Before his old wounds had healed, new ones were inflicted, and Zhang Ruosheng was immediately carried back.
On the other side, Feng Yuanyi assigned Bai Yilian new homework.
Zhang Ruosheng lay in his room, wanting to apply the ointment that Qi Zhiheng had given him last time, but unfortunately it wasn't convenient for him to do so.
After assigning Bai Yilian her homework, Feng Yuanyi went back and reported the matter to Qi Zhiheng.
Qi Zhiheng said, "Go to the outer gate and choose one. Tell him you want him to be my servant. Bring him here so I can see him. If he's suitable, send him to Zhang Ruosheng and take care of him while he's injured."
"Yes, Master!" Just as Feng Yuanyi was about to leave for the outer sect, Qi Zhiheng called him back.
"Wait!" Qi Zhiheng said, "Go see Zhang Ruosheng first, apply the medicine to him before you go out, and while you're at it, try to persuade him that Yu Xi Du Jia is constantly being whipped, how can he have time to refine pills?"
"Master is right!" Feng Yuanyi nodded in agreement, knowing that there was a hint of sowing discord in his words. Whether Zhang Ruosheng would be injured again depended on whether Bai Yilian would make another mistake.
When Feng Yuanyi arrived, Zhang Ruosheng was about to apply ointment to his body.
“Junior brother, I’ve come to see you.” Feng Yuanyi took the ointment from his hand and put it aside: “Master knows your injuries have become more serious, so he has made a new ointment for you, which is more effective.”
"Thank you for informing me, Third Senior Brother. I will go and thank Master again tomorrow," Zhang Ruosheng said.
Feng Yuanyi said, "Master wants you to rest for two days. If your injuries continue like this, they may leave lasting problems."
Zhang Ruosheng declined, saying, "I just need one day of rest. Senior brother, I..."
He wanted to ask Bai Yilian about her mission for the day, but he didn't dare to speak at this moment, so he seemed a little hesitant.
Feng Yuanyi knew what he meant: "The task is the same as yesterday: refine one hundred kinds of medicinal herbs."
Zhang Ruosheng wanted to plead for leniency, but judging from yesterday's situation, Bai Yilian simply couldn't have extracted that many medicinal herbs, and he was afraid she would also be punished tomorrow.
Zhang Ruosheng secretly rolled his eyes. Any disciple in the alchemy room could complete the task he assigned within a day. Although Bai Yilian was a bit slower, as long as she made use of the evening, completing the task in one go would be no problem.
Feng Yuanyi continued, "Junior brother, listen to your senior brother's advice. Bai Yilian suffering ten bone whips is nothing. One pill will allow her to return to alchemy the next day. But your hundred bone whips are different. If you keep going back to be punished after a few days of rest, you won't have any time to refine pills. You already gave up on continuing in the alchemy room for formal disciples, and now you don't even have time to refine pills. It won't be long before someone else surpasses you. That's all I can say. Think it over carefully."
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother." Zhang Ruosheng was well aware of his situation, but he really couldn't say anything else. He could only keep quiet. Even if he knew, what could he do? Could he just stand by and watch his beloved be punished without doing anything?
He knew that if Bai Yilian had acted a little faster, she wouldn't have been punished. However, he couldn't directly tell Bai Yilian to hurry up. So he could only suffer in silence.
After leaving Zhang Ruosheng, Feng Yuanyi went to the outer sect and selected three teenagers around thirteen or fourteen years old, bringing them back to Danfeng.
After meeting Qi Zhiheng, they took one of them to Zhang Ruosheng's residence.
Zhang Ruosheng saw Feng Yuanyi return, accompanied by a young boy. He wondered what Feng Yuanyi's purpose was this time.
Before he could ask a question, Feng Yuanyi spoke first: "Junior brother, I am here on Master's orders to bring you a servant. This child will stay by your side while you are injured. If there is anything inconvenient, just tell him to do it."
Zhang Ruosheng hadn't expected Qi Zhiheng to think of these things. Inner disciples like him could bring servants, but as a Qi Refining stage cultivator, outer disciples might not be willing to follow him. Therefore, none of Qi Zhiheng's disciples had servants or medicine boys.
"Thank you for your concern, Master." Feng Yuanyi did not refuse Qi Zhiheng's kindness. He did indeed have many inconveniences; he could not get up and could only read books related to pills in bed. He also needed help with other things.
The next day, Bai Yilian learned that Zhang Ruosheng needed to rest for two days due to his injuries, so she stayed up very late that night to finish the task.
Without Zhang Ruosheng, Bai Yilian naturally didn't want to be punished, so she completed her tasks on time for the next two days.
After learning about this from Feng Yuanyi, Zhang Ruosheng breathed a sigh of relief. He still didn't want to see Bai Yilian punished, but at the same time, he was also looking forward to Bai Yilian coming to see him.
When Feng Yuanyi came to see Zhang Ruosheng on the third day, he smiled and congratulated him, "Junior brother, congratulations. Junior sister Bai has been able to complete her tasks very well these past two days without being punished. It seems I misunderstood her before. She probably didn't want you to be punished for her anymore, so she sped up the process. Now you can go back to refining pills with peace of mind."
