Chapter 187: Still Angry

Pan Yun encouraged them, "Then go. I'll speak to them and ask if they'll let you practice on them. If they refuse, I'll beat them up first, then you can step in."

Miao Zhen and Miao He both thought this idea was good.

Xuan Li, upon hearing this, also grew eager. "Should I go too?"

Pan Yun didn't hesitate a second—it would be disrespectful to even pause—she shook her head directly. "You can't."

Xuan Li protested, "Why can't I?"

Pan Yun: "Last time in sword class, the instructor had me spar with you. I deliberately used my left hand. On the third move, you charged straight into my blade. If I hadn't pulled back fast enough, you'd have been bleeding out on the spot."

Xuan Li's face turned red. She whispered, "I tripped over a stone slab back then. Who could have guessed that a stone slab would lift up a corner after years of neglect?"

Pan Yun: "In a real fight, it's not just a lifted stone slab—you might face a mountain rising from flat ground. What then?"

"Why should I fight my senior and junior brothers and sisters? Are they stronger than me? Have they roamed the Jianghu and gathered plenty of experience? Do they know how ruthless opponents can be in the Jianghu—how they'll corner you, force you into desperation, and then use those same tactics against you?"

Pan Yun said: "Sparring with them lets me learn what techniques people in the Jianghu actually use. I can't claim to know them all, but with so many senior and junior brothers and sisters, I'll at least understand three or four tenths of it."

"And by understanding their positions in the Jianghu, I can estimate what position I might reach if I ever venture out."

Xuan Li stared, dumbfounded. "Aren't you the temple attendant now? Your cultivation base is high—what a bright future! Just stay on Mount Sanqing and cultivate quietly. Why go into the Jianghu?"

"The Jianghu is dangerous. None of you should go. Let me go alone."

Pan Yun said this, but Xuan Li's longing for the Jianghu flared up. She changed her mind. "You're right. The Jianghu sounds so fun. How could we not go explore it?"

Pan Yun: "... Don't go spreading that around. I never said that."

"The words weren't, but your tone was."

Pan Yun couldn't argue with her, so she decided not to argue anymore.

But this matter had indeed caught Xuan Li's attention. She too wanted to spar with her senior and junior brothers and sisters.

When Pan Yun and the others went again to challenge their senior and junior brothers and sisters, Xuan Li followed, drew her sword, and charged in yelling.

This threw even the battle-hardened senior and junior brothers and sisters into disarray—they had to be careful not to actually stab Xuan Li through and kill her.

Because of Xuan Li's involvement, the instructors who had been pretending not to notice quickly intervened and shut down this entire small corner of the mutual training group.

The senior and junior brothers and sisters preparing for exams were ordered not to leave a certain area. Anyone caught violating this rule would be expelled immediately and left to find their own lodging.

Pan Yun and the other three, especially Pan Yun, were sentenced to wash laundry for a month.

Pan Yun was furious. She shouted, "Why do other students who break rules get assigned cleaning duty, but I have to wash clothes?"

Lin Jing, who issued the punishment, replied coldly: "One and a half months."

Pan Yun immediately shut up—she wasn't afraid the penalty would be doubled to two months; she realized this wasn't really a big deal.

She roughly understood: they didn't assign her to cleaning because cleaning lets you talk to many senior and junior brothers and sisters.

Only the laundry bureau, located far away, made it nearly impossible to meet anyone—whether washing or hanging clothes, you'd rarely encounter outsiders, completely cutting off any chance of reconnection with her senior and junior brothers and sisters.

Pan Yun sighed. The next noon, she, Miao Zhen, Miao He, and Xuan Li reported to the laundry bureau.

Since Xuan Li had just joined, she was only sentenced to three days—she just needed to complete her assigned tasks daily.

Miao Zhen and Miao He, for colluding with Pan Yun, were sentenced to half a month.

Pan Yun, as the ringleader, was sentenced to a month—but she managed to stretch it to one and a half months.

Upon arriving at the laundry bureau, the supervisor, Zhang Liuzhen, frowned at the four. "Why did the Criminal Law Hall send these four little brats here to wash clothes?"

She took their hands and examined them, her frown deepening. "These soft, delicate hands—no calluses except from holding brushes and swords. Are these hands meant for labor?"

"Sending you here isn't punishment for you—it's punishment for me," Zhang Liuzhen muttered, yet still led them to a pile of dirty clothes and pointed. "Wash them all before class. If you don't finish, tomorrow's task doubles. If you still don't finish, double again. After three doublings, I'll report to the Criminal Law Hall: either extend your sentence, or skip class entirely until you wash every single garment within one day."

So cold. So heartless.

Pan Yun and the other three exchanged glances, then looked at the pile of dirty clothes. They all shivered.

Pan Yun asked cautiously: "Supervisor, whose clothes are these?"

"The clothes of the academy's staff and Daoist disciples."

