Chapter 61: Shrinking the Earth into Inches

Zhaoge, the eastern corner of the valley, Lane A.

Night had fallen. Lu Wenxing came home with a bellyful of anger, just as Lu Tanyue happened to be standing at the door with a food box in her hand. She asked him, “Why didn’t you go to the dining hall today?”

Lu Wenxing’s face was full of displeasure. “I had a fight with Rubi.” As it turned out, after Lu Wenxing left the Punishment Hall, he had run into Ren Rubi. He had poured out a whole basket of complaints to Ren Rubi, blaming Ma Hongxuan for favoring outsiders and humiliating him. Unexpectedly, Ren Rubi had instead scolded him bloody, angering Lu Wenxing so badly that he nearly fell over backward. He was so full of anger that he was full without even eating.

He had been extremely depressed, so he took a walk outside, trampled plenty of grass, and kicked the roadside trees a few times. The fire in his heart had been vented, but he had not eaten dinner, so on the way back he was so hungry his chest was sticking to his back.

Lu Tanyue lifted the food box. “You’re all family. A quarrel is a quarrel, but people still care about you. Look, she brought this over for you.”

When the food box was opened, it was all dishes Lu Wenxing loved. His expression eased, and he slowly said, “At least she still has a conscience.”

The main room was dim, with the lamplight from the family behind them shining through the window.

Lu Wenxing sat at the table and wolfed down his food. Beside him, Lu Tanyue lit the lamp, then closed the window so the cold wind outside would not blow in.

She looked over her students’ homework for a while. Seeing that Lu Wenxing was about eighty percent full, she asked him how he had ended up quarreling with Ren Rubi.

Lu Wenxing did not hide it from his own sister. He set down his bowl and chopsticks and told her everything that had happened in the Punishment Hall today, from start to finish. After he finished speaking, another two parts of resentment rose in him. “How could Long Tianhu be anything good? Even before, he was always slacking and cutting corners when he worked. No matter how I look at him, I can’t stand him. Who knows how many bad things he did before? Even if he was wrongly accused, he deserved it…”

He said a whole pile of bad things about Xiao Haonü, then brought up Ma Hongxuan. “And him too. He actually wanted to help that bandit chief, and even said I was unfair. Am I not fair enough? If I really abused my position for personal reasons, I should have killed him on the spot! And Rubi too. She actually said Ma Hongxuan did the right thing…”

The more Lu Wenxing spoke, the more resentful he became. “Ma Hongxuan accused me, and Rubi scolded me too. The two of them really went crazy today!”

As Lu Tanyue listened, she heard the crux of the matter and asked, “But what they said wasn’t wrong. Your judgment really wasn’t fair!”

Lu Wenxing’s eyes widened. “You’re my own sister. Why are you helping outsiders too?” He was so anxious that he stood up. “That bandit chief isn’t one of us from Zhaoge. He’s done every evil thing there is, and he offended our lord. He should’ve been killed in the first place! Why didn’t Wei Huo frame someone else? Why did he have to frame him? It must be because he himself didn’t behave properly!”

Seeing him angry, Lu Tanyue laughed instead. She patted his shoulder and pressed him back down, soothing him. “All right, don’t be angry. You’re all brothers and sisters. You said yourself that they’re your companions through life and death. Could they really harm you for the sake of an outsider?”

Lu Wenxing froze for a moment and calmed down slightly. He remembered that Ma Hongxuan had the best temper and was also the most attentive. Whenever anything happened, Ma Hongxuan was always helping him. Once, when Lu Wenxing was in a hurry to rush to a group discussion, he had put his trousers on backward without noticing. It was Ma Hongxuan who reminded him, so he had not lost decorum in front of their lord.

Another time, he and Qiu Ping’an had gone out to buy supplies, and halfway through, a pickpocket stole his money pouch without either of them noticing. Back then, Zhaoge had nothing, and they had only just started following their lord. They ran into such a thing the moment they went out, and he had been so anxious he was practically smoking with anger. It was still Ma Hongxuan who accompanied them everywhere to search, finally dragging out the pickpocket, almost delaying Ma Hongxuan’s own errand.

