17: Chapter 17 Your disciple has been lazy, please punish me, Master!

The peak of Xiaoyao Peak.

The Void Realm trembled, and a rift was torn open like a piece of cloth.

Lu Chen waved his wide sleeve, landing steadily with the Su Sisters, who were carrying large bags and small parcels.

Before Su Qiyue could recover from the excitement of 'shopping on the public dime,' the trio's gaze was firmly locked onto a figure.

Leng Qingqiu's usually pristine long dress was now soaking wet and clinging to her body; the fabric, saturated with water, had become semi-transparent, tightly outlining the developing curves of the young girl.

Water droplets dripped down from the tips of her hair, pitter-patter.

It was a complete 'wet-body' temptation.

The setting sun hit her, casting a hazy red glow.

Her pretty face, usually as cold as a block of ice, was now abnormally red; her eyes were lingering, her breathing was rapid, and her chest rose and fell violently, as if she had just experienced an indescribable battle.

Su Xuner's phoenix eyes widened; her CPU was about to fry.

What was this?

The 'bitter meat' strategy? Or a honey trap?

Was there even a second man on Xiaoyao Peak worth her going through such effort to pull off this 'uniform temptation'?

Shameless! As the Great Emperor's Personal Disciple, she actually used such low-class methods to compete for favor!

Su Xuner gritted her teeth, wishing she could go up and throw a military overcoat over this shameless Senior Sister.

Lu Chen was also taken aback, his brow furrowing slightly.

What on earth is going on?

Wasn't this girl supposed to be in her room comprehending the 'Nine Nether Art'? Why did she look like a drowned rat?

Before Lu Chen could speak—

"Thud!"

A dull sound.

Leng Qingqiu's knees went weak, and she knelt straight down on the ground.

Immediately after, Leng Qingqiu raised both hands high above her head.

In her palms, she held a small leather whip she had found from who-knows-where.

The air froze in that second.

The Su Sisters were instantly petrified, their eyes bulging larger than copper bells and their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit a steamed bun.

Is this the daily Cultivation routine of a Great Emperor's Disciple?

They play it this wild?

Leng Qingqiu didn't care about the gazes of others at all.

She looked up; those eyes that were usually chillingly cold were now filled with mist, staring straight at Lu Chen.

"Revered Master!"

"Your Disciple is unfilial!"

"Your Disciple wasted a whole afternoon of precious time and did not Cultivate in her room!"

"Revered Master taught me before leaving that if I didn't Cultivate obediently, I would be punished."

She raised the whip in her hands a bit higher, even thoughtfully pointing the handle toward Lu Chen.

"Please punish your Disciple!"

"Punish your Disciple severely!"

Lu Chen: "..."

He looked at the small leather whip gently swaying in the breeze, and his whole body went numb.

Is the direction of this plot a bit off?

His line before leaving about 'whipping you with a small leather whip' was purely a casual remark used to scare a child!

What decent person would actually prepare a whip and wait to be lashed?

To get beaten, she really went all out.

"You..."

Lu Chen pointed at her, then pointed at her clothes that were still dripping water.

"You say you didn't Cultivate?"

"Then what's with all this sweat? And where did this water come from?"

Hearing Revered Master's questioning, the two patches of blush on Leng Qingqiu's face deepened, even spreading to the tips of her ears.

She bit her lower lip, her eyes dodging, not daring to look Lu Chen in the eye.

"This is because your Disciple was being playful."

"Your Disciple was bathing and playing in the spirit spring on the back mountain."

At this point, as if fearing Lu Chen wouldn't believe her, she eagerly shuffled forward two steps on her knees, looking up with a pitiful expression that was truly heart-wrenching.

"Truly! Your Disciple really didn't Cultivate!"

"Your Disciple was just playing with water! Your Disciple turned Revered Master's words into a passing breeze!"

"Your Disciple is stubborn and unruly; I must receive severe punishment to learn my lesson!"

"Revered Master, please do it! Don't show your Disciple any mercy!"

Su Xuner stood by, dumbfounded by what she heard.

To beg for a beating, she didn't even hesitate to blacken her own name?

Is something wrong with this Senior Sister's head?

Lu Chen looked at the small leather whip that was almost poking his face.

This girl didn't want to admit her mistake at all.

She was just craving a beating!

She's a total masochist!

