(16) Punishment

A little girl around nine years old, dressed in light pink robes was smiling as she played with a beautiful doll dressed in a similar light pink dress.

The doll looked new and expensive, with beautiful long hair decorated with small ornaments. It sat and leaned against a tree to hide from the blaring sun.

The girl was squatting next to it as she mixed the brown food she created on a large lotus leaf, swirling it a few times, and carried it towards the doll.

"Let's eat! I made lots of food today!" She grinned and used a stick to try and scoop some onto the doll's wooden plate. Just as she lifted her stick, the brown goo fell from the stick and stuck onto the doll's dress, staining it a darker color.

"Oh no!" She quickly threw the stick away and grabbed the doll, quickly wiping the dirt away. But it only worsened the smear, spreading it into an obvious stain and leaving the evidence on her already dirty hands. With a panicked face and after pacing back and forth like a distressed baby monkey, she grabbed the doll and ran inside.

"What are you doing?" She heard another young girl's voice and froze just as she was about to reach her destination. Quick footsteps approached and she looked up at the older girl, dressed in white in front of her.

When she opened her mouth, out came an extremely quiet and squeaky voice, "Sister LiJing. I just wanted to return the doll…"

Wu LiJing's eyes widened when her eyes landed on the beautiful doll, with robes that were now stained an ugly color, like a mark of ink on an empty white paper. Her eyes reddened and she grabbed her doll back, pushing QiaoHua in the process. "Why were you playing with her?! Didn't I tell you to leave her alone?!"

Wu QiaoHua's eyes became wet, and she started to sob as she stumbled back, frightened from the loud shout. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"You have other dolls to play with, why couldn't you have just left this one alone?! Do you know how much I care about her?!" LiJing's tears were dripping to the ground as she shouted.

"What's going on here?" A pretty woman with straight brows and gentle eyes, dressed in a peach color quickly rushed over after hearing the cries of the children.

"I-I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" QiaoHua cried loudly.

With a few glances here and there, the woman could guess what happened. She bent down and gently rubbed both of their faces with a soft handkerchief. "Now, now. Stop crying both of you."

"Mother, look at what she did to my doll. I told her so many times not to touch her!" Wu LiJing cried, pointing to the dress the doll wore.

Her mother sighed and patted her head. "Jing'er, I know you are sad. But you should forgive your cousin since you are the older one. Didn't Hua'er apologize already?" Her tone was soft as she tried to soothe her daughter's emotions. (a/n: adding 'er to the end of a name is an endearing way of calling someone, usually older addressing the younger)

LiJing bit her lips and lowered her head. "But you gave it to me for my ninth birthday…"

QiaoHua was hiccupping and LiJing's mother gently carried QiaoHua into her arms, patting her back as the girl hugged her back.

"Jing'er, wait here."

LiJing stared at her mother's back, feeling an ache in her heart.

QiaoHua caught LiJing's expression and she suddenly looked at the ground, feeling a little guilt in her heart. She was brought into the bedroom the girls shared and her auntie soothed her gently until she calmed down.

"Your cousin is just angry because she cares a lot for the doll. Try to make it up to her next time, alright?"

QiaoHua nodded and rubbed her eyes as she ate the grapes that her auntie prepared for her. Then she was left alone to enjoy her snack as she sat and heard voices travel through the door that was barely audible.

Wu LiJing looked at her mother. "But it was her fault."

"Wu LiJing, stop it now. What's wrong with you? You're usually so understanding and it's just one doll. You've reached the age of eleven, and haven't you stopped playing with your dolls? Just give it to Hua'er alright?" (a/n: The full name of a person is used when discussing serious matters to make someone take them seriously)

Her mother gently wiped her tears. "I'll get you something else."

LiJing's lips trembled and she shook her head. "No!" That was the only doll she had left. "She already has a few for herself! I even gave the rest of mine to her! Why are you berating me instead?!"

"Jing'er…" Her mother's voice lowered considerably, "Don't you find Hua'er pitiful? Your aunt and uncle passed away inside the Blood Forest, leaving her alone. You have to treat her better."

"I don't care! I don't care! You never care about me! You only care about her!" She ran towards her bedroom and slammed it open. "I won't ever forgive you!" Then she ran away.

"Jing'er!"

QiaoHua's lips curved down and her tears emerged again. She wailed loudly and the woman who was going to chase after LiJing paused. She looked back and forth between the two girls and sighed, rubbing her head.

She went to hug QiaoHua in her arms and patted her back. "Now, now. Don't cry. I'm sure she didn't mean it." She glanced worriedly at the door.

