Chapter Fifty-Four: Punishment

Next, Uncle Qin declared that Jiang Yuan had already confessed: Feng Ke’er was unfit for physical labor and, for four pieces of low-grade spirit stone, had transferred her planting duties to him.

“Qin Heng, is what Jiang Yuan said true? Have you been to the spirit fields to work these past few days?” Uncle Qin’s face was dark with anger, yet in the end, he still remembered to confirm with her.

Feng Ke’er truly felt wronged. Those four pieces of low-grade spirit stone were indeed “borrowed” by Jiang Yuan from her. Of course, she never expected Jiang Yuan to return them. But as for the matter of transferring the task, that was entirely fabricated. She simply couldn’t understand why Jiang Yuan would frame her without cause or grievance.

“Reporting to Uncle, I’ve just advanced in my cultivation and have been diligently training these past days, so I haven’t been to the spirit fields. However, I…” She tried her utmost to defend herself.

At that moment, the side door opened. Three cultivators in yellow, blue-trimmed short silk robes filed out. The one in the lead, Feng Ke’er recognized—it was Shen Ping, the Prefect of the Outer Sect. The other two, a man and a woman, she hadn’t seen before. Judging by their appearance, they too must be Outer Sect administrators. Still, after all her time in the Outer Sect, this was the first time Feng Ke’er had seen a female administrator in the yellow, blue-trimmed robe. Tasks in the Outer Sect were many and varied, which hindered cultivation. So, generally, once female disciples reached the Foundation Establishment stage, they would transfer to the Inner Sect—even the least talented would become ordinary Inner Sect disciples. Over time, the administration of the Outer Sect fell into the hands of the male disciples. This was, after all, an era that favored women over men! Men had little status, didn’t they? When Feng Ke’er first learned this “unspoken rule,” she felt an inexplicable satisfaction—serves them right!

Thus, her attempt at self-defense was grandly interrupted. Alas, as a low-ranking Outer Sect disciple, she was already benefiting from her family’s influence by even being given a chance to explain herself. Sensible enough not to push her luck, Feng Ke’er fell silent and stood quietly to the side.

“Prefect Senior Brother. Senior Sister Zhang. Senior Brother Wang.” Uncle Qin composed himself, respectfully stepping aside and saluting with fists clasped. In the sect, seniority wasn’t determined by age but by cultivation; among peers, the one with the highest cultivation was called senior brother. Thus, although these three appeared younger than he, having just advanced, his strength was the weakest, and he ranked last.

Shen Ping stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Feng Ke’er with a headache—how did this child get herself into such trouble? The evidence was overwhelming; how was he supposed to protect her? Yet if he didn’t, and Uncle Qin’s ancestor rebuked him, what explanation could he give?

“Senior Sister Zhang, Senior Brother Wang, what do you think?” He passed the decision to the other two.

Senior Sister Zhang looked Feng Ke’er up and down, snorted softly, and said, “Prefect Senior Brother, without rules, nothing can be accomplished. Does being a child of the three great families mean one can do as they please? If so, how are we to manage anything in the future?” Her anger grew as she spoke, and at last, she threw up her hands and declared sharply, “If that’s the case, then let the children of the three great families take over all administration. We might as well leave.”

So, not only was she a hot-blooded youth, but also a real firecracker, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. The poor girl was being used as a tool and didn’t even know it. Now Feng Ke’er finally understood why the Inner Sect didn’t welcome this Senior Sister—she colluded with Outer Sect disciples for petty gains while still believing herself to be the only just and fair person in the world. Such people are never popular in any era.

Uncle Qin, being somewhat of the three great families himself, flushed with shame at her words and, unable to argue, could only glare at Feng Ke’er with disappointment, staring at his toes in utter embarrassment.

With someone having taken the lead, what followed was simple. Senior Brother Wang agreed, Uncle Qin abstained, and with the majority in favor, Shen Ping weighed matters and pronounced Feng Ke’er guilty, sentencing her to a month of reflection in the Myriad Ant Forest.

Uncle Qin was shocked and cried out, “Ah, Myriad Ant Forest? Prefect Senior Brother, this… Heng’er is only at the early stage of Qi Refinement. He is exceptionally gifted, a rare cultivation talent. I beg Prefect Senior Brother to show some mercy.”

“Uncle Qin! The Outer Sect is not the Qin family—there are thousands of disciples here!” Before Shen Ping could reply, the firebrand Zhang cut in sternly, “With so many disciples watching, you mustn’t make things difficult for all of us!”

Shen Ping waved his hand, sealing the matter.

Thus, Uncle Qin could only sigh.

Of course, the disciples of the three great families still received some special treatment. Before leaving, Shen Ping took Feng Ke’er’s hand, offering earnest advice and reminders—mainly to be careful and not to repeat her mistake. More importantly, while others were distracted, he secretly slipped her a tiny gourd.

“Revitalization Pills,” he informed Feng Ke’er telepathically, “Qin Heng, if the ‘Jade Insects’ couldn’t harm you, I suppose ants should pose even less threat. Take these, just in case.”

“Your disciple will remember your teachings,” Feng Ke’er replied, saluting and discreetly stowing the gourd in her storage pouch.

Uncle Qin, as her clan uncle, openly gifted her a new cloth robe and told her to reflect and be careful.

Feng Ke’er accepted the gifts with proper ceremony.

