Face veil

The next day, an abandoned hunting ground was discovered in the suburbs.

The students of the pavilion were ordered by the Emperor to come and participate in the trial operation. A dozen students surrounded Song Yinxing and the other two, asking them a barrage of questions, trying to find out what the "Paolin" looked like from them.

"How tall and big is Pao Lin? What does it look like?"

"Is it exactly the same as the model in Xiao Fengyu's hand?"

"That model looks movable, doesn't it? Is it powered by a halberd?"

Is that glass in the middle?

Why is it called 'Paolin'? Does it have any symbolic meaning?

Song Yinxing smiled but did not answer, only saying, "You'll know in a moment."

Ning Xunxu said, "Impressive, especially impressive."

His words had piqued everyone's interest, and they all begged Ning Xunxu to say more, but Ning Xunxu remained silent, refusing to answer any questions. The crowd said, "Where's Xiao Qi? Where's Xiao Qi? Why don't we just ask Xiao Qi directly?"

One person replied, "Are you stupid? It'll definitely be Xiao Qi piloting the cannon unicorn to see us in a bit!"

"Where is Wei Chong? Could he be with Xiao Qi?"

Lin Kuo said, "No, that's not it. Wei Chong is being punished at home."

After a moment of silence, the others shook their heads helplessly and said, "Laws are indeed constraints, but what exactly do your aristocratic family's rules of etiquette constrain? What's so punishable about practicing martial arts? Regardless of whether Weichong practiced martial arts to protect Xiaoqi, he hasn't done anything utterly heinous. Before... it was out of necessity, a way to protect ourselves that we established these aristocratic family rules of etiquette. Now..."

Before he finished speaking, everyone understood what he meant.

Outdated and unreasonable laws and regulations should not exist.

“Who says otherwise?” Lin Kuo said.

As soon as he finished speaking, all the students of the Pavilion Middle School except for the children of aristocratic families looked at Lin Kuo, their shock was self-evident. Lin Kuo shrugged his shoulders as if it didn't matter and said, "When I was a child, I played in the mud and got my clothes dirty. I went out to play in my dirty clothes and was then punished by copying the rules of etiquette ten times."

Everyone was already stunned when they heard this, but Lin Kuo said something even more shocking.

"Do you know how thick the etiquette and rules of aristocratic families are? According to our thickest book, it's at least three volumes. I copied it ten times, until I was dizzy, my eyes were blurry, and my arms ached. In the end, they found out I had missed a word, so I was punished by having to copy it five more times."

The crowd found it amusing at one moment, and at the other moment felt they should comfort Lin Kuo.

This was an extremely painful and innocent experience for Lin Kuo. First, he had no idea that going out to play in dirty clothes violated etiquette; second, he did not expect that someone would actually compare the etiquette rules word by word ten times; third, he really did not know that he had missed copying a single word; finally, after copying the aristocratic family etiquette rules fifteen times, he decided to overthrow the rules.

Ning Xunxu said, "In fact, all ten children from aristocratic families have been punished, without exception."

He Qi asked, "Really?"

Ning Xunxu glanced at him, saw through his thoughts, and said with a hint of mockery, "This is the first time Brother Weichong has been punished."

He Qi remained silent, which aroused everyone's curiosity. Since the Emperor had not yet arrived, they urged Lin Kuo and Ning Xunxu to talk about the punishments they had suffered when they were young.

Lin Kuo said: "Write down the rules of etiquette, be silenced for a month, enter the lake on a cold day, and run twenty laps around the mansion."

Ning Xunxu said: "One-handed handstand, confinement for three months, kneeling under the scorching sun as punishment, and playing the same piece a thousand times."

Seeing everyone staring in disbelief, Lin Kuo said, "If we really wanted to list them all, the two of us would probably have to talk for three days and three nights."

Of the ten children from prominent families, he and Ning Xunxu were the most severely punished.

