The head of the Punishment Hall has been very busy recently due to supervising the repair of the ancient pagoda, so he did not go to the assessment site today to check the situation.
I was quite surprised to hear that the newcomer who ranked first in the assessment was assigned here, until I saw the roster and knew the reason.
At this moment, a man and a woman came in, especially the girl's indifferent and aloof temperament, which was really eye-catching.
So he put on a sullen face and didn't want to say much, and just threw a token to the two of them.
"Recently, there's only one major task within the sect: repairing the ancient pagoda. We're short of manpower, so you guys should go over and help."
After saying that, he stood up and was about to leave.
Even though Wu Heng was naive, he could sense the other party's targeting. So he stepped forward with the token in hand and said, "Isn't that where outer disciples are punished for their mistakes? Why do we need to go there?"
He is indeed dull, but he is not someone who will be bullied.
Upon hearing this, the hall master was quite surprised and impressed. He thought that the young man who dared to contradict his master as soon as he showed up was quite aggressive. However, when he turned around, he saw the young man standing in front of the girl, as if protecting her. His face darkened again. "I have my reasons for letting you go. Who said that place is specifically for punishing disciples?"
The tone was hard.
This kind of tacit rule wasn't explicitly stated, and Wu Heng couldn't possibly win an argument against him, so he could only purse his lips and ask, "Then why doesn't Fang Hanxue have to go?"
The three of them were assigned to the punishment hall.
When they passed by just now, they saw Fang Hanxue had changed into the clothes of an inner disciple and was sitting under the eaves copying books. It was obvious that he had received a different assignment.
The head of the Punishment Hall showed some impatience with his probing and simply waved his hand, saying, "Do you want to go or not? If you don't want to go, leave now. I won't accept you here anymore."
Why are you complaining so much?
Wu Heng also had a stubborn temper. He turned around and wanted to leave at that time, but when he thought about how hard it was to be in the same sect with Ye Lan, and now they were assigned to the same courtyard, he felt reluctant to leave.
In the end, Ye Lan took the token from his hand and said lightly, "Let's go."
Then he led him out.
Behind him, the head of the Punishment Hall turned around and stared at the girl's back as she disappeared in front of the door. After a long time, he let out a long breath and asked someone to call Fang Hanxue over.
"Master." Fang Hanxue bowed deeply as soon as she entered the door.
Wu Heng didn't know yet that the heads of each hall were all elders of Xuanzong, and the disciples of each courtyard had to worship the elders as their teachers when they entered the door, and would learn martial arts under each other's guidance in the future.
Fang Hanxue had just offered tea and paid homage to his master. The head of the Punishment Hall, Luo Heshan, was very satisfied with this disciple who was very talented in all aspects and worked hard enough.
"You don't have to copy the meditation mantra all the time. Ten times a day is enough. Hand in the paper after ten days." Luo Heshan sat back in his chair, took a sip of tea and gave instructions.
"...Yes." Fang Hanxue lowered her head to hide her inner humiliation and confusion. She felt that being punished to copy the meditation mantra on the first day she entered the door was no different from losing to Ye Lan in a martial arts competition. Both were very embarrassing.
But the punishment methods of the Punishment Hall were so severe that none of them was less cruel than when she attacked Ye Lan directly in the face, almost causing him to be disfigured.
Besides, whether it was Wu Heng or Ye Lan, she didn't succeed, right?
Just as he was thinking this, he heard Luo Heshan, who was at the head of the group, continue, "You will be responsible for delivering meals to Wu Heng and Ye Lan three times a day. You are fellow disciples who came here together, so you should be familiar with each other. If you notice anything unusual about them, you can report it at any time."
Um?
After listening to the first half, Fang Hanxue thought that the master wanted them to develop more feelings and was full of resistance, but after listening to the latter part, she found that something was wrong.
"Master means... that I should monitor them?" she asked tentatively.
Luo Heshan closed his eyes and did not answer, but silence was already an answer.
Fang Hanxue's eyes lit up instantly, and his depressed mood finally turned from gloomy to cheerful. He bowed solemnly and said, "Disciple will definitely live up to the mission."
On the other side, Ye Lan and Wu Heng went to the tool room to get buckets and rags, and followed the leading brother to take a detour to the back mountain.
The senior brother was obviously still a little embarrassed and was trying to find reasons to comfort them along the way.
"Although this ancient pagoda is mostly cleaned by outer disciples, all disciples who are going down the mountain to take on missions must pass through here. It wouldn't be a bad idea for you to familiarize yourself with it in advance."
"Haha, you may not know this, but this ancient pagoda is two thousand years old. It was once a demon-suppressing pagoda created by a powerful ancient figure, and it imprisoned demons from all directions. Before his death, that powerful figure specifically instructed his disciples to guard the ancient pagoda and transform it into a formation to reinforce the seal, preventing the demons from leaving the world."
"That's how sects were formed. Later, as the formation expanded, more and more sects were established. To prevent outsiders from disturbing their cultivation, the Ancient Martial Arts Realm was born. Later, the major sects began to imprison the demons they couldn't eliminate in the ancient pagoda. Now, it's overcrowded with demons, so the previous clan leader established a rule that required disciples who left the pagoda to capture a demon on the first floor as proof of their strength."
Following a lengthy and detailed introduction, the group passed through the dense jungle on the mountain behind Xuanzong and arrived at a valley where the terrain suddenly became flat and open. They looked up and saw an ancient tower standing quietly in the mist.
The ancient tower has ten floors, and the top has already disappeared into the clouds.
The entire tower is built with a special kind of black tiles. Because it is in a humid area all year round, there are many small pores on the tiles, making them look like they are corroded.
Against the backdrop of the fairyland-like Xuanzong Mountains and Forests, the tower is dull and gloomy, with an ominous air everywhere.
However, in broad daylight, with the sun shining brightly, ladders were set up around the ancient pagoda for repairs, and bricklayers were busy in front of the door, adding a bit of liveliness and bustle.
"Senior brother, why are you here? Are you here to bring us food? This job is really tiring for us. The fog has been getting heavier recently, and the corrosion and damage to the tiles are much more serious than we expected." When a young disciple saw them, he actually jumped down from a ladder that was more than ten meters high. After landing easily, he ran to his senior brother with a nonchalant look on his face to complain.
"Thank you for your hard work. Global air pollution has been very serious recently, causing the fog to contain too much acid. I will go back and report to Master to see if we need to replace the corrosion-resistant materials." The eldest brother said as he handed over the food box at hand and introduced Ye Lan and Wu Heng to him.
Hearing this, the disciple was stunned for a moment, then said with a somewhat subtle expression: "You just joined, and you were sent here?"
When the eldest brother heard that something bad was going to happen, he hurriedly urged him to get back to work, and pointed to the disciples who were cleaning in front of the door not far ahead, "Just follow along and do it."
Wu Heng didn't want to punish the demon, as it would make him look like he had done something wrong, so he said bluntly, "If we go in and capture a demon now, can we get out of the mountain?"
The eldest brother hadn't expected him to start with such a terrifying statement. He quickly waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "Don't do anything stupid. Not only are the demons imprisoned there all the way there, they're so evil that no major sect can destroy them. Even if you've just started and haven't learned a single skill, there's no way Master would agree to this."
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