The Whip

“……” As the words fell, the passage sank into pitch darkness. Xu Xinyao stared blankly at this Third Brother before her, both familiar and strange. In her eyes lingered a trace of grievance and confusion as a sour ache quietly spread through her heart. She recalled the sight of him looking at her with disgust and cursing her as an illegitimate stray bastard; her fists clenched slightly. Back then, though she had felt hurt, it hadn't carried this razor-like suffocation piercing straight through her heart. She couldn't understand why he believed she would betray that reticent yet venerable father. Her pale lips moved. Instinctively, Xu Xinyao wanted to deny it, but seeing Xu Yuan's calm gaze, she fell quiet for a moment before saying in a trembling voice: “If Xinyao ever truly did such things, please kill me directly, Third Brother.” Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes at her words, gently rubbing his thumb and index finger together. After a long while, he nodded and let out a single word: “All right.” Xu Xinyao pressed her lips into a faint smile, then glanced at the thumb-thick branch Xu Yuan had placed on the ground beside him. “Third Brother, are you… going to whip Xinyao?” “Yes. That was my initial thought.” Noticing her gaze, Xu Yuan picked up the branch from the ground and swung it casually. It whistled through the air as he turned his gaze toward her. “But after talking with you, I don't think it's necessary anymore. Even if I beat you, you won't listen to me. Everyone in our family is like this—stubborn to the death.” Hearing this, Xu Xinyao instinctively pictured the scene of Third Brother being strung up from the rafters in the Imperial Capital and whipped by Eldest Brother. A gleam of light flashed in her beautiful eyes, and she nearly couldn't help a smile. Yet in the next moment, that light quickly dimmed. Third Brother's distrust and the horrific tragedy in Shengshan County turned into blades relentlessly twisting in her heart. Looking at her, Xu Yuan stroked the branch in his hand as though caressing a precious sword. “The array formations you study can influence the realm far more than raw cultivation. It is a sword—wield it well, and it saves country and people; wield it poorly, and it leaves boundless disaster in its wake. “This time, you handed this sword straight to someone whose character you didn't truly know. I hope you take this lesson to heart. Next time, it might not be as simple as two hundred thousand lives.” “……” After a period of silence, Xu Xinyao looked up at Xu Yuan and said in a low voice: “Third Brother, you should hit me anyway.” Xu Yuan fell speechless at her request. He looked at her and said, enunciating each word: “Do you think taking a beating from me will make you feel better right now?” “……” Xu Xinyao did not speak. Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment. Having made up his mind, he stood up with the branch in hand. “Kneel.” Biting her lower lip, Xu Xinyao rose and knelt facing in the direction of Shengshan County. In silence, Xu Yuan stood to her side. Looking at her straight, slender back, he swung down hard. *Smack!* The whistling tear of the branch through the air was followed by a sharp crack. He hadn't struck her back, but the fair hands Xu Xinyao had rested on her thighs. With one strike, a crimson welt instantly rose across the back of her hand, blood slowly seeping out. Xu Yuan had channeled Source Qi, cloaking the branch in a faint red glow. Rather than lashing her with the switch, it was more like lashing her with his Source Qi. The piercing agony tore through her, and Xu Xinyao's delicate frame trembled slightly, but she clenched her teeth and made no sound, remaining ramrod-straight. *Smack!* Immediately came a second strike. A second bloody welt appeared right below the first, the two gashes glaringly stark against her snow-white skin. Done. Xu Yuan looked down at his adoptive sister from above and said in a heavy voice: “I believe that before you struck an agreement with the Wanxiang Sect, you must have done some investigation—investigating their stance and whether they were trustworthy. But the result is that you misjudged them. This is a lesson, because those ‘friends’ of yours could also become a second Wanxiang Sect. You can know a person's face, but never their heart. “Traveling the world was Father's wish for you, so I won't interfere. But I hope that in the future, before you do anything, you look often at these two scars on the back of your hand. If you don't wish to see them, you can also use an ointment to remove them.” Xu Xinyao looked at the wounds on the back of her hand, lightly stroking them, and whispered: “Yes… Xinyao will remember.” “……” Xu Yuan took a deep breath, turned around, and glanced back sideways. “I'll give you some time alone. Ran Qingmo and I will wait for you at the cave entrance.” Before leaving, Xu Yuan caught a faint glimpse of glistening tears in her lowered eyes. With the soft sound of his footsteps fading away, silence returned to the passage. After kneeling in a daze for a long time, the young woman finally slumped to the floor, hugged her knees, and began to weep softly. Walking down the passage toward the outside, the Saint's remnant soul suddenly spoke: “Brat Xu, that adoptive sister of yours is crying.” Xu Yuan's expression remained calm, his pace unbroken. “I know. She was always like that—only ever hiding away to cry alone. That's why I left early to give her some time to cry.” Hearing this, the Saint's remnant soul fell silent for a moment before shaking his head slightly. “Just looking at you and that Xu Changge kid, I thought everyone in your family was cut from the same cloth. Who would have thought there was someone like this girl among you?” Xu Yuan pondered for a moment and replied in a low voice: “It's just her nature. But more than that, she was protected too well by Father and Xu Changge. After this, she should change a bit.” The Saint's remnant soul chuckled softly. “To be honest, watching how you acted back in the Qionghua Sect, I kept thinking you were some possessing soul. But looking at it now, I suppose I was mistaken. If it were possession, there's no way you'd be this familiar with the girl.” At this point, the Saint's remnant soul changed the subject: “Still, why did I get the feeling that you were so certain your sister would betray you?” “Certain?” Tossing aside the branch in his hand, Xu Yuan replied casually, “I was indeed very certain before, though I'm not so sure now. But some things are always worth warning her about beforehand.” The Saint's remnant soul grew curious: “Why were you so certain? Because of her personality?” “More or less,” Xu Yuan sighed ambiguously. After a brief silence, Xu Yuan asked quietly in his mind: “Old Man Luo, do you think there's any chance my adoptive sister's method could succeed?” The Saint's remnant soul pondered for a moment, not answering directly, but giving a low chuckle: “Heh… Actually, that adoptive sister of yours has a lot of merit in what she's doing—provided it serves as an idle move in your father's grand plan rather than the whole strategy.” A thoughtful look crossed Xu Yuan's eyes. “I'm listening.” The Saint's remnant soul shook his head. “It's too late.” Xu Yuan said, “Doesn't matter. Just indulge me.” Weighing his words, the Saint's remnant soul smiled: “This world has never lacked people with good intentions, nor does it lack people with capability. If your adoptive sister spent ten or twenty years traveling across the entire realm, the people flocking to her out of admiration would hardly be few. Even if only one or two out of ten proved useful, as they quietly developed behind the scenes, that would turn into a massive force. “Once they grew into prominence within their respective sects, even if they couldn't seize supreme power, the internal friction they caused would be enough to give those sects a massive headache. “Of course, it would only be a headache. And now it's too late anyway—your father's move will likely come within these next few years.” “……” Having listened closely, Xu Yuan looked back at the pitch-black passage and sighed: “Yeah. Such a simple truth… I hope bumping her head a few more times will help her realize it.”