155: fig leaf

In the afternoon in the Imperial Capital, sunlight filtered through the mottled shadows of the trees, spilling onto the blue bricks of the Heavenly Physician Hall. It should have been a quiet moment, but it was shattered by a rhythmic and solemn sound of footsteps.

Because of Su Man's "resurrection," a long line had already formed at the entrance of the clinic. Many noble ladies from prestigious families sat in soft sedans, craning their necks, hoping to catch a glimpse of that Assistant Lin. However, at this moment, these haughty noble ladies changed their expressions one after another, consciously retreating to both sides and making way for a wide path.

At the end of the path, a group of women dressed in plain Confucian robes approached slowly. The woman in the lead had a tall figure, and a faded light cyan Confucian robe set off her physique as upright as a green pine. A pair of gold-rimmed monocles sat on the bridge of her nose, with a thin chain dangling beside her frost-like temples. She held a dark red ruler in her hand, and with every step she took, an overwhelming sense of pressure emanated from her body.

The Great Libationer of Jixia Academy, Yan Ruyu.

In the Great Qian Divine Dynasty, if Red Makeup Ye represented ultimate martial power, then Yan Ruyu was the embodiment of "ritual laws" and "edification." This Great Confucian at the Peak of the Dao-Integration stage had dedicated her life to upholding the ethical code where women were venerable, and she could not stand men "overstepping" their bounds.

"Owner of the Heavenly Physician Hall, come out and answer."

Yan Ruyu's voice was as cold as a winter cicada. Although it was not loud, it clearly reached the ears of everyone in the hall, carrying an indisputable majesty.

Lin Chen, who was guiding Yao Linger in identifying herbs in the inner room, raised an eyebrow, and a playful smirk hung on the corner of his mouth. He put down the Angelica in his hand, smoothed his clothes in a leisurely manner, and walked to the entrance of the clinic amidst the stunning and worried gazes of the crowd.

"I am Lin Chen, greetings, Teacher Yan." Lin Chen bowed slightly, neither humble nor arrogant, his gaze fixed on this legendary sage among women.

Yan Ruyu looked through her gold-rimmed glasses, her sharp gaze scraping back and forth over Lin Chen. Seeing this man standing tall and upright, without the slightest bit of the timidity common to men, the fire of "Confucian teachings" in her heart flared up instantly.

"Lin Chen, do you know your crime?" The ruler in Yan Ruyu's hand tapped lightly against her palm. "According to the laws of the Great Qian Divine Dynasty, men should remain chaste and quiet. As a man, not only do you run a clinic on your own, but you also wantonly touch the noble bodies of women under the guise of 'treating illnesses' in full view of the public. Such lewd and evil behavior is not only offensive to public morality, but it is also a blatant provocation to the ritual laws of our Great Qian Divine Dynasty!"

The female students behind her scolded one after another: "Simply a disgrace to the male Dao! Why don't you kneel and accept punishment!" "Such a demonic man should be sent to the 'Hall of Caution' at the Academy to be locked up for three years to grind away that evil Aura!"

Yao Linger was so anxious in the back that her pretty face turned red. She wanted to explain, but Lin Chen raised his hand to stop her.

Lin Chen looked at Yan Ruyu's face, which seemed somewhat rigid due to her long-term strict self-discipline, yet was still breathtakingly beautiful. He suddenly sneered, "Teacher Yan, you keep talking about ritual laws and public morality, but I would like to ask, in your eyes, is the distinction between men and women more important, or are the lives of the people more important?"

Yan Ruyu snorted coldly, "Without propriety or restraint, how are you different from a beast? If there are no ritual laws to maintain order, the world will be in chaos; what is the use of life even if it is saved? Today, I will seal this lewd and evil place on behalf of the Academy!"

After saying this, the dark red ruler in her hand suddenly erupted with a dazzling cyan light—the manifestation of Haoran Righteousness. The surrounding air seemed to become a thousand times heavier in an instant, pressing the onlookers until they were suffocated and collapsed to the ground.

Facing the pressure that would have crushed a Golden Core Cultivator to powder, Lin Chen did not retreat but instead took a step forward.

"What a 'how are you different from a beast without propriety'!"

Lin Chen looked up and laughed loudly, his eyes suddenly becoming as deep as the starry sky. An unprecedentedly grand Aura rose from his not-so-imposing body.

"Teacher, you read the books of sages, but you only read about 'the strict separation of men and women,' not knowing that there is a Righteous Path in this world! Listen well—"

Lin Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his voice like a great bell, shaking the entire street:

"Heaven and Earth possess Righteous Qi, manifesting in various forms."

As the first line was spoken, a clap of thunder suddenly sounded in the clear sky! The cyan Haoran Righteousness that had originally shrouded the clinic actually turned against Yan Ruyu, rushing towards Lin Chen's side like a subject meeting its king.

Yan Ruyu's expression changed, her beautiful eyes hidden behind the glasses filled with horror.

"Below, it forms rivers and mountains; above, it becomes the sun and stars!"

As the second line fell, the phantom images of a hundred sages faintly appeared over the Imperial Capital, and ten thousand golden lights pierced through the clouds, pouring straight into Lin Chen's Baihui acupuncture point.