When Wu QiaoHua woke up, she winced. Her back ached so badly she could barely move. She has been having these dreams lately as she stayed in bed… Tears dripped from her eyes when she remembered the cold look LiJing gave her before she ordered for her punishment. She buried her head in her pillow once more.

…

The heavy atmosphere surrounding two people, one standing and one kneeling, contrasted with the light and elegantly designed room that they were in.

Wu LiJing was on her knees in front of Sect Master Wang with her head lowered and eyes to the ground. His back was facing her with his hands clenched behind his back.

"What happened while I was gone?" Her master could sound quite lively at times, especially if it involved tea and such things that he was interested in. But when he spoke calmly without hint of emotion, that was when one would know he was angry - no, more than angry. He was furious.

"It is this disciple's fault. I didn't watch over the box carefully and it broke," she confessed without faltering.

Wang WeiYue finally turned around with a straight face that contained enraged eyes. "You think I am stupid, dear disciple?" He chuckled and shook his head.

"No, Master."

"You think I don't know who sneaked into my room in the middle of the night?! Or what broke as a consequence?!" He swung his right sleeve with force, and what seemed like a robust breeze crashed in, causing a few of the pottery in his room on his right side to plummet to the ground and crack into pieces, adding on to the dark atmosphere that rarely occurred in his room.

"It was QiaoHua, Master," she truthfully replied with a straight face. "But I failed my duty and also failed to watch over my cousin properly. Therefore, I should be punished the heaviest."

Wang WeiYue sighed and rubbed his temples with a frown. "I have to punish her," he said.

Thunk!

Wu LiJing slapped her head on the ground and stayed in that position.

"Master! I have already punished her and demoted her to an outer disciple. If it has not quelled your anger, I am willing to receive the rest of her punishment!" Then she raised her head and looked him in the eyes resolutely, a red mark visible on her forehead.

Sect Master Wang stared at his stubborn disciple and asked in a deep voice, "Wu LiJing, do you know her crime?"

"I know, Master. But I am still willing!"

Wang WeiYue felt an incoming headache and turned around, not wanting to see his disciple's stubborn face another time, lest it shorten his lifespan. His anger lessened when he thought about the reason behind her stubbornness - but by just a little. "I won't go easy on you just because you are my disciple. Take the rest of the sixty planks that your cousin should have taken… and go to the Inner Punishment Room to receive fifteen lightning strikes! I don't want to see you until you reach a breakthrough."

"Thank you, Master! This disciple obeys!" she accepted with a loud voice, kowtowing and hitting her head on the floor three times before she stood up to leave with a straight back.

Once his disciple was gone, Wang WeiYue sat himself down and continued to rub his temple. He let out a long sigh. "Troublesome disciple!" If she wants to get punished, then let her!

He sipped his tea but found it bland, furrowing his eyebrows and putting the cup down with a loud, Clink! Did his disciple's precious cousin even know what she goes through to help her?

"You pamper your cousin too much," he muttered. How did his friends create such a good daughter but get such a pigheaded niece? He wasn't even sure if this niece of theirs even understood LiJing's actions… He shook his head. Forget it, this is their problem. Just as he stood to make himself a new pot of tea, he froze.

"My precious vase!" He ran over to the broken vase and touched it, feeling great remorse. Then he noticed another object a few inches away. "My precious jade cup!" This costed him seven silver taels! He felt invincible tears roll down his face. He should have held back when he released that force of energy! Why did he want to intimidate his disciple? She was still stubborn in the end! His cup wasn't worth it!

As Sect Master Wang cried inside, his disciple was currently in the main punishment hall.

With her knees on the ground and her hands on her lap, Wu LiJing clenched her jaw and nodded, telling the servant that she was ready.

"Please pardon me, Miss LiJing." The female servant raised the plank that was two meters long and four inches thick, then she swung it towards her back.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Wu LiJing bit her lips and kept her back straight.

The servant felt sweat forming on her forehead as she used all her strength. She really wanted to go easier on Wu LiJing because she was one of their Sect Master's direct disciples. But since it was an order by the Sect Master himself, she didn't dare to.

On the thirtieth hit, she felt a bit nervous and surprised. How was Wu LiJing still holding on? This plank wasn't a normal plank! It had some spiritual energy inserted into it so that it could adjust its strength according to one's cultivation.

Wu LiJing's body was slightly bent down at this time and her head was lowered, but she didn't make a single sound, with only her heavy breathing following behind each hit.

The servant glanced down and saw clenched hands but could not make out LiJing's facial expression since her head was down. Just a bit more than a few days before, the punishment hall was filled with screams and the sound of the plank being used. Now, she only heard the sounds of the plank and it just didn't sound right to her ears without a scream to follow. She wanted this to quickly be over already…

Wu LiJing panted with her hands holding tightly onto her knees so that she wouldn't fall over once the sixty hits were over. Her vision blurred a little and a drop of water fell to the ground from her chin. Her eyes focused on it and noticed that it was slightly red… mixed in with a little blood. She bit her lips too hard, she realized. She slowly wiped her lips, smearing her sleeve in the process.