Hearing Feng Yuanyi's words, Zhang Ruosheng felt a surge of joy. Bai Yilian's efforts for him were a great comfort to him.
Feng Yuanyi naturally couldn't just watch Bai Yilian complete her tasks day after day. Bai Yilian hadn't had a proper rest for three days, so she must not be feeling well. When he assigned Bai Yilian her tasks today, he did something a little trick on her.
It was a drowsy powder that would make people sleepy once night fell.
Bai Yilian did feel sleepy that night, but she didn't think much of it, assuming it was just the result of not sleeping for three days. Knowing that Zhang Ruosheng would be coming the next day, she was finally able to rest after three sleepless nights! She stopped worrying about the mission and went straight to sleep.
As for whether Zhang Ruosheng can withstand tomorrow's punishment, she has been busy refining the medicine these past few days and has no time to think about checking on Zhang Ruosheng's condition.
So when Zhang Ruosheng arrived at the alchemy room the next day, it was time for Bai Yilian to check his homework from the previous day.
Feng Yuanyi had already anticipated that Bai Yilian hadn't finished her assignments from yesterday, but in front of Zhang Ruosheng, his face darkened, and he loudly rebuked her: "Bai Yilian! Why haven't you finished your homework again today? You did a great job the previous two days! The assignments haven't increased, so how come you're still so far behind!"
Zhang Ruosheng's face also turned pale; failing to complete his homework meant he would have to accept punishment.
Bai Yilian argued, "Third Senior Brother, I've been refining medicinal herbs for the past few days without any rest. I couldn't stay awake any longer yesterday, so I fell asleep. Since I didn't complete the task, Senior Brother, please punish me."
Feng Yuanyi glanced at Zhang Ruosheng and sneered, "I think you've become so reckless because you know that Zhang Shi will be back to take your punishment today!"
The surrounding disciples also watched coldly. They had a fairly good relationship with Zhang Ruosheng. If Bai Yilian really couldn't complete the mission, that would be fine. But she could clearly complete the mission, yet she still wanted Zhang Ruosheng to be punished in her place!
"Exactly! So you can rest easy just because you're being punished? Is it more important for you to get some sleep than for Senior Brother Zhang to suffer a hundred lashes?" a disciple who was on good terms with Zhang Ruosheng said.
Some people advised Zhang Ruosheng: "Senior Brother Zhang, I saw yesterday that your injuries had not yet healed. You shouldn't suffer for her today! It's not worth it!"
"Yes, Senior Brother Zhang, you've been injured these past few days, and this woman hasn't even offered to visit you once," another person chimed in, offering their advice.
Zhang Ruosheng was at a loss. His back was still aching. The injury he had suffered was no joke. Although he had a specially made ointment by Qi Zhiheng, which helped him recover faster, his bones were still aching. If he were to receive another hundred lashes of bone whip today, he probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed for two or three days. He didn't know what to say and could only stare at the ground with a pale face.
Bai Yilian bit her lip, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "This is my own mistake! I have to take responsibility for it." She didn't want to exhaust Zhang Ruosheng's goodwill all at once, otherwise who would take the punishment for her in the future?
When Zhang Ruosheng heard Bai Yilian speak, his eyes, which had lost their luster, brightened again.
Feng Yuanyi was a little annoyed that the two of them hadn't fallen out over this incident, but it didn't matter. If Bai Yilian was punished, he would add something extra to the bone whip; the pain wouldn't be something that could be recovered from in a day.
"You don't have to put on a heroic face. This punishment is what you should have taken. What's more, it's just ten lashes of bone whip. Take a pill and you'll be back in full swing tomorrow. Junior Brother Zhang took a hundred lashes of bone whip for you twice. If you still have a conscience, you shouldn't let him bear the punishment for you while his injuries are not healed." Feng Yuanyi's tone was serious!
Seeing Bai Yilian's panicked expression, Zhang Ruosheng gritted his teeth and stepped forward, saying, "Senior brother! Let me take the punishment this time!"
Feng Yuanyi said with a look of disappointment, "Junior Brother Zhang! The Ten Bone Whip is just a minor injury. Do you know how many precious medicinal herbs Master used to refine the ointment for you after your previous injuries? You'll probably be bedridden for five or six days after this!"
Zhang Ruosheng made up his mind and said, "Senior brother, don't say anything more. I'm willing to take the punishment in her place."
Feng Yuanyi was genuinely annoyed by what he said and angrily said, "Fine, fine! Since you don't even want to practice alchemy anymore, then I'll grant your wish!" With that, he dragged the man out of the alchemy room, made him kneel on the prayer mat, and prepared to execute him.
To maintain her public image, Bai Yilian couldn't just stand by and watch. Seeing Zhang Ruosheng kneeling on the ground, she rushed over and shielded him, saying, "Third Senior Brother, please have mercy and don't punish Ruosheng. I'm willing to accept the punishment."
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