Chapter 37
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Chapter 37: Title
“A’shang!”
“Ye Qingshang, have you lost your mind?” Ning Jiwei glared, visibly incensed.
Ye Qingshang’s defiance not only shamed their sect but exposed her to peril.
“If I can’t withstand the divine whip, how could you? Ye Qingshang… step back…” Mu Huaiyun coughed, blood trickling from his lips, “Back! I need no protection!”
“Must you still play the hero?! I know you freed Yin Huai for me. By any measure, this punishment shouldn’t be yours to bear.”
“My core is robust enough to endure the divine whip. Losing a few years’ cultivation matters little—so long as my core remains intact, I’ll regain my peak strength. That’s better than watching your core shatter and you become a cripple!”
“Ye Qingshang…”
Mu Huaiyun tried to protest, but Ye Qingshang cut him off. “Elder Feng, Yunshan Sect’s rules forbid none from taking another’s punishment. I stand ready to bear Mu Huaiyun’s lashing. As law enforcer, why do you hesitate?”
“Well…” Elder Feng’s gaze darted nervously. “The rules… indeed don’t forbid it…”
“Halt!”
Elder Feng stiffened. Who now? His eyes found a white-robed figure standing before Ye Qingshang.
*Heavens, a true heavyweight.*
Ye Qingshang gasped. “Master?! Why are you—”
“My disciple’s disruption of the punishment platform reflects my failure as her teacher. These youths are too young to survive such penalties. Since this calamity stems from her actions, I, as her master, must accept responsibility.”
Ning Jiwei conjured a barrier to encase both disciples, gently lowering them into the crowd. Then he channeled spiritual power toward the divine whip. Overwhelmed by the surge, Elder Feng lost control—the whip descended a second time.
“Master!”
Crimson as manjusaka flowers bloomed across white silk, a garish, blinding red.
Ning Jiwei choked back a groan, sinking to one knee. Drawing a ragged breath, he demanded, “The third strike. Bring it on.”
“Master Ning, you!” Cold sweat drenched Elder Feng’s palms, his arm trembling uncontrollably. This was Master Ning! Even Sect Leader Mu accorded him deference—a paragon revered throughout the cultivation world! And he’d struck him!
A deathly silence gripped the crowd.
Mu Shezhi averted his eyes. “Master Ning’s honor compels respect. Elder Feng, proceed.”
“Understood.”
“No! Master—!” Ye Qingshang screamed as the third strike fell. Divine power ravaged the figure before her, his back a ruin. She stumbled forward in despair—only to be flung aside before touching his robes.
“Scram!” Mu Rongyan materialized on the platform, fury blazing in his eyes.
Ye Qingshang faltered. “Senior brother, I—”
Ignoring her, Mu Rongyan steadied the injured man and vanished from the punishment platform.
Ye Qingshang stood frozen momentarily before scrambling after them. Her mind, already frayed from recent illness, shattered completely at her master’s injury. She forgot entirely—another wounded soul remained behind.
Abandoned on the platform, Mu Huaiyun struggled to prop himself up. His vision blurred, yet he stubbornly tracked Ye Qingshang’s retreating form—until Qiao Zhu stepped into his sightline, blotting her out completely.
“Master! Mas—” The chamber door burst open. Mu Rongyan’s comely face now twisted in ferocity. “Why are you here? Haven’t you harmed him enough?!”
“Senior brother, I never meant—”
Mu Rongyan interrupted her, "Ye Qingshang, did you forget you’re from Frostbite Sect and our master’s disciple? Even if you disregard the sect, shouldn’t you consider our master?"
"If our master hadn’t taken that divine whip for you today, do you know what rumors would spread? That Master Ning’s female disciple trespassed on Yunshan Sect’s punishment platform, spouted nonsense disrupting justice, disrespected Yunshan Sect, defied elders, and tarnished our sect’s reputation!"
"Mu Huaiyun is the young master. The divine whip punishes him. What’s it to you? Even if he becomes crippled, doesn’t Yunshan Sect excel at healing? Did you need to interfere?"
Rarely so agitated, Mu Rongyan spoke recklessly in anger, forgetting they were at Yunshan Sect as he criticized Mu Huaiyun. Ye Qingshang frowned, "Senior brother, you can’t talk about him like that. He—"
Mu Rongyan cut her off again, his expression eerily calm like the lull before a storm. "Ye Qingshang, has our master’s kindness toward you meant less than anything Mu Huaiyun’s done?"
"Senior brother… what do you mean?"
Mu Rongyan said, "Before you joined the sect, you’d lock yourself away refusing visitors. Only our master could approach you. Watching from afar, I sensed he treated you differently. As head disciple, I didn’t receive one-tenth of his warmth."
"You know how strict our master is with disciples, yet he made an exception for you. When you first joined knowing nothing, he taught you patiently bit by bit. Eventually I volunteered to ease his burden."
"Later you focused on cultivation. Within a year you progressed remarkably. Back then every disciple surpassed you, yet your slightest improvement delighted him for months."
"When you cultivated, he aided you. When you erred, he shielded you. Short of unforgivable mistakes, he helped however possible."
"Think he treats all this way? That an esteemed master showing such favoritism draws no resentment? He didn’t care—because you alone mattered to him."
"I don’t know what he feels for you. But even as master-disciple bond, it surpassed all others."
"Ye Qingshang, our master treated you so well. Don’t betray him. If today repeats, our fellowship ends. Each time I see you, I’ll make you suffer."
His final words gritted like hell’s echoes, blood-tears scraping her heart. Ye Qingshang recalled the dragon’s roar, fingers trembling hidden in sleeves.
A boulder crushed her chest. She exhaled slowly. "I remember our master’s kindness. I’ve only ever wished to honor him, not harm him. Today was accidental—I’ll beg his forgiveness."
"But senior brother, your biased accusations… Have I ever wronged you in Frostbite Sect? Do you… actually resent me?"
"Yes. I hate you."