Making up such a terrible excuse just to give him a 'legitimate' reason to take action?

Lu Chen felt his head buzzing.

What a sin.

What kind of thing did he actually take in as a Disciple?

He thought she was a cold Empress in the making, but it turns out she's a closet masochist?

If he really whipped her, she might feel so good she'd go to heaven, and then she'd find ways to get whipped every single day.

Then what would this Xiaoyao Peak be called?

Might as well rename it 'The Empress's Training Center'!

He absolutely could not encourage this perverse trend!

Lu Chen took a deep breath, his face showing an expression of disappointment in her failure to live up to expectations.

"Nonsense!"

He barked coldly.

Leng Qingqiu's body stiffened, but the fire of anticipation in her eyes burned even brighter.

He scolded me!

Revered Master scolded me!

Is the next step going to be...

Before she could finish imagining the next scene, Lu Chen waved his wide sleeve.

Whoosh—

Leng Qingqiu felt like a weightless feather, directly swept off the ground by this gust of wind.

"Didn't Cultivate, my foot!"

"That's a spirit spring! Soaking in it is also a form of Cultivation! That's Body Tempering!"

Lu Chen's annoyed voice came through the wind.

"This is called 'combining work and rest,' called 'finding another path'!"

"Since you like playing with water so much, then get back to your room and change out of those wet clothes!"

"Don't act crazy here!"

Before his voice had even faded—

Leng Qingqiu had already drawn a graceful parabola in the air.

"Ah—"

Accompanied by a short cry of surprise.

She was accurately tossed back into her wing room.

"Clang!"

The door slammed shut under the force of the wind, sealing tight.

To prevent this girl from running out to cause trouble again, Lu Chen even casually placed a Restriction on the door.

After doing all this, Lu Chen finally let out a long sigh of relief and patted his hands.

The world was quiet.

He turned around and found Su Xuner and Su Qiyue looking at him with extremely strange expressions.

In those eyes, there was only thirty percent awe; the remaining seventy percent was entirely 'so this is the kind of Great Emperor you are.'

Su Qiyue whispered: "So bathing is also Cultivation! Then if I bathe every day, can I also become stronger?"

Su Xuner, however, was lost in thought.

Revered Master actually didn't do anything?

Facing such wet-body temptation and an Senior Sister who actively sought punishment, he actually just threw her back?

Could it be that Revered Master is a true gentleman?

Or could it be that Revered Master thought that whip was too thin?

Lu Chen couldn't be bothered with these two overthinkers.

With his hands behind his back, he walked with an arrogant stride, slowly heading toward his main hall.

"Why are you all just standing there?"

"Go do what you need to do!"

"Remember to be quiet, otherwise, I'll throw you all down too!"

The Su Sisters didn't dare stay any longer; carrying their large and small bags, they ran back to their side rooms as if fleeing for their lives.

...

The night deepened.

Xiaoyao Peak returned to silence once more.

Inside the wing room.

Leng Qingqiu sat on the bed; her body had been dried by Divine Power, and she had changed into a clean set of sleeping clothes.

She was still tightly clutching that small leather whip she hadn't managed to give away.

The abnormal flush on her face had faded, replaced by an expression of disappointment and resentment.

"Revered Master didn't hit me..."

"Does Revered Master not like me anymore?"

Her fingers unconsciously stroked the whip's body as she stared blankly at the Restriction on the door.

But soon, a strange little flame flickered back to life in those dead-gray eyes.

"No."

"Revered Master used the wind to send me back."

"That wind wrapped around my whole body, tight and warm..."

"That was also Revered Master's."

"Rounding it up, Revered Master has already 'touched' my whole body..."

Leng Qingqiu buried her face in the soft bedding, letting out a fit of silly laughter while her long legs kicked wildly on the bed.

"Hehe..."

"Revered Master really does care for me after all..."

"Next time, I must find a more perfect reason."

"This whip will be used on me sooner or later!"

The night breeze blew through the window lattice.

In the main hall of Xiaoyao Peak, Lu Chen let out a loud sneeze.

"Which villain is trying to harm this Emperor?"

He rubbed his nose and pulled out the ring he had just taken from Su Chen.

The ring shimmered with an ancient luster under the moonlight.

After an afternoon of 'devastation' by spiritual energy, that 'Old Grandmother' inside should be waking up by now, right?