Chapter 58
Gu Qinghong had been kicked out of the assessment before he could even react. Now he stood outside the Enforcement Hall with a dark expression, his mood foul beyond words.
The two enforcement disciples guarding the entrance kept throwing strange looks at him, making him feel even more humiliated.
When had he ever been treated like this before?
Unable to hold back any longer, Gu Qinghong strode forward, pointed at them, and demanded sharply, "Your Enforcement Hall eliminated me for no reason at all. Is this what you call fairness and justice?"
He had already decided.
He had to teach that woman a lesson and make her understand exactly who she could not afford to offend.
Unfortunately for him, the enforcement disciples clearly had no intention of following the script he imagined.
One of them answered lazily, utterly unmoved. "You're not the first person to say that."
Then he casually gestured behind Gu Qinghong. "One cheated with spirit boots. Another secretly took forbidden pills. The third tried using seduction techniques during the assessment."
Not far away stood the three eliminated disciples, each wearing an awkward, miserable expression, like criminals publicly exposed on the spot.
Gu Qinghong nearly exploded.
"You're comparing me to them?" he snapped angrily. "What qualifications do they have to be compared with me? I was wronged! I'm different from those people!"
The enforcement disciple slowly lifted his eyelids and finally gave him a proper look.
For a brief moment, Gu Qinghong thought the man had changed his mind.
Then the disciple replied flatly, "Oh? Is that so?"
And that was it.
Nothing else.
The utter disbelief in his tone was practically overflowing.
Gu Qinghong's chest rose violently with anger. His face turned green.
This dog-eyed bastard actually looked down on him too.
Just wait.
One day, he would make these people pay for humiliating him.
As he was grinding his teeth inwardly, the other enforcement disciple spoke coldly. "Since you've already been eliminated, stop lingering here."
No names were mentioned.
But Gu Qinghong knew perfectly well that the words were directed at him.
There were four eliminated disciples standing there, yet the disciple's eyes had remained fixed on him the entire time.
His face stiffened.
He wanted to lash out sarcastically, but after remembering this was the Enforcement Hall's territory, he forcibly swallowed the words back down.
The other three disciples left resentfully after hearing the order.
They had at least accepted reality. Since they'd been caught cheating, there was nothing they could do. If they earned a record with the Enforcement Hall, then so be it.
The two enforcement disciples curled their lips in disdain.
Gu Qinghong stubbornly refused to leave, but they couldn't exactly drag him away by force. Still, both of them were thoroughly dissatisfied with his behavior.
Over the years, countless disciples had failed the Enforcement Hall assessment.
Yet they had never seen anyone this shameless before.
Did he really think pestering Captain Wei would somehow overturn the result?
The two disciples sneered inwardly.
At that moment, brilliant white light flashed across the open area outside the Enforcement Hall. The disciples eliminated during the first round were teleported out one after another, all wearing defeated expressions.
Despite their frustration, none of them lingered.
Soon, everyone dispersed.
Except Gu Qinghong.
One disciple even gave him a particularly strange look before leaving.
Gu Qinghong felt increasingly uncomfortable beneath everyone's gazes, but there was nothing he could do.
They were all inner sect disciples. Nobody held a higher status than anyone else.
Back when he'd still been in the outer sect, people had never treated him this coldly.
The more he compared the difference, the more resentful he became.
Fortunately, he had already found an outlet for his anger.
As long as he could watch that rude woman receive punishment, then all this humiliation would have been worth it.
Several hours passed.
The sun tilted westward, and noon gradually approached.
During that time, disciples eliminated during the second round continued getting teleported out one after another.
Gu Qinghong estimated that only around fifty people had passed so far.
He raised his chin disdainfully and sneered inwardly at them all.
A bunch of useless trash.
If he had entered the second round, he definitely would've been among the successful candidates.
Thinking about the cultivation resources enjoyed by Enforcement Hall disciples, greed flickered through Gu Qinghong's eyes.
He absolutely had to obtain this position.