"I-it's over, Miss LiJing… C-can you stand?" Ah! She didn't want to do this! The servant wanted to pull her hair! She had to make sure Wu LiJing also entered the Inner Punishment Hall to receive the rest of her punishment. How was it possible to stay alive after this? Everyone knew best what kind of punishments occurred in the Inner Punishment Hall. She really wondered what Wu LiJing did to have to enter that horrid place. This was the first time the servant saw a direct disciple step into the punishment hall to get punished.

Wu LiJing managed to nod and struggled to stand up, but she did it. She straightened her back and walked slowly towards her next destination as if she was perfectly fine, with no blood dripping from her palms or back.

Two servants chained up Wu LiJing's wrapped and now bloody hands, which were hung up on a large metal rim. They activated the spell for this punishment and looked away with closed eyes. One lightning strike appeared out from the ceiling and it hit her.

Strike!

She bit her lips and a light gasp escaped.

Strike!

She let out a groan and blood dripped down her chin.

Strike!

She couldn't help but release a scream as the prickling sensation that spread throughout her whole body intensified.

By the end of it, the servants were about to let her down but even with her blurred vision, she said in an incredibly quiet voice, "Another one." The servants looked at her like she was crazy. Did they mishear?

"Five… more," she said weakly but unyieldingly. The two servants stared at each other, shocked and unsure of what to do. They hesitated but she managed to stare at them with a stern gaze which quickly led them to do what she wanted.

Their thoughts as they looked away were: This direct disciple was surely crazy. That was probably why she was being punished.

…

Wu LiJing awoke to a sniffing sound in her room. Her throat was dry, very dry and her body ached, especially her back. She could barely lift her head.

Ah, right. She managed to stay awake, but in the end, fainted when her maid came to get her since she couldn't move a muscle.

"Master!" Cheng ChunHua's eyes were red and tear streaks stained her cheeks. She quickly brought a bowl of medicine over. "Here, quickly drink this. You have been unconscious for three days. The doctor said it would take a while for you to get better."

Wu LiJing nodded and tried to lift her arms that felt like they were chained down by large boulders. Then she looked at the bandages on her hands that suddenly became thicker… Her hands weren't dead, were they? If they were, she might have to use her feet instead somehow.

On the outside, her face was normal but she groaned inside and whined, knowing she would have to wait even longer to be able to swing her sword again. At this point, she was ready to rip her hands off and hope to grow new ones instead.

"Master, let me feed you. Sect Master has ordered that you go into seclusion once you can start moving." Tears re-emerged and Cheng ChunHua tried to blink them away.

Wu LiJing closed her eyes and sighed. "I understand. I would have to inconvenience you for a few weeks then." Sadly, these injuries won't just heal in a few days so LiJing decided to just deal with it.

After her master drank the medicine she needed, Cheng ChunHua couldn't help but ask in a whisper, "M-master… why did the Sect Master punish you so harshly?" Realizing she had just asked a personal question, she bit her lips and quickly lowered her head. "Nevermind…"

"It's because I have disappointed him," Wu LiJing answered with a hoarse voice.

Suddenly, the face of a sobbing QiaoHua, staring at her, filled with hopelessness and despair, appeared. She would clench her hands if she could, but to prevent herself from having to rest longer, she simply closed her eyes.

Time passed, and it actually took two and half months for Wu LiJing to completely heal before she went into seclusion. She moved into a cave in the Training Caves, which was a place where many private caves were built, and where cultivators could come to concentrate on their cultivation without interruption inside these caves.

The area of Training Caves is owned by the major sects so it was safe. The surroundings also contained a good amount of spiritual energy, which would help increase the speed of cultivating.

All of the caves are a good distance apart so one cultivator will not bother another cultivator. It was obvious a cave was occupied if it was closed with no opening or if there was a mark on top of the cave entrance.

Wu LiJing sat down on her warm stone-bed, a bed that warmed up by itself as it was infused with spiritual energy, as she traced the delicate carving of the name characters on her silver blade that read, Abyssal Snow. She smiled.

She missed Abyssal Snow these two months of laying in bed. It felt like torture because as a swordswoman, her sword was like a part of her. Most cultivators receive their main weapon when they reach the Second Tier. They can either choose to buy a weapon from a shop or enter a sword hall, where multiple old weapons are stored and used before by their previous owners. Many great swords have their own consciousness and choose their own masters. If one was not compatible with another sword, they would not be able to bring out their full power.

