The Punishment

"What are the rules in this academy?" He Liang asked sternly with his back to his five disciples. His hands were joined behind his back.

Even though He Liang had not bewitched them with a silent spell, the five disciples were quiet. Not only that, but they also looked scared. After all, they had broken the rules.

Well, except for the two guys on the far right. Mu Fei showed an ordinary and innocent face. He was not in the fight, was he? So, he should be safe. While next to him was Jianyi, who only showed a flat face.

"I'm asking," He Liang snarled when he didn't get any response from them.

"F-Fighting with magic and swords is forbidden." The young man in the middle stuttered his answer. Apparently, his teacher's bluff managed to shrink his guts.

"And what were you all doing?" He Liang asked again. This time, it sounded calmer but still firm.

"F-Fighting with a sword."

"And what does that mean?"

The middle young man looked to the right and then to the left. He then had difficulty swallowing his saliva after seeing that none of his friends intended to reply to He Liang. That meant the task of answering lied with him. Again. "W-We broke the rules."

Hearing that, He Liang stopped the slight movement of his finger in his grip. After that, he turned to look at his disciple. "So you admit your mistakes?" he asked after shifting his sharp gaze to those who were standing lined up like cats sprayed with water.

Silence for a while. Facing He Liang head-on was definitely different from before as he showed his back.

"It's Jianyi's fault!" shouted the young man on the far left. He flashed his hateful glare towards Jianyi. "He challenged us to a fight."

He Liang followed the young man Zhen Ren's gaze and couldn't understand how his student could blame someone else even though Zhen Ren was clearly at fault in this matter. Whether Zhenren, Xue Su, Tongmu, or Jianyi, who started it, they were guilty of fighting with swords. Oh, even unarmed fighting is forbidden.

He walked over to Zhen Ren, then stopped a step in front of him. "So you think that you're innocent?" he asked, with his gaze pointed sharply at Zhen Ren. He had heard the news about the destructive behavior of Zhen Ren's gang that liked to bully Mu Fei. Unfortunately, Mu Fei remained silent and didn't report it to the teacher. Likewise, the other disciples were intimidated by the greatness of Zhen Ren's family in the Sun clan. So it was difficult for the school to take action if they did not have any evidence.

Zhen Ren no longer answered and instead looked away with a loud snort.

"Having no evidence doesn't mean that we don't pay attention to you. It's been a long time since we heard rumors of you bullying students, especially Mu Fei."

Hearing his name being called, Mu Fei felt his heart stop beating for a moment. Then a surge of anger rushed through his veins. His hands were clenched into fists, holding back the sudden negative emotion that hit him. He didn't care if it brought pain to his scars that hadn't completely healed.

He always hated bullies. It felt like he wanted to punch them right away.

He Liang let out a long breath when he again did not get a reply from his disciple. "You're all punished. Zhen Ren, Xian Su, Tongmu, and Jianyi will copy the rules a hundred times and are tasked with cleaning up the library and helping the staff."

Zhen Ren immediately turned his head and ended up meeting He Liang's eyes. He did not hesitate to look at his teacher disapprovingly as if to show his protest. Xue Su and Tongmu also wanted to raise their objections, but it was failed after seeing the eye fight between Zhen Ren and He Liang.

"All but Jianyi and Mu Fei can leave."

No rebuttal. Zhen Ren, Xian Su, and Tongmu left He Liang's room one by one. Only Jianyi and Mu Fei were left standing still at their place.

"You're the best student at Lan Tian Academy, Jianyi." He Liang started a conversation among the three of them. "And the most obedient to the rules," he continued. He then pointed his feet towards Jianyi. "I didn't expect you to do something like this," he said when he arrived in front of Jianyi. Of course, he meant the violation.

After being silent and barely moving for a long time, Jianyi finally reacted and showed that he was not a living statue. He put his hands together in front of his chest and lowered his gaze as he said, "I was wrong, Master."

What a contrast, wasn't it? One immediately admitted his guilt, while the other did not want to be considered guilty.

"Sure, you were wrong, even if it was for the sake of protecting Mu Fei." He Liang glanced at Mu Fei. He understood why Jianyi acted like that. Jianyi definitely couldn't stand the bullying in front of his eyes. Usually, Jianyi did not like to be directly involved in such matters. But this time, it was different.

"Yes, Master."

"You know you won't escape punishment despite being a smart student, don't you?"

"Yes."

"That's why I'll give you additional punishment. From now on, you'll share a room with Mu Fei."

As the most brilliant student, the quietest, the most obedient, and from a large clan, Jianyi had almost no friends because his classmates had trouble communicating with him. So, no one liked to share the same room with him, and he ended up alone in his big room. It was very different from Mu Fei, who had no roommates due to his stupidity and weak body, especially since Zhen Ren's gang bothered him.

"You'll help Mu Fei move out. Got it?"

"Yes, Master."

He Liang nodded in satisfaction. Next, it was Mu Fei's turn. He added to his steps to get in front of him. "And you, Mu Fei." He deliberately hung his sentence. "I know you can't use spirit power or sword. But, at least, you need to know how to defend yourself. Don't be ridiculed and bullied for something that's beyond your control. You have to learn to respect yourself."

Mu Fei's chest rippled after hearing that. He Liang's words reminded him of something.

Suddenly, he felt a touch on his arms. He glanced at the hands, then his eyes shifted to the owner of the hands. It was He Liang. Who else?

"You understand, Mu Fei?" asked He Liang, sounding softer. After all, Mu Fei was also his disciple who needed his attention. Making Mu Fei choose suicide was definitely a sign that he failed to monitor the situation.

Mu Fei nodded. He then followed Jianyi's gesture and said, "Yes, Master. Thank you for your concern."