning punishment. Do you submit?\"

\"I do.\"

The punishment simulated heavenly thunder: six surges of spiritual power striking the condemned within one incense stick’s time. The recipient could neither raise barriers nor resist with spiritual power—bare flesh alone must endure.

Survivors often emerged with torn skin and broken bones. Some suffered core damage, never fully recovering despite years of healing. Ning Jiwei’s pill aimed to spare her that fate.

The executor’s will dictated the strikes’ intensity. Alas, Elder Shen was incorruptible. Had he been swayed, her master’s status alone might have lessened her sentence.

Elder Shen’s iron justice left Ye Qingshang bloodied and broken. For seven days she lay bedridden, eyes vacant, teeth gritted against the pain—a rare helplessness that distressed Qiu Huayi terribly. The girl’s eyes reddened daily as she tended Ye Qingshang’s wounds, her pained expression misleading outsiders into thinking *she* was the punished one.

\"Ah—!\" Ye Qingshang clenched her fists as ointment stung her unhealed wounds, pain lancing through her.

\"A’shang…\" Qiu Huayi’s tears threatened to spill.

Ye Qingshang sighed softly. \"The pain’s gone. Just be gentle.\"

Qiu Huayi sniffled. \"Okay…\"

\"Why so quiet today?\" Ye Qingshang’s gaze drifted to the distant training ground. Though rarely crowded, a few disciples always lingered. Today it stood empty.

Qiu Huayi answered, \"The Yunshan Sect’s young master is visiting our sect leader. They say he brought treasures. Most disciples went to see the spectacle.\"

\"Mu Huaiyun? Yunshan Sect lies far from Frostbite Sect. We’ve kept our distance, interacting only during tournaments. Why visit unannounced?\"

\"They say the sect leader saved a Yunshan disciple’s kin while traveling. Likely he’s here to give thanks.\"

\"Was that disciple so exalted? Surely the young master needn’t deliver thanks personally.\" *Besides*, she thought, *Mu Huaiyun wouldn’t bother unless his own father was saved*.

Qiu Huayi pursed her lips. \"Who knows? But since he’s here, the sect leader won’t turn him away. The journey *is* long—staying a few days seems reasonable.\"

Ye Qingshang’s voice turned flat. \"That may not be the case.\"

She bet one tael of gold, convinced Mu Huaiyun wouldn\’t stay at Frostbite Sect.

That night, an uninvited guest\’s stealthy visit made Ye Qingshang lose that bet completely.

Her phoenix eyes widened as she stared at the newcomer. \"You—say that again?!\"

Mu Huaiyun repeated helplessly, \"I said I came to see you.\"

Now Ye Qingshang heard it clearly with both ears. She drew a sharp breath, feeling like this was a dream.

The young master of Yunshan Sect had sneaked into a female disciple\’s room at night under the pretext of visiting Frostbite Sect\’s leader—all just to see her?! All because… he cared about her injuries?!

Ye Qingshang felt the sky might collapse.

In her past life, Mu Huaiyun wouldn\’t have visited her—he\’d have preferred her dead. Could mere days of interaction this life have changed his attitude so drastically—from enemy to friend?

\"Don\’t misunderstand. I just… believe you\’re blameless and shouldn\’t be punished. So I came to check on you and bring Yunshan Sect\’s secret medicines. They\’ll hasten your healing.\" And that voice in his head urging him—certainly not for any other reason.

\"Oh…\" Ye Qingshang exhaled, then glanced awkwardly at their positions. \"Isn\’t it strange? One lying down, one standing—talking like this?\"

Mu Huaiyun tactfully sat by her bed. \"Better now?\"

\"Mhm.\" Ye Qingshang responded, but glimpsed his raised fingertip. Instinctively she shifted aside.

He held her firmly. \"Don\’t move. Yunshan Sect has a secret healing technique. It\’ll speed your recovery.\"

She felt his fingertip trace a spell on her back, then a thorn-like jolt made her flinch. Spiritual power flowed in like spring breeze, easing even the daytime\’s unbearable pain.

Moonlight revealed deepening pink on his earlobes.

Unconsciously, Ye Qingshang\’s eyes held a smile. Actually… this version of Mu Huaiyun grew less disagreeable the longer she looked.