Zhang Ruosheng himself was happy; he was naturally delighted to have the opportunity to refine pills with Bai Yilian.
Bai Yilian wasn't so happy to see Zhang Ruosheng beside her. With Zhang Ruosheng around, she would have fewer opportunities to get answers to her questions from other disciples. Since she wasn't planning on getting stuck with Zhang Ruosheng, she was naturally not happy.
However, considering that Zhang Ruosheng was relatively obedient, she didn't show her displeasure on her face.
Qi Zhiheng did not have direct contact with Bai Yilian; all of her learning projects were arranged by Feng Yuanyi.
Feng Yuanyi naturally didn't want to see Bai Yilian have it easy. The initial task wasn't much—just memorizing the spiritual herb manual given by Qi Zhiheng. But Feng Yuanyi only gave Bai Yilian one day. By the second day, Bai Yilian had to memorize the contents of the manual, or she would be punished with ten bone whips.
The bone whip is a magical weapon; when it strikes the body, it causes excruciating pain, like having one's bones scraped. Qi Zhiheng has placed this whip on the alchemy room, but has never used it even once.
Upon hearing this punishment, Zhang Ruosheng's face turned pale: "Third Senior Brother, isn't this a bit inappropriate? How can someone memorize such a thick book in just one day?"
Feng Yuanyi said innocently, "How could she not remember? I heard from Master that Junior Sister Bai had already memorized the contents of this book before, but she was too nervous during Master's assessment and couldn't remember it. One day should be enough to review it, right? Could it be that Junior Sister Bai was lying to Master when she said she had memorized the contents of the book?" As he spoke, he looked sharply at Bai Yilian.
Bai Yilian's expression was not good, but she had no choice but to reply, "How could I possibly lie to Master? Of course, I have already memorized the contents."
Zhang Ruosheng recalled Bai Yilian's words and his furrowed brows relaxed: "Third Senior Brother is right, I was overthinking it."
Feng Yuanyi laughed and said, "Master never criticizes his disciples, that's something everyone knows. Next time, junior brother, don't say things like that. Look at Master's bone whip hanging in the alchemy room, when has it ever been used? The homework Master usually assigns is all within our acceptable range."
Zhang Ruosheng recalled Qi Zhiheng's consistent tolerance and felt it made sense.
Feng Yuanyi seemed somewhat hesitant as he said, "However..."
"Third Senior Brother, please speak frankly." Bai Yilian knew that Feng Yuanyi didn't like her, and she didn't intend to flatter him.
Feng Yuanyi said, "As you all know, Junior Sister Bai started her studies several years late. Even with her outstanding talent, she inevitably fell behind the other disciples in terms of progress. Her learning process may speed up in the future. I heard from Master that Junior Sister Bai said she would definitely do her best. I suppose she won't have any objections to Master's arrangements for the upcoming lessons, right?"
There were whispers among the other disciples around.
"So it's because of his good aptitude. No wonder Master would still accept disciples at a time like this. His outstanding talent makes sense."
"It's a pity that my talent is lacking; otherwise, I could have become a formal disciple."
...
When Bai Yilian fabricated her information for Zhang Ruosheng, she did indeed portray her aptitude in a positive light. Now, whether she admits it or not, the other disciples all believe she has good aptitude. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it allows her to receive envy from some disciples with poor aptitude, and perhaps even provide an opportunity to connect with more disciples.
She said modestly, "Senior brother, you flatter me. My aptitude is only average."
"Junior Sister Bai is too modest. Alright, let's start reading now. I'll check your work tomorrow." Feng Yuanyi said before leaving the alchemy room.
Bai Yilian had never liked the dry content of this book before, otherwise she wouldn't have gone half a month without reading it. Now she had no choice but to learn it in order for Qi Zhiheng to teach her the method of cultivating soul power.
She didn't care about punishment at all. As long as she begged Zhang Ruosheng, that fool would definitely accept the punishment for her. Anyway, the injury wasn't on her, so what did she have to worry about?
Bai Yilian looked at the illustrated guide in front of her with a real headache, but she had already read about half of it. She could easily finish the other half if she stayed up all night, but after reading such a boring book all day, she was already impatient. She figured that Feng Yuanyi would probably just quiz her on some things, and maybe even things she already knew. So she put the punishment out of her mind and went to rest.
The next day, Feng Yuanyi took out a blank book and asked Bai Yilian to write down the descriptions of various spiritual herbs in the order of the illustrations, without having to draw any pictures.
Bai Yilian didn't look too good. She hadn't finished writing the entire book, so naturally she couldn't finish it.
Feng Yuanyi said, "Junior Sister Bai, didn't you already memorize the contents of the encyclopedia? There's only half of it here. I can understand if you were nervous because you saw Master's majesty and forgot the contents, but did you also get so nervous that you forgot the contents when you saw me? You should have more than enough time to read the entire encyclopedia that you've never seen before in a day."
Bai Yilian felt that Feng Yuanyi was definitely making things difficult for her, and defended herself, saying, "Although Senior Brother's current prestige is not as great as Master's, it is quite in the making, so Junior Sister is naturally a little nervous."