He'd already boasted about it to others beforehand. If he failed now, he'd become the laughingstock of countless conversations.
Suddenly, one of the enforcement disciples spoke. "Your name is Gu Qinghong?"
Gu Qinghong immediately snapped out of his thoughts and looked over in surprise. "Yes. I am Gu Qinghong."
Could it be...
Had Captain Wei finally discovered his subordinates were abusing their authority and decided to clear his name?
Gu Qinghong's imagination instantly began running wild.
Then he heard the disciple say coldly:
"So it's you. Captain Wei has ordered you confined for ten days and instructed you to copy the sect rules three times. Punishment will be carried out immediately."
"What?!"
Gu Qinghong's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How could Captain Wei punish me? You must've made a mistake! If anyone deserves punishment, it's that woman!"
The enforcement disciple frowned in annoyance. "You dare question an elder's orders? And besides, you insulted an Enforcement Hall disciple without cause. You deserve punishment."
Inwardly, the disciple snorted.
Junior Sister Lou was clearly such a nice person. Yet this idiot actually dared insult her? His character was obviously rotten to the core.
Thankfully he hadn't joined the Enforcement Hall.
Otherwise, who knew what kind of disaster he'd become later?
Gu Qinghong still wanted to argue, but the enforcement disciples had already moved swiftly.
Before he could react, he was restrained and dragged directly toward the confinement chambers.
The heavy door opened.
Then—
Bang!
He was shoved into a dimly lit room.
Gu Qinghong: "..."
Damn it!
The Enforcement Hall was blatantly abusing its power!
Furious, he slammed his fist onto the table.
The ordinary wooden table instantly exploded with a loud crack, unable to withstand the force.
Nearby, Hao Tianping had just finished copying today's quota of sect rules. He was basking lazily beneath the warm sunlight streaming through the narrow upper window when the sudden explosion startled him awake.
He hurriedly called out to a passing disciple. "Senior Brother, wait! What happened? It sounded like something exploded!"
For one fleeting second, a dangerous thought flashed through Hao Tianping's mind.
If someone else had made the same mistake as him...
Wouldn't that ease his embarrassment a little?
Recently, everyone who heard about his multiple explosions kept coming over specifically to mock him. He was honestly getting sick of it.
But after thinking further, Hao Tianping quickly suppressed the thought.
If he behaved himself now, he could eventually leave confinement peacefully.
But if Captain Wei remembered his "heroic achievements" and decided to extend his punishment...
That would truly be disastrous.
The disciple merely replied, "Nothing exploded. Don't overthink it."
Then he left.
Hao Tianping immediately relaxed.
Good.
At least it wasn't another explosion case.
At this point, he still had no idea the newcomer was actually connected to him.
That only changed later that afternoon when Ling Yunxiao came to visit him in confinement and casually mentioned having a minor grudge against someone named Gu Qinghong.
Hao Tianping blinked in surprise. "How did that guy offend you?"
He understood Ling Yunxiao's personality well enough.
The man wasn't cold, exactly-but outside of necessary social interactions, he generally couldn't be bothered with other people. He only genuinely smiled around those close to him.
"Mouse." Ling Yunxiao tossed him a talisman. "Do me a favor. Once you're allowed out for fresh air, stick this Nightmare Talisman on him."
The disciples confined in solitary cells were allowed outside briefly every five days.
The time wasn't long.
But it was enough.
Hao Tianping noticed Ling Yunxiao avoiding the question, but didn't pry further.
He accepted immediately. "Leave it to me. I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly."
Ling Yunxiao smiled faintly.
The Nightmare Talisman was merely a little advance payment.
He wasn't worried about getting caught either.
The talisman only caused endless nightmares during sleep, gradually wearing down a person's mental state. The Enforcement Hall wouldn't discover anything strange.
At most, they'd assume Gu Qinghong had done too many bad things and was finally suffering karmic retribution.
And once the talisman's effect faded completely, there would be no trace left behind.