And then there was Ren Rubi. Her personality was somewhat stubborn, and she did not like to talk. At first, he had thought she was hard to approach, but only later did he realize she was a tough and sincere person. He helped her cook brown sugar soup, and she helped him mend his clothes. It was not because she drew too clear a line between them, but because she also wanted to repay other people’s kindness. He was not good at fighting, and when he first went out hunting, he had even been afraid when he saw insects. She had stood in front of him and taught him how to be a good support…

Thinking of the good in these two people, Lu Wenxing became calmer and calmer. Especially Ren Rubi. Back then, when Big Brother Guo and the others had all gone out hunting, only he and Ren Rubi had stayed behind to guard the place. They had both once been beaten by that bandit chief Long Tianhu. Ren Rubi hated Long Tianhu too, so why had she also scolded him because of today’s matter?

Lu Wenxing still did not understand, but he no longer felt as indignant as before, convinced that they were helping outsiders.

Seeing her younger brother calm down, and seeing that the look he cast toward her even carried a bit of an appeal for help, Lu Tanyue patiently said, “The reason you hate Long Tianhu so much is nothing more than those two things. But even the Immortal Master didn’t shout that he should be beaten or killed. Why are you in such a hurry?”

Lu Wenxing said instinctively, “Our lord has noble character and naturally won’t lower himself to argue with someone like him. But as a subordinate, I can’t just leave this anger unvented on our lord’s behalf.”

Lu Tanyue said, “The Immortal Master was in the valley at the time too. Could he not know what Long Tianhu did? If he was truly furious, why didn’t he act then? Why did he instead instruct you all to follow the rules? Besides, if we’re talking about closeness, Brother Ma and Sister Ren are naturally on your side. Why would they insist on following the rules too, instead of helping one of their own vent his anger like you?”

Facing Lu Wenxing’s muddled gaze, Lu Tanyue sighed. “They weren’t helping Long Tianhu. They were helping you!”

“If you had helped the Wei Huo brothers frame Long Tianhu today, of course you’d have felt satisfied for a moment. But have you thought about afterward? Have you thought about what kind of place the Punishment Hall is? If the truth comes to light in the future, everyone will say the Punishment Hall is a place that doesn’t follow rules or care about justice. When that time comes, whether it’s the people of Zhaoge or outside practitioners, they’ll all feel that Zhaoge is nothing special after all, no different from the world outside. Right now, you’re doing work for the Immortal Master. Your every word and action represents your lord. Do you want outsiders to talk about your lord as a petty person who repays every slight, who is unfair and unjust, and who only chases momentary satisfaction?”

Seeing Lu Wenxing’s face grow paler and paler, Lu Tanyue could not bear it a little, but she still hardened her heart and continued.

“Do you still remember what you once told me? You said Zhaoge is different from the outside world because Zhaoge’s master has subtle and profound virtue and a benevolent heart. He is a true immortal.”

“You also said that in Zhaoge, we would never be bullied again. But today, you relied on your position as Hall Master of the Punishment Hall to wrong Long Tianhu. How is that any different from those people in the past who relied on their higher cultivation to oppress us? Those people coveted our family’s property and fields for selfish desire, but today, when you wanted to vent anger for one of your own, wasn’t that selfish desire too?”

“For example, yesterday Auntie Tao next door had a quarrel with Second Lady Li from the tailor shop. If Tao Dacheng wanted to vent his mother’s anger for her and refused to let Second Lady Li’s relatives enter the city, or if Sister Huilan wanted to vent Sister Linglan’s anger for her and drove the embroiderers in the Heavenly Garment Workshop out… if everyone wants to vent anger for their own people, won’t Zhaoge become a foul mess over time?”

“The Immortal Master entrusted these places to you because he trusts you. But the Punishment Hall is not your private property. What right do you have to behave willfully? If our lord were to know, how disappointed would he be?”

Lu Wenxing wanted to say that Long Tianhu’s case was different in nature, that it could not be compared to a mere quarrel at all. But at the same time, he also understood that according to the rules, he should not have treated Long Tianhu that way. At first, he still wanted to stubbornly argue back, but as he listened further, more and more cold sweat broke out on his face, until finally he nearly slid off his chair.

“Sis, I think I was wrong… No, I really was wrong!” Lu Wenxing’s face crumpled. “What do I do now?”

Lu Tanyue and her younger brother had depended on each other for survival, so she understood him utterly. To put it crudely, whichever way Lu Wenxing’s backside pointed, she knew what kind of fart he was about to let out. Seeing him panic, she was instead relieved.