Abyssal Snow was a new sword that had not chosen an owner for a decade. When her master brought her inside of the store, she knew right away that this was going to be her sword.

Her attention then went to her hands. They were no longer black and there was no scar because of the salve her master sent over. Even with heavy punishment, her master couldn't bear to let her carry any scars.

With a firm hold on the familiar silver handle, Wu LiJing pulled out her sword and stabbed forward with a smile.

…

"I finally found you! It seems running away these past years have made you an expert in hiding."

"Don't think you can defeat me!" A man with messy long hair and big eyes screamed as he used his spear to pierce forwards. He had been in hiding so his black clothes were dirty, smeared with all kinds of dirt and goo, and his hair was unkempt. "This power is mine and you can't take it away from me!" His eyes became tainted in blue as he felt a surge of power in his body; he was confident he could win!

He spun his spear in his hands as a dark energy that was barely visible spread from his wrist to his arms. "Ahahahahahaha! I've become stronger since last time!" His moves intensified as he attacked with rigor.

The man dressed in dark robes, wearing an exquisite dark mask that covered his whole face, dodged skillfully without problem. "I don't want that power," he said. Then he drew his sword and intercepted the spear. "I'm strong enough already. Even your strength now cannot stand up to me." A forceful energy emitted from his sword.

A loud vibration of metal striking metal sprang out.

Suddenly, a slightly visible black energy spread from the crazy man towards the man in the mask and touched his arm. He frowned and jumped back, feeling an uncomfortable tingling sensation. It took a moment before it went away.

"I got you now! Hahaha! I've come closer to mastering it!"

"I just have to kill you before you become a problem!" the masked man replied, jumping forwards to complete his kill. He pushed towards the man's chest and a vast amount of chi was released.

A moment later.

"He's dead?!" A man wearing grey robes with a dark aura surrounding his body, shouted as he looked at the wide eyes of a crazy looking man, on the ground with his mouth open and dried blood dribbling from his eyes, nose, and lips. This dead man's arm was separated from his body and laid beside his stiff body to show that his arm was cut off before the man died.

His two subordinates flinched. "Yes, Master."

"Did you search him?" Their master, Gu LieRi, asked with gritted teeth.

"T-there was nothing, AH!"

Gu LieRi grabbed the man by his collar and lifted him with one hand, his sleeves shuffling down and showing the veins that popped out from his arm as he lifted the man off the ground. "I gave you one task," Gu LieRi muttered with a sinister sneer. "One task! Was it so hard to simply watch over that guy until I arrived?!" His one finger pointed at the dead man on the ground. A turbulent amount of chi emitted from his body, causing his hair and robes to billow in waves around him.

"S-someone intercepted our way!" the subordinate choked as he struggled to escape and explain himself. A dark energy suddenly enveloped his neck and he screamed, feeling tiny painful stabs around his throat.

The man who was standing knelt down with trembling legs. "Yes, Master! Someone was also after it! When we reached the body, that person already fled with the item! This man is extremely strong! After thinking about it, his fighting moves seemed familiar and we think he may be from one of the major sects or clans!"

Gu LieRi threw the man to the ground and he groaned. Gu LieRi grinded his teeth and the scar across his lips trembled. "I don't care what you do! Find out who he is!" He turned to the body with a sneer. "And take this body with you!"

The two men quickly grabbed the dead man and ran out as the dark energy inside Gu LieRi blew up, enveloping the room with pressure and destroying any near-by artifacts.

Gu LieRi had gone himself last time to corner and kill this man after receiving news of his whereabouts, yet instead, he met Su YiJu. That crazy man fell for Su YiJu's beauty and decided to help her, making her cultivation jump until she was at the peak-stage of the Third Realm in only half a month!

To obtain information as to where this crazy man had gone, he agreed to help her get her revenge, and he thought everything was under his control, yet this happens!

His breathing quickened and he yelled as the cups, vases, or anything hollow broke by themselves, with pieces of glass and porcelain crashing to the ground to create a mess.

When he was nearing the city, he felt it. It was so close, so close! But then that feeling suddenly disappeared. The craving inside his body was unbearable. He clenched his hands. He must find it!

As his emotions finally calmed, he recalled a familiar face - one he had once loved and now hates. He used to be able to smile and laugh with him as they spared and trained side-by-side. But after that betrayal, none of those innocent feelings were left.

He chuckled, "It's time to meet again, dear brother." That man owed Gu LieRi, and Gu LieRi knew he wouldn't be able to refuse again.

A/N: In case you get confused, Gu LieRi is Master Gu from chapter 10 with Su YiJu.