As for after Gu Qinghong's confinement ended...
Ling Yunxiao still had a "great gift" waiting for him.
Meanwhile, Gu Qinghong's suffering had only just begun.
After damaging sect property, he was reprimanded again, fined ten spirit stones, and had ten additional days added to his confinement.
His face turned green on the spot.
But that wasn't the worst part.
That very night, every time he closed his eyes, endless nightmares surged into his mind. Terrifying scenes overlapped one after another, jolting him awake repeatedly.
Gu Qinghong gritted his teeth viciously.
Fine.
Then he just wouldn't sleep.
He immediately sat down to meditate.
Unfortunately for him, the moment the proper hour arrived, his body involuntarily fell asleep anyway.
Then the nightmares resumed.
By morning, dark circles hung beneath his eyes. His face looked haggard and exhausted, as though he hadn't slept in days.
Yet Gu Qinghong didn't dare mention the strange occurrences to the enforcement disciples.
After all...
Those nightmares were all connected to the things he himself had done.
Even he felt guilty about them.
Thus, his confinement days passed in absolute misery.
—
Meanwhile, inside the dining hall—
Lou Yuqing smiled at the young man seated across from her.
"I still haven't congratulated you properly for passing the Enforcement Hall assessment and becoming an official enforcement disciple."
"Thank you."
Ling Yunxiao smiled brightly and handed her the menu.
"I already promised I'd treat you to a meal. Order whatever you want—don't be polite. The head chef's signature dishes should arrive soon."
"Then I won't hold back."
Lou Yuqing happily waited for the dishes.
Honestly, she hadn't helped much at all. She'd originally wanted to invite her senior sister too, but Si Nidie had refused outright.
Si Nidie had practically sneered at her.
Do I look like someone with no sense of timing?
At that moment, Ling Yunxiao casually brought up another topic. "I heard from Hao Tianping that someone new entered solitary confinement recently. Seems his name is Gu Qinghong. Apparently he's been having nightmares every night."
Disgust flashed through Lou Yuqing's eyes instantly. "Hmph. Someone with rotten morals like him deserves nightmares. Honestly, I think the punishment was too light."
Ling Yunxiao nodded in agreement.
Indeed.
This level of suffering barely counted as pain.
For someone thick-skinned like Gu Qinghong, it would pass quickly.
But Ling Yunxiao believed only genuine pain left behind lasting memories.
At that moment, the private room door swung open.
"Xiao Ling, your dishes are here!"
The head chef waddled in cheerfully with a large plate of fragrant braised pork and set it on the table.
Ling Yunxiao smiled. "Thank you, Steward Xie."
Steward Xie's gaze drifted toward Lou Yuqing as his thoughts immediately started racing.
Originally, he'd thought Ling Yunxiao kept pestering him for specialty dishes because the food genuinely tasted good.
Who would've guessed the boy was actually treating a young lady?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Steward Xie's eyes gleamed mischievously.
"Ling Yunxiao," he said meaningfully, "how was that spirit wine you bought from me last time?"
Ling Yunxiao paused briefly.
"I gave some to a friend. By the time I visited him again, he'd already finished it." Then he joked casually, "What, Steward Xie? Are you trying to sell me more wine?"
He'd only said it jokingly.
Unexpectedly, Steward Xie immediately nodded. "Of course. This wine nourishes beauty and health. It's especially suitable as a gift."
Every word carried hidden meaning.
Ling Yunxiao noticed Steward Xie glancing toward Lou Yuqing and instantly felt a headache coming on.
He hurriedly waved him away. "You don't need to explain! Just bring me three more jars!"
Steward Xie grinned broadly. "Coming right up!"
Only after the man left did Ling Yunxiao secretly glance toward Lou Yuqing.
Seeing her focused entirely on eating, seemingly unaware of Steward Xie's implication, he quietly relaxed.
Then suddenly—Steward Xie's furious roar exploded from outside.
"Damn it! Which little thief drank all my spirit wine?!"