Chapter 163: Punish Su Ruo

Su Ruo searched around and finally found Guan Yue in the Library; seeing Su Ruo looking for her, Guan Yue felt a little surprised.

Although they lived in the same dormitory, both had rather aloof personalities, so strictly speaking, they had little contact.

Su Ruo gestured for Guan Yue to come out, found a secluded spot, and then told her about the mistress, Guihua, and that strange bell.

Upon hearing Su Ruo's words, Guan Yue's expression immediately turned solemn; after a moment's thought, she said:

"If I'm not mistaken, your mistress must have been planted with a kind of witchcraft that can control a person's mind; that bell is the magical device controlling your mistress."

"That's why picking up the bell is useless for you; this witchcraft requires a specific incantation or a particular person to be effective."

"This witchcraft is extremely vicious, usually used on children and people with unsound minds, because they are easier to control."

"These people first select a victim, then confuse their mind, and finally use some devices to control them, making them obey orders to achieve their goal."

Su Ruo's face quickly turned grave, because she had a suspicion that Guan Yue was correct.

"If what Guan Yue says is true, and we continue to let the mistress stay with Guihua, the mistress will be in great danger."

Su Ruo immediately stood up; she had to hurry back and tell the master.

Seeing Su Ruo so anxious, Guan Yue advised: "Actually, you don't need to worry too much; using this witchcraft has very strict requirements for distance, tools, and environment."

"Based on what you said, the time your mistress has been afflicted with the Gu technique is still short; she shouldn't be able to make her harm others..."

"Thank you!" Even so, Su Ruo's worries did not lessen.

When Su Ruo rushed back to the Medicine Hall, the master, senior brothers, the mistress, and Guihua were already eating.

Today the mistress rarely sat beside the master; the master's face was filled with a thick, unfading smile, after all, this was the first time in a long while that his wife, having awakened, did not reject his closeness.

No one knew that Yan Jiu felt a flicker of joy; he reached out to touch his wife's hair, but the mistress instinctively wanted to dodge.

At that moment, Guihua beside her lightly shook the bell in her hand, and the mistress immediately stopped moving.

When Su Ruo pushed the door open and entered, she saw exactly this scene; a nameless fury instantly rose in her heart.

That demoness actually dared to do this right under their noses, treating them like fools.

Su Ruo dared not imagine how long the demoness had controlled the mistress while they were unaware, and how much suffering the controlled mistress must endure.

Yan Jiu didn't notice Su Ruo's oddness; seeing her return, he smiled and said, "Ruo Ruo, you're back, just in time to come eat..."

But at that moment Su Ruo was in a fit of rage, completely ignoring his words; she strode straight to Guihua, grabbed her up from the chair, snatched the bell from her hand, threw it to the ground, and stomped it into pieces.

Guihua fell to the ground, letting out a sharp cry; when she saw her bell crushed by Su Ruo, she was horrified, forgot her pain, and hurriedly crawled over to pick it up.

Then, holding the shattered bell, she angrily questioned Su Ruo: "This bell is mine; why did you do this? On what grounds did you smash it?"

Everyone also snapped out of their shock; several senior brothers stared at Su Ruo in disbelief, unable to understand how the usually obedient and well-behaved junior sister could suddenly go mad, smashing Guihua's bell as soon as she returned.

Yan Jiu, who knew the bell's origin, instantly grew more solemn; he sternly rebuked Su Ruo: "Kneel!"

For the first time, Su Ruo felt a sense of grievance at being so harshly scolded by her master, but she still controlled her emotions and said: "Master, do you know, this bell..."

Yan Jiu, however, cut her off with a stern voice, his eyes icy: "No matter what problem the bell has, it is not your right to destroy it on the pretext of someone else's heirloom; after teaching you for so long, could it be that I have taught you to be arrogant and domineering, to bully others at will?"

Several senior brothers, knowing the master was truly angry this time, immediately knelt together before Yan Jiu, pleading for Su Ruo: "Master, the junior sister must have a reason for doing this; she would never deliberately bully Guihua; there must be a misunderstanding."

Yan Jiu, however, ignored them and looked at Su Ruo, asking: "Do you know you're wrong?"

Su Ruo, however, remained stubbornly standing there, neither humble nor arrogant, saying: "What wrong? Why should I kneel?"

Su Ruo had sworn that in this life she would never allow herself to suffer any grievance, not even from the master she most revered.

Upon hearing this, the three senior brothers kneeling on the ground were instantly frightened; they hurriedly pulled at Su Ruo, gesturing for her to stop speaking.

But Su Ruo kept her body straight, standing there unmoved.

Guihua seized the moment and wailed: "Oh child! It's mother's inadequacy; I couldn't even protect your heirloom, letting it be destroyed like this. Rather than let people bully me, what's the point of living? I might as well die."

As Guihua spoke, she moved to crash into a pillar; Ji Linye and Wen Xiuyuan, seeing this, quickly grabbed her.

They had never seen Guihua like this before, and for a moment their feelings were mixed.

Seeing this, Yan Jiu's face grew even graver; seeing Su Ruo still stubbornly standing there without a hint of regret, he immediately pointed at her and said:

"Fine, you're really something; it seems I've spoiled you too much, which has made you lawless and contemptuous of others! Go fetch my ruler."

But Wen Xiuyuan and the two others didn't move; after all, aside from Su Ruo, none of them had been hit by that ruler, yet they had all experienced its severity.

Especially Ji Linye, who had been struck the most, still felt lingering fear of that pain.

Senior Brother Wen Xiuyuan hurriedly pleaded: "Master, the junior sister knows her mistake; can we do without the ruler?"

Song Zhizhou: "Master, the junior sister is frail; if she were really hit, she probably couldn't bear it."

Ji Linye: "The junior sister is young and doesn't understand; Master, if you want to punish, punish me instead!"

Yan Jiu's expression eased a little, but he still kept a stern face, saying: "Do you look like someone who knows she's wrong?"

Seeing this, Guihua immediately began seeking death.

Su Ruo's face turned icy as she lifted Guihua's collar: "Want to die? Fine, I'll grant you that!"

Having said that, Su Ruo directly drew a knife and plunged it into the ground.

Guihua looked at the knife flashing with cold light and at Su Ruo's eyes filled with a chilling killing intent; fear instantly arose in her eyes.

At this moment, Guihua had no doubt that if she dared to say another word, Su Ruo would really kill her.

Wen Xiuyuan immediately said: "Junior sister, don't."

Yan Jiu also instantly changed his expression: "Stop!"

Guihua stammered: "Madman, you madman..."

Su Ruo, however, didn't look at her anymore; she stood up, looked at Yan Jiu, and asked: "Master, do you believe me or not?"

At this moment, Su Ruo had made up her mind; if the master believed her, then this master-disciple affection could continue.

If not, she would sever ties then; what she owed the master would be considered repaid, and as for the mistress and others' future, it would have nothing to do with her.

Whether one calls her cold or selfish, so be it!

Having been reborn, Su Ruo, in her conduct and actions, seeks only to follow her true heart, does not force others, and absolutely does not wrong herself.