While many students at Gezhong Middle School come from strict families, none have received such harsh punishments, let alone being forced to copy texts ten times and then meticulously matching each line. It seems that children from wealthy families are not always carefree in their childhood. One person remarked, "To grow up with such a personality despite such punishment, I truly admire you."

Lin Kuo said, "You're too kind, it's nothing."

In reality, they were all just trying to save their lives; the punishments were for show, for the emperor's benefit. Regardless of who was punished, their parents always endured the heartache and shed tears.

One person asked, "What kind of punishment will Wei Chong receive for practicing martial arts?"

Ning Xunxu glanced at He Qi, omitted the phrase "self-destruction of martial arts," and said directly, "Confined to your residence for five years."

"This won't do!!"

"Stop talking, His Majesty is here!"

"What? Who's here?"

"Your Majesty!"

"!"

The students of the pavilion school tidied their appearance and stood in two rows, upright and proper. Today, the Emperor had invited them, and to avoid being impolite, they dressed solemnly, their smiles now suppressed. They truly resembled their parents. From a distance, this group of people looked just like high-ranking officials of the court.

His Majesty did not travel by carriage today; he arrived in ordinary clothes on horseback, followed by Wei Si, who also rode a fine horse. However…

Everyone narrowed their eyes, thinking to themselves: How could Yingchang have come riding the same horse as him!?

What's even more shocking is that Wei Si and Wu Yin are wearing the same color clothes today.

Li Jian clenched his fists tighter and tighter, his nails digging into his palms, leaving ever deeper marks. He was increasingly confused about the situation—what exactly was Wei Si, Wei Luanhua, trying to do? Did he truly love Ying Chang? If he didn't love Ying Chang, then what was his purpose?

Li Jian was somewhat confused, his thoughts wandering far away, until the person beside him coughed softly, bringing him back to his senses. The moment he came back to his senses, his gaze met Wei Si's.

Wei Si glanced at Li Jian lightly, then covered his face and asked Wu Yin with a smile, "Ying Chang, does he have feelings for you?"

Wu Yin said, "I'm not very good at understanding people's hearts, and I'm not particularly perceptive when it comes to matters of love."

Wei Si said, "Really? I think Yingchang is quite intelligent."

Wu Yin said, "Is it clever? But I don't know why you want to ask me for your hand in marriage."

Wei Si genuinely laughed this time. He closed his fan, touched Wu Yin's nose, and said, "I don't know why you still need to consider this."

"Why should I consider your marriage proposal?" Wu Yin said.

Wei Si was not angry; instead, he laughed even more happily and sighed, "Yingchang, Yingchang, how could you be so lacking in wit?"

He rode a reddish-brown horse, a smile playing on his lips, his hand around Wu Yin to hold the reins, looking like a lover who had just won the heart of a beautiful woman.

The sound of hooves grew closer and closer, and only then did everyone realize that there was another horse behind Wei Si's reddish-brown steed.

This white horse, its hooves treading on clouds and adorned with a silver saddle, its silver hooves fluttering like falling jade, the saddle gleaming with a cold, hard light like a sword. The horse is steady and swift as a shooting star, giving the rider an air of chivalry, yet the rider is no less impressive, even surpassing the horse in some respects.

He was dressed in white with a silver belt. When his sleeves fluttered, a glint of silver could be seen at his waist. His movements while riding a horse were fluid and graceful, like a painting. What was most amazing was that he wore a veil to cover half of his face.

The face was completely hidden under the white veil, but the exposed face attracted everyone's attention.

Even just looking at half of his face, you can tell he is an extremely handsome man.

It is easy to be cautious.

Yi Shen dismounted and walked to Lin Kuo's side. He heard Lin Kuo say, "Wei Chong, why are you wearing a veil?" Before he could answer, Ning Xunxu said, "Brother Wei Chong, are you sure you didn't hurt your face?"

Yi Shen shook his head.

