Punishing Yulan Mo
At the guild…
The sash bag boy arrived at the assassin guild to join the morning meeting after traveling for a few days.
Ah Yue Rong wanted to change into her uniform but felt it would be too late for the morning meeting, so she hurried to the hall.
Getting there, the others, who were mainly the YUE members, were already waiting there. She joined them while waiting for their master to arrive.
Ah Yue Fan glanced at the 'boy' with a sashed bag and laughed.
"Senior sister, what persona did you take this time? The last time, it was a farmer and now this?"
Rong ignored him and focused on the side door that their master often used.
"Don't ignore me, older sister, it's not right. You had a good life carrying out your mission, while I who was in the guild was almost killed," He pouted.
Hearing that, Ah Yue Rong frowned and turned to look at the sulking Ah Yue Fan beside her.
Ah Yue Fan still held resentment in his heart because he had searched but couldn't find that person who wanted his life. It must be that the person was good with disguise technique, otherwise, he would have found the person by now.
He was very sure the person is still in the guild because entering the guild means that they cannot leave, unless with a special token from the master.
Without showing the guards at the gate a token that was to be given specifically by the master, the guards would not let a person out of the guild and even, and it might cost the person's life if the guards sniff something suspicious around that person.
The guards at the gate are not students of the guild, and neither are they members of the guild. They hold a special authority that they could claim a person's life without seeking permission from the master. Their identity is still a mystery that nobody knows.
While Ah Yue Fan was still sulking over the fact that he couldn't get his hands on the person who wanted his life, the side door was pushed open and Su Yue with a few other people like Ah Yue Cheng, and a servant girl– Ah Yue Lin walked unhurriedly into the hall.
The disciples immediately bowed their heads over their hands placed on top of each other, in salute.
Sitting on her throne, she waved them to rise.
"Rise!" Ah Yue Cheng announced.
Su Yue brushed her gaze over the people standing in the hall for a while and her gaze rested on Ah Yue Rong the longest before she retrieved her sight and turned to look at the papers arranged on her desk by Ah Yue Lin, the servant girl.
She picked up a pen and dipped it into the ink slab before she started to scribble some words on the white paper.
After a while, she put the pen into the ink slab and gestured with her fingers for Ah Yue Cheng to take it.
Ah Yue Cheng did as asked. He looked over the heavy strokes and sighed gently before reading aloud.
Ah Yue Fan, your enemy has been caught and placed in the dungeon. He's all yours to handle.
Cheng raised his head to look at Ah Yue Fan and curled his lips into a smile when he saw the happiness that the young boy was exuding.
For days now, Ah Yue Fan had been down and no matter what was done or said, he wouldn't show his carefree attitude.
He hasn't even been causing trouble for anyone and the YUE house wasn't liking it. His sour mood had rubbed on almost every member of the YUE house that even the master's parrot stopped coming around.
Seeing him this happy and almost dancing with joy not only made the YUE disciples happy but also made Su Yue glad. Her lips curled faintly for a brief moment before they turned straight again.
"Thank you, master!" Ah Yue Fan cried out as he went down on his knees and kowtowed in appreciation.
"Ahem!" Cheng cleared his throat. He hasn't finished reading the message, ah!
Ah Yue Fan got up and smiled cheekily at Ah Yue Cheng who scoffed and continued reading.
"Yulan Mo," he called.
Yulan Mo immediately raised his head as his heart drummed against his chest. He knew it. He knew he would not be spared! With every day that passed, his fear of the unknown worsened. He has been living with apprehension, knowing that his crimes cannot be ignored. The result is finally here. His only prayer to the goddess was that the master should be lenient.
With a heavy heart filled with fear, he went down on one knee, awaiting his punishment. This is way better than having to face the devil every day, right?
Yulan Mo thought of the suffering he had gone through at the hands of Ah Yue Fan and his resolve to accept his punishment grew stronger. However, his voice didn't cooperate with him.
"Y– yes, master!" He said.
He bit his lip harshly. He knew how much fear was eating him up, but he didn't want to sound so frightened in the presence of his master, yet his voice betrayed him.
Ah Yue Fan glanced at him with a sneer on his lips. If he was asked to punish him, he would have killed him that day. Each day that passed, he made sure to go to the Yulan courtyard just to stare at him with his angry eyes, just to make sure he wasn't having a good life like him, and whenever he saw him smiling over anything, his intestines swell with rage. He would approach him and then challenge him to a duel, where he would beat the happiness out of him.
Su Yue saw the look Ah Yue Fan was giving Yulan Mo and picked up the cup of hot tea that was brewed for her by Ah Yue Lin to cover the faint smile that was caressing her lips.