This was the "Song of Righteousness"! It was the supreme will that gathered the backbone of humanity through the ages! In this world where women were venerable and men were inferior, and where Yin and Yang were out of balance, such pure, vigorous, and magnificent Yang energy was no different from throwing a sun into a calm pool!

"This... this is impossible!" Yan Ruyu screamed in shock. She felt the Confucian True Qi she had cultivated for hundreds of years collapsing and trembling. The man who was just a "plaything" in her eyes now felt, in her perception, like a god overlooking all living beings!

"Crack—!"

With a crisp sound, the dark red ruler that symbolized the ritual teachings of the Great Qian Divine Dynasty and was capable of suppressing the national destiny actually shattered into several pieces under the impact of Lin Chen's Aura.

Yan Ruyu suffered a backlash, and a mouthful of blood sprayed onto the cyan robe on her chest, her entire person teetering. Her glasses fell to the ground and shattered into pieces, revealing those beautiful phoenix eyes that were usually hidden under strict dogmas, but were now filled with confusion and a sense of brokenness.

Lin Chen walked up to her step by step.

The surrounding female students had long since collapsed to the ground, trembling. Lin Chen reached out and lightly flicked Yan Ruyu's porcelain-like chin, forcing this arrogant Libationer to look up.

"Teacher Yan, it seems you really have read your books into a dog's stomach."

Lin Chen leaned down, close to her ear, and his warm male breath made Yan Ruyu's delicate body tremble violently.

"Your ritual laws are broken, and your ruler is shattered." Lin Chen picked up a piece of the broken ruler from the ground and slid it gently across Yan Ruyu's cheek, which was tense with fear. His eyes were full of aggression. "Would you like... me to compensate you with a 'rule' that is harder and more memorable for a lifetime?"

Yan Ruyu's mind was already blurred at this moment. The faith she had relied on all her life was shattered by Lin Chen in the most overbearing way. The emptiness and frustration coming from the depths of her Soul gave her a strange sense of psychological compensation.

She looked at Lin Chen, her lips trembling, and she whispered a sentence as if possessed: "Please... Teacher, enlighten me."

Lin Chen's eyes darkened, and he directly grabbed her waist, taking her into the quiet room deep in the clinic.

...

Inside the quiet room, sandalwood incense curled.

Yan Ruyu was pressed onto the rosewood chair used for consultations. At this moment, where was there any majesty of a Great Libationer left?

Her originally neat cyan Confucian robe was slightly disheveled due to the earlier turmoil, and the collar was slightly open, revealing a patch of snow-white, smooth skin that would make even the most cold-hearted man in the world go crazy. It was a kind of purity that had not seen the sun for years, carrying a cool fragrance of books.

Lin Chen did not show mercy. He stood behind Yan Ruyu, his hands slowly climbing onto her elegantly curved shoulders, his fingertips applying slight force, pressing on her tense Meridians.

"Ah..."

Yan Ruyu let out a short and charming cry. If this sound were spread out, I fear all the scholars in the Imperial Capital would go crazy.

Her body, which had always been dignified and self-restrained, displayed an extremely sensitive contrast under Lin Chen's touch. As Lin Chen's fingertips slid over her smooth neck, this Peak Dao-Integration expert actually looked like a young girl who had just stepped into the world, her entire body flushed with a fine, alluring pink.

"Teacher said earlier that a man touching a woman is lewd?" Lin Chen's palm extended down her spine without question, finally resting on her buttocks, which were tightly wrapped by the Confucian robe yet still round and firm, and grabbed them fiercely.

"Then now, Teacher, what do you think... this is called?"

"Wu... no... impossible..." Yan Ruyu bit her lip, tears swirling in her eyes, but the bodily instinct that had never been awakened by a member of the opposite sex was screaming wildly under Lin Chen's teasing.

She could feel that Lin Chen's palm seemed to carry flames; everywhere it passed, it burned her prideful reason to ashes. The contradictory pleasure of being conquered, humiliated, and yet extremely eager to be filled made her legs twist together involuntarily, and her slender jade fingers gripped the edge of the rosewood chair so hard her knuckles turned white.

Lin Chen looked at her weeping appearance, watching this arrogant teacher become a slave to desire under his crotch... no, in front of him.

He picked up the broken piece of the ruler and pressed it gently against the hem of her soaked Confucian robe.

"Teacher, we need to make up for this lesson properly today."

Yan Ruyu's delicate body arched sharply, and the last trace of clarity in her eyes dissipated. In this small quiet room, the originally solemn Confucian Holy Land had now become a Shura field for the most primitive and brilliant human desires.

Outside the window, the sunset was like blood. At the entrance of the clinic, the noisy crowd gradually dispersed, but everyone knew that from today on, the sky of the Imperial Capital had truly changed.

【Congratulations to the host! You have shattered the Dao Heart of the daughter of Luck from Jixia Academy (Yan Ruyu)! Obtained Divine Dynasty literary prestige: Teacher for All Generations!】

【Yan Ruyu's submission level is increasing...】

【Due to the Saintly Aura displayed by the host, the Empress (Wu Zhao) has become curious. Next target: The Imperial Palace, Treasure Appraisal Conference!】

Lin Chen walked out of the quiet room, looking at the sunset, a smile of mastering the universe on his lips.

The so-called ritual teachings were nothing but a fig leaf for the weak, and he, Lin Chen, was going to tear off this fig leaf of the entire Divine Dynasty, piece by piece.