The Emperor said, “Oh. He should have been confined to his quarters for five years, but instead he has been forced to wear a veil for five years.”

Only then did everyone realize that Yi Shen was being punished for wearing a veil today, and that the punishment would last for five years. They didn't know whether to lament not seeing Yi Shen's face for five years or to praise how the veiled Yi Shen looked like a banished immortal who was detached from worldly affairs.

Lin Kuo quietly checked Yi Shen's pulse and whispered, "Still there?"

Yi Shen said, "It did not self-destruct."

That makes sense. His Majesty wouldn't allow Yi Shen to destroy himself at this time. The fact that he specifically sent Yi Shen on horseback today shows that Yi Shen hasn't destroyed his martial arts skills...

"Alright. Now that everyone is here, let Xiao Qi begin," the Emperor said.

The crowd waited quietly, perhaps too curious, for so many people made hardly a sound, not even a whisper. Suddenly, a sound came from afar.

Just by listening to the sound, it sounded like something had broken a tree branch on the ground. It was definitely not a human foot, but something that was more than ten times larger than a human foot.

The crowd could not imagine it and could only stare intently at the source of the sound.

A metal-copper right hand lifted a branch. The right hand, with five fingers, moved with surprising fluidity and ease. Then, the metal-copper left hand lifted a branch from another tree. Once the branches obstructing its path were cleared, everyone could finally see what it was.

"This...what is this! Good..."

"It...it can actually walk like a human!!"

"Wait a minute, look over there!! Is that Xiao Qi in there?!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look. Through the crystal wall, which was as transparent as glass, they saw Wu Qi smiling and waving at them. Then, she did something inside, and Pao Lin also waved his iron-copper hand at them.

It was impossible for such a behemoth to walk without making a sound. Its iron and bronze feet bore enormous pressure and made a dull thud when they stepped on the ground, interspersed with the sounds of dry branches breaking and fallen leaves being crushed.

However, such voices have long been ignored by the public.

Wu Qi maneuvered the Cannon Lin to a distant, open area. As soon as it stopped, dozens of people appeared, armed with swords or daggers, and rushed towards the Cannon Lin.

The crowd stood still and watched, without any concern.

A quarter of an hour later, the emperor waved his hand, and the dozens of people withdrew.

No sooner had they left than men wielding crossbows appeared in the trees not far away. They seemed to have reached a consensus, all aiming their crossbows at the transparent, glass-like surface.

When the arrow clashed with the glass, the outcome was obvious, requiring no further thought. The students of the pavilion couldn't help but feel a chill for Wu Qi; if the glass shattered, Wu Qi would inevitably be injured.

A quarter of an hour passed, then another quarter of an hour, and the glass remained unbroken, without even a crack. The Emperor smiled slightly and waved for the people to leave.

"Continue," the Emperor said.

Wu Qi maneuvered the cannon unicorn away from the forest and onto a wide-open wasteland. Overgrown with weeds and neglected for a long time, the group was unsure of what to do, yet still wanted to continue onward.

The Emperor stopped him, saying, "Stop."

The place where they were standing was too far from Paolin, so far that they could only see Paolin and could not see Wu Qi through the glass.

The Emperor said, "Remember to cover your ears later."

Confused, everyone except the few who had entered the Moonfall Camp raised their hands to cover their ears. Wei Si, seemingly unafraid, covered Wu Yin's ears.

Wu Yin stiffened, but ultimately did not dodge.

boom!

Thick smoke billowed in the distance, its overwhelming force still lingering, sending chills down everyone's spines. They had no time to think; even with their ears tightly covered, the sudden sound still startled them. Birds resting in the woods were also frightened, crying out and fleeing, flapping their wings away from this dangerous place.

The cannon fired, but the cannon remained motionless, awaiting further orders.

The Emperor asked, "Wei Chong, how many shots can be fired from the cannon?"

Yi Shen replied, "Ten cannon shots."

"Every shot is successful?"

"Every shot was successful."