Lu Tu watched as Liu Yang, who had never flinched in the face of the enemy and even dared to bravely charge forward against the Wuhuan cavalry, wept uncontrollably in front of him. He knew that Liu Yang was not a bad person at heart.

He said with great distress, "Do you think that now that we can kill the Wuhuan people and are loved by the villagers, we can let our guard down because our lives are getting better? Do you know that the people's hearts are not at peace right now? Your carelessness today almost put me in a position of being unjust and immoral!"

"If I don't go to the migrant workers' construction site today, will you still keep it a secret? What if those migrant workers starve to death in their shacks tonight?"

"What if those refugees become so hungry that they can't stand it anymore and take advantage of the villagers' sleep to rob and kill them? Can you, Liu Yang, defend against that? How many fellow villagers and brothers will die tragically because of that? Have you thought about these questions?"

These resounding words filled Liu Yang with immense shame, causing him to kowtow repeatedly to Lü Tu.

"Brother, I know I was wrong, please punish me!" He said, taking out a handful of thorns from behind him and offering them to his brother with clasped hands.

Nangong Huiyu wanted to interject, but Song Yuxi pulled her back and gave her a look that signaled her not to interfere.

Lu Tu tried to get up, but sat back down because of abdominal pain. Liu Yang saw all of this and threw the thorny branches to Liu Hu, who was standing to the side, saying, "Hu Zi, you hit me, hit me hard!"

"elder brother..."

"beat!"

Liu Yang took off his shirt, exposing it to the cold wind. Liu Hu picked up a thorny branch from the ground, glanced at it with pity, and swallowed hard.

With a resounding slap, he struck Liu Yang hard on the back with all his might.

Even though Liu Yang was mentally prepared, he was still beaten until he groaned in pain, and shouted with bloodshot eyes, "Tiger, keep going!"

Liu Hu had no choice but to comply. Each time Liu Yang was struck, the pain intensified, and the thorny branches left bloody welts on his back.

In the end, Liu Hu also cried. Liu Yang's back was covered in blood. When Song Yuxi and Nangong Huiyu saw this, they couldn't bear it and turned their heads away.

After the tenth strike, Lü Tu raised his hand to stop him, saying, "Stop!"

Liu Hu threw away the thorns in his hand and quickly went over to hug Liu Yang: "Brother..."

In the dead of winter, Liu Yang's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, a testament to the pain he was in.

He forced himself to stand up and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lü Tu, saying, "Brother, I really know I was wrong. You can punish me however you want, just let me continue to follow you. Don't abandon me!"

Lu Tu's heart wasn't made of iron; how could he not be moved after witnessing genuine emotions?

He helped Liu Yang up and said, "Don't blame your older brother for being heartless. It's not just you who should be punished for doing something wrong; even if I do something wrong, I still need to be punished. If I don't punish, I can't convince the public. Do you understand this principle?"

Upon hearing that Lü Tu still considered him a brother, Liu Yang suddenly laughed and nodded emphatically: "I understand, thank you, brother!"

Song Yuxi then brought over some allicin and said to him, "Quickly lie down and I'll apply the medicine."

"Sister-in-law, no, we can do it ourselves!" Liu Hu quickly took the medicine.

In this era, it was still taboo for men and women to have close contact. Moreover, Song Yuxi's identity was special; she was Lu Tu's woman. If others found out, what kind of decorum would that be?

But Song Yuxi didn't care about these formalities at all. She was older than Liu Yang and his brother, and she often asked Liu Yang and others to go to the city to help her buy things. She had long regarded the two brothers as her own younger brothers and personally helped him apply medicine to his back.

Lu Tu said sternly, "You two are too clumsy to do this kind of thing? Don't move, let your sister-in-law apply the medicine for you."

When Song Yuxi applied medicine to Liu Yang, the two broke down in tears again. Their parents had passed away when they were young, and they had never experienced the warmth of a family.

Not only does Lu Tu treat them like his own brothers, but even his sister-in-law doesn't shy away from showing any disrespect and personally applies medicine to him. The Liu brothers are extremely grateful for this kindness.

With bloodshot eyes, Liu Yang looked at Lü Tu and cupped his hands, saying, "I, Liu Yang, swear to serve my elder brother with my life!"

Liu Hu stepped forward: "Me too!"

Lu Tu was never one to be sentimental. He helped the two men up, patted them on the shoulder, and said, "Please get up, my two brothers. Let's leave today's matter behind. You two should go back and rest early. Tomorrow, take some men to the city to buy 5,000 catties of grain."

"Yes, sir!"

Liu Hu helped Liu Yang home, their faces beaming with joy.

After they left, Nangong Huiyu looked at Lü Tu reproachfully and said, "Husband, you are too cruel. Why don't you just become the Holy Emperor of the White Lotus Sect? You almost crippled him after hitting him 10 times."

Lu Tu asked in bewilderment, "Is your White Lotus Sect so lenient towards those who make mistakes?"

Nangong Huiyu nodded and said, "That's right. The White Lotus Sect is just ruthless to outsiders. Our doctrine is that we are all brothers and sisters and should be friendly and caring. If someone makes a mistake, we just punish them with a beating or make them do more work."

Lu Tu was speechless. No wonder the White Lotus Sect was able to develop rapidly in various parts of the Great Yu Dynasty. Its concept was indeed quite advanced.

But what Lü Tu wanted to do was not to create a religion, but to protect himself in this chaotic world. The most effective way was to continue the rules of the army.

Song Yuxi had a completely different opinion from Nangong Huiyu on this matter. She poured Lü Tu a glass of water and said, "Since ancient times, a kind heart cannot command an army, and righteousness cannot command a treasury. How can a general be soft-hearted and soft-hearted? Your husband is right to do so."

Nangong Huiyu asked curiously, "Sister, you know so much. You're not from a military family, are you?"

Song Yuxi nodded without hesitation: "I guess so."

Seeing that Nangong Huiyu seemed quite interested, Lü Tu quickly interrupted and stopped her, afraid that she would bring up Song Yuxi's painful past.

"Ladies, let's wash up and go to bed."

Upon hearing the words "wash up and go to bed," Nangong Huiyu's face flushed red. Could it be that even though she was injured, she still wouldn't behave herself?

"Husband, are you alright even though you're injured?"

Lu Tu's fingertips twirled around Nangong Huiyu's hair at her temple, and he said softly, "I'm young and strong, and I can shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces. What's wrong with that?"

Seeing her like this, Song Yuxi tapped her head with her finger in annoyance: "What are you thinking? Your husband is like this, of course you should rest early."

After closing the door, washing up, and extinguishing the oil lamp, Nangong Huiyu finally lay down in the warm quilt and exclaimed in disbelief, "Husband, please don't let the wound get worse!"

Song Yuxi also advised in her ear, "Husband, why don't we take a few days off?"

Lu Tu kissed her forehead: "Then let's rest here!"

Sensing the lingering desire in his words, Nangong Huiyu, feeling a little reluctant, leaned her head on Lü Tu's arm and said with a smile, "Husband, how about I sleep over there tonight?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Tu was so happy he almost slapped his thigh!