After their words, Zhang and Wang personally escorted her to the Myriad Ant Forest.

The Myriad Ant Forest was a forbidden place in the Outer Sect. Feng Ke’er had heard many Outer Sect disciples mention it. By word of mouth, everyone said it was eerie and terrifying, a domain of ants. They said that no disciple sent there for reflection had ever returned alive.

So, when Shen Ping announced the verdict, Feng Ke’er’s heart turned cold. But then she thought, Shen Ping was right—even the most terrifying ants were still just ants, surely less formidable than the “Jade Insects” hatched by Old Master Chen! She refused to believe she couldn’t handle a few ants.

The Myriad Ant Forest—excellent! She’d been fretting over not having a place to level up. Perhaps a month would be enough for her to achieve Foundation Establishment.

With this thought, her fear faded and anticipation took its place.

The Myriad Ant Forest lay at the northernmost corner of the Outer Sect. From the outside, it looked like a primeval forest of towering ancient trees. But on closer inspection, Feng Ke’er sensed something was wrong: standing at the forest’s edge, the three of them could not hear a single birdcall. The entire forest edge was deathly silent.

Her initial eagerness vanished, replaced by dread and apprehension, spreading within her heart like black ink in water.

Unfortunately, Senior Brother Zhang was already impatient. With a false smile, he shoved her hard from behind. “Junior Qin, take care of yourself!”

Caught off guard, Feng Ke’er stumbled forward three steps before regaining her balance. When she turned back, Senior Brother Wang had already sealed the entrance with a restriction.

Zhang, clapping his hands with satisfaction, exclaimed, “Excellent! Finally, we can properly deal with a direct descendant of the three great families.”

Wang, equally pleased, voiced his agreement. The two left, laughing, without so much as another glance at Feng Ke’er.

However, they had barely walked half a mile when an angry shout echoed from the sky: “Where is Heng’er now?” With that, the pressure of a Core Formation expert descended from above.

Unable to withstand it, the two of them fell to their knees, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Zhang, who was slightly stronger, managed to gasp out a reply: “Reporting to Elder, Qin Heng broke sect rules. Prefect Uncle punished him by sending him to the Myriad Ant Forest for reflection. Now, he’s already been sent in.”

“You act quickly!” The voice above ground its teeth in fury. “From interrogation to punishment, not even the time for a single incense stick has passed!”

Zhang had already guessed the person’s identity and replied stiffly, “Elder Qin, Qin Heng’s guilt was clear, with both evidence and testimony. We handled matters impartially…”

She was correct. The person in the sky was none other than Qin Heng’s mother, Qin Ruhua. Heavily pregnant and on the verge of giving birth, she had received Uncle Qin’s message, leapt onto her flying sword, and rushed to the Outer Sect as quickly as possible—only to arrive a step too late.

“Silence!” At the news that her child had been thrown into the Myriad Ant Forest, Qin Ruhua was furious. “Zhang Ying, is it? You failed to become my disciple, so you take it out on my son? Outrageous!” With that, she formed a hand seal, and a flash of red light burst from her fingertip, transforming into a sword energy that slashed fiercely at those on the ground.

Zhang Ying was terrified, but the sword energy was as swift as lightning, impossible for her to dodge. Just as she was about to be cleaved in two, a gentle breeze swept in, dispelling the sword energy.

“Ruhua, don’t be reckless,” came a lazy voice from above.

Qin Ruhua looked up to see Qin Hanyan standing on a flying sword, hands behind her back.

“Aunt, Heng’er…” At the mention of her unfortunate son, she was overwhelmed by grief and tears welled in her eyes.

“I believe Heng’er is destined for great fortune,” Qin Hanyan comforted her gently. “He’s blessed; you needn’t worry too much…”

At these words, Qin Ruhua’s taut nerves relaxed, her expression changed, and cold sweat the size of beans broke out on her forehead as she clutched her belly and began to cry out in pain. Suddenly, she toppled headfirst from her flying sword like a felled tree.

Fortunately, Qin Hanyan was quick to react, sending out an Immortal-Binding Cord to catch her.

“Ruhua, what’s wrong?”

She had gone into labor and was carried back to give birth, leaving the two on the ground to narrowly escape death.

Meanwhile, the “blessed” imposter was in serious trouble. The forest was dense and impenetrable, shrouded in a fog as thick as rice porridge, with visibility no more than two meters. But she couldn’t just stay by the entrance forever. Relying on her hearing, she forced herself to walk forward.

After less than three steps, she heard the sound of fine sand shifting all around her.

What was that? Alarmed, the hair on her neck stood on end. She drew her sword in a flash, holding it defensively before her.

Suddenly, a shadow darted from the right front, and some unknown creature hurtled toward her like an iron pellet.

She slashed at it, but only felt a sharp pain on her nose—the unidentified creature smashed into her hard, stars exploding before her eyes.

Immediately, another object shot at her.

“Ouch!” This time it struck her right ear. The pain was excruciating—what kind of creature resorted to such lowly tricks as biting ears?

Numbness flooded over her. Before she could react, her sword clattered to the ground and her eyes rolled back as she collapsed in a faint.

Unfortunately, the so-called “blessed one” had lasted less than three breaths in the forest before being instantly defeated!

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(Meta Author’s Note omitted as per instructions.)

Tongtian Codex, Chapter 54—Punishment, update complete!