Not everyone is like Zhang Liuzhen, with a Daoist attendant to care for them. Most Daoists take care of themselves.

To avoid disrupting the instructors' cultivation and teaching, the academy sends Daoist attendants daily to collect their dirty clothes and wash them.

With meals provided in the cafeteria and lodging within the academy, the academy covers clothing, food, and housing entirely—just one goal.

Let them cultivate in peace. Let them teach in peace.

There are many instructors and Daoist disciples in the academy.

The pile assigned to Pan Yun and the others is but a drop in the ocean. All four knew this. They silently picked up wooden buckets, stuffed the dirty clothes inside, and carried them to the river.

Pan Yun glanced at the eight fully packed buckets. "Two buckets each. Split up. Whoever fails to finish must find their own solution."

Xuan Li: "..."

She stared wide-eyed at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun met her gaze calmly. "So you knew you'd fail?"

Xuan Li, guilty: "Are you angry at me? I got you caught, and got you punished."

"We weren't punished because of you," Pan Yun was clear-eyed about grievances. "Even without you, the three of us would've been punished eventually. But you did get us caught—had we been caught, it would've been after the Shoulu Exam."

"All that sparring practice—even if we'd been punished later, I wouldn't regret it. But now, with half a month left until the Shoulu Exam, getting caught now? I deeply regret it."

Xuan Li blinked, finally realizing. "So... the instructors already knew you were sparring here, but stayed silent? Only when I showed up did they 'discover' you?"

Pan Yun: "That corner is secluded, but not so secluded that Criminal Law Hall didn't notice us gathering there for days on end?"

!

"If that's true, the head of the Criminal Law Hall should be replaced."

Xuan Li fell silent.

Miao Zhen said: "It's too late to say anything now. The deed is done. Don't dwell on the past—focus on now. Xuan Li, we rarely do chores on Mount Sanqing. We can't help you much here."

"Your junior aunt mentioned this for everyone's sake. We're punished longer than you. If you drag us down, and Supervisor Zhang counts this as everyone's failure, do you know how many extra garments you'd add to our daily load?"

Xuan Li imagined it and shuddered. "I won't drag you down."

Pan Yun nodded. "I hope so."

Because of that promise, Xuan Li washed with extraordinary effort—so fast, Pan Yun and the other three gaped.

Miao He stared blankly. After a moment, she asked: "You just dunk it, stir twice, then pull it out. Will that clean it?"

Xuan Li: "As long as it's washed, right? They only require washing, not cleanliness. And what counts as 'clean'? Everyone has their own standard."

Pan Yun thought it made sense, but looked down at the dirty clothes in her hands. She couldn't cross her own moral threshold—she washed them properly.

Miao Zhen and Miao He did the same.

They thought Xuan Li's method was flawed, but didn't urge her to change—her strength truly couldn't handle two full buckets under normal circumstances.

This was fine. Even if caught and punished, it'd be for something else—not an aggravated penalty... right?

After washing, they carried the clothes back to the laundry bureau and hung them out to dry.

Supervisor Zhang inspected each one. When she checked Xuan Li's clothes, she frowned sharply and ordered: "Take these back and wash them again."

But she didn't double tomorrow's punishment.

Xuan Li quietly exhaled. She glanced at Pan Yun.

At the same time, Supervisor Zhang now treated them as individuals. The next day, when assigning tasks, she gave each person a separate pile—fail your own, get punished for your own.

All four exhaled in relief. Xuan Li no longer feared dragging them down.

Yet Xuan Li didn't slack off. She preferred washing roughly, enduring a repeat wash for missing class, rather than risk doubling her punishment the next day.

Pan Yun couldn't help but admire her. "I didn't expect Xuan Li to be so clever. This is a good method. I'll write this rule into the Student Handbook so future punished students know it."

Xuan Li, carrying her bucket over, heard this and hurriedly said: "If you're using my idea, shouldn't you pay me?"

Pan Yun: "The Student Handbook is free for all students. I don't profit from it."

Xuan Li looked skeptical. "You'd do something that doesn't make money?"

Pan Yun: "I'm a good person, thank you. You, on the other hand, have never acted like one."

Xuan Li:...

Seeing the two about to argue, Miao Zhen interrupted: "Xuan Li, tomorrow's your last day. Don't mess up—don't waste all your effort."

Xuan Li blushed and grunted "Mm," then carried her bucket to the stream.

This stream flowed down from the mountains—said to originate from the peaks behind, never drying up year-round. In winter, the water runs low, just a shallow layer, where you can cross by stepping on stones.

The streambank had many stones—some natural, others brought by the academy specifically for washing clothes, vegetables, even rinsing rice.

The water flowed continuously downward, so no one could touch the same patch of water twice.

Xuan Li washed the clothes clean, then looked at Miao Zhen and whispered: "Is my junior aunt still mad at me?"

(End of Chapter)