Zhang Ruosheng pleaded, "Third Senior Brother, Elaine is really working very hard. She didn't sleep a wink last night and was reading all night."
Bai Yilian tugged at Zhang Ruosheng's sleeve, looking a little aggrieved, but stubbornly said, "Senior Brother Zhang, don't say that. It's just that I didn't rest all night. It's nothing and not worth showing off."
Two girls suddenly appeared below, communicating telepathically.
“I live right next door to her. When I went back yesterday, I saw her blow out the candles and say that she stayed up all night! For a cultivator, staying up all night is nothing, let alone her, who didn’t even stay up all night.”
"I never expected this person to be such a liar! How shameless."
The two female disciples who were talking were only thirteen or fourteen years old. Under Qi Zhiheng's tutelage, they had become less naive and their conversation was quite direct. As a result, their impression of Bai Yilian worsened.
Feng Yuanyi said, "I have no choice. Rules are rules. I already explained the consequences yesterday, so you shall bear these ten bone whips."
Bai Yilian's face finally showed a hint of panic and vulnerability.
Feng Yuanyi felt a sense of satisfaction; it was so satisfying to personally whip Bai Yilian.
Bai Yilian looked at Zhang Ruosheng with a pleading expression, her hand gripping his sleeve trembling slightly, hoping to make Zhang Ruosheng take the punishment for her.
Feng Yuanyi was already prepared and said to Bai Yilian, "What kind of behavior is this, being so hesitant? Ten lashes of bone whip will only hurt for a moment at most, it's nothing. One pill will restore ninety percent of your strength. The punishment set by Master is not severe at all, you don't need to act like this."
Seeing the fear on Bai Yilian's face, Zhang Ruosheng's heart softened immediately, and he said to Feng Yuanyi, "Third Senior Brother! I'll take the punishment for her!"
Feng Yuanyi glared and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Ten lashes of bone whip are nothing, but a hundred lashes of bone whip is no joke."
Bai Yilian also feigned concern, saying, "Ruosheng, don't do anything foolish! Third Senior Brother is right, ten lashes of bone whip are nothing, I can take it myself." As she said this, her hands were still trembling.
Zhang Ruosheng grasped her trembling hand and said, "Don't say anymore, my mind is made up!"
"Senior Brother Zhang is truly affectionate."
“But a hundred bone whips are too heavy. Even with pills, it won’t heal that quickly. These are bone whips, which are different from ordinary external or internal injuries.”
"Yes, exchanging a hundred lashes for ten lashes doesn't seem like a good deal at all."
Zhang Ruosheng resolutely knelt down, awaiting Feng Yuanyi's execution.
Bai Yilian offered a few more perfunctory words of advice, and then said, "Ruosheng, I will remember your kindness to me for the rest of my life."
Although Feng Yuanyi had long guessed that Zhang Ruosheng might really be foolish enough to replace the person who lost his character, he still felt that Zhang Ruosheng was a disappointment!
To teach Zhang Ruosheng a lesson, he didn't hold back at all.
After the bone whip struck, Zhang Ruosheng let out a series of muffled groans.
Even the other disciples felt a pang of pity upon seeing this.
Qi Zhiheng wasn't surprised at all when he received Feng Yuanyi's feedback. He tossed him a bottle of ointment: "Take this to Zhang Ruosheng, and while you're at it, say a few bad things about Bai Yilian. You know what to say, right?"
Feng Yuanyi smiled and said, "Master, rest assured, I will definitely make Zhang Ruosheng know that the reason he is suffering so much is all because of Bai Yilian."
Feng Yuanyi visited Zhang Ruosheng in Qi Zhiheng's name.
As for Bai Yilian, she will continue the lessons she didn't finish yesterday. In other words, if she hasn't finished learning all the contents of the encyclopedia by tomorrow, she will have to continue receiving the ten bone whips.
This time, Bai Yilian was much more serious. Zhang Ruosheng's injuries clearly wouldn't heal in a day, and he probably wouldn't be able to take the punishment for her the next day.
Upon hearing that the ointment was sent by Qi Zhiheng, Zhang Ruosheng felt even more grateful to Qi Zhiheng.
Feng Yuanyi told Zhang Ruosheng to rest the next day and not to go to the alchemy room again.
Zhang Ruosheng did not go on the second day. The injury, which originally would have taken five days to fully heal, was fine by the third day thanks to Qi Zhiheng's ointment. Although there was still some stinging, it did not affect his mobility.
However, Zhang Ruosheng did not expect that when he arrived at the alchemy room that day, it was Feng Yuanyi who was going to test Bai Yilian.
The homework assigned by Feng Yuanyi was basically something that could be completed in a day with a little effort, but Bai Yilian just wasn't willing to put in any extra effort.
After learning that Zhang Ruosheng would be back today, Bai Yilian became even lazier.
So, before Zhang Ruosheng's injuries had fully healed, he had to take Bai Yilian's place and endure a hundred lashes of bone whipping!
Many disciples felt annoyed when they saw Zhang Ruosheng like this. They felt it was not worth it for him. Ten lashes of bone whip were not a heavy punishment, but he insisted on enduring a hundred lashes!
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