It was good that he knew fear. This boy was protective by nature, and Lu Tanyue knew that compared to the matter of Long Tianhu, he cared more about Ma Hongxuan and Ren Rubi’s actions of “helping” outsiders. That was why she had made it clear from the start that Ma Hongxuan and Ren Rubi could not possibly bypass him to help outsiders. Once this boy calmed down, he could finally listen to human speech.

She had sternly laid out the stakes just now, and now it was just the right time to smooth his fur. Lu Tanyue said gently, “Don’t be anxious. Didn’t I just tell you? Brother Ma and Sister Ren were helping you. Fortunately, Brother Ma helped you judge the case today. I also heard that Long Tianhu’s cultivation has recovered, and now he’s rented a house in the west. Right now, everyone is saying that Zhaoge can even forgive Long Tianhu, and that it’s a fair place. Once this matter spreads, there will definitely be more people than before who want to enter our Zhaoge.”

Xiao Haonü’s cultivation had been sealed by their lord, but now he heard that it had recovered. Lu Wenxing thoroughly understood what their lord meant and could not help feeling fortunate. Toward Ma Hongxuan, he now felt only gratitude. But very soon, his heart leapt again. “Oh no. Our lord definitely knows about today’s matter. He also knows I deliberately made things difficult for that bandit chief. Then…”

There was nothing Lu Tanyue could do about this matter either. After all, no matter how bold she was, and no matter how much she had seen, she did not dare say she could guess that person’s thoughts. With a sigh, she said, “There’s nothing to be done about that. Think carefully about how to ask forgiveness. I expect the Immortal Master will forgive you.”

She felt that since that person valued rules, then according to the rules, her younger brother’s mistake today had not actually come to pass, so nothing would happen. But she did not dare boast, and she dared even less to say it carelessly, for fear her brother would become too pleased with himself. So when the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back down.

As for Lu Wenxing, he tossed and turned all night because of this matter and could not sleep. Over and over, he asked himself: if today’s matter happened again, would he still give Xiao Haonü a fair judgment?

In truth, according to the justice in his heart, Xiao Haonü should have died in the first place. It was not as if he was a good person anyway. Who knew how many people he had harmed outside? But Zhaoge’s rules were not like this. In Zhaoge, everything had to be based on evidence. When Xiao Haonü first entered Zhaoge, he had smashed things, cursed people, taken a severe beating, and then done two months of hard labor. That punishment truly should offset what he had done.

As for whether he had previously murdered, committed arson, or kidnapped and violated people, those things had not happened in Zhaoge, and there were no victims who had filed a complaint. According to the rules, he indeed could not be punished for them.

Damn it!

In his dream, Lu Wenxing judged according to the rules and even announced on the spot that Xiao Haonü had completed his sentence and was to be released. But when he saw Xiao Haonü’s smug face, he became so angry that he actually woke himself up from sheer fury.

After waking, Lu Wenxing could no longer fall asleep. He deeply reflected on himself. He was not stupid. If he had to judge according to the rules, of course he could do it. But in his heart, he could not. If he personally released Xiao Haonü, he would still be very angry inside.

He clearly knew that he should not be like this, but he simply could not control himself. “Xiao Haonü… No, he isn’t worthy of such a nice-sounding name! That bandit chief really is hateful. He’s still clinging to Zhaoge and refusing to leave, isn’t he? He’d better not let me catch any handle on him.”

Lu Wenxing finally felt that he was not a good person. On one hand, he was ashamed of this and felt he had let down his lord’s trust. On the other hand, he also felt there was nothing wrong with him being like this. When facing someone he detested, it was already good enough that he did not frame or torment them. Could he not even gloat over their misfortune?

“A divine person as tolerant, benevolent, and kind as our lord is rare in this world. As for me…” Lu Wenxing smiled bitterly. “I just can’t be tolerant. I still want revenge.”

The broom leaning against the head of the bed suddenly stood up, hovering several inches off the ground. Like a person, it nodded slightly at him.

Lu Wenxing looked at it and suddenly remembered many past events. The life-bound artifact he had summoned was a broom. Because of that, he had often been mocked, and had even felt that he would never amount to anything in this lifetime. After entering Strange Treasure Hall, he had always done sweeping and odd jobs. Sometimes, he had even resented his own life-bound artifact. Even if it had been a pot, bowl, ladle, or basin, that would have been better. Why did you have to be a broom? Occasionally, when his spirits were low, he had kicked this broom and even thought about throwing it away…

But no matter how he treated it, it always stayed by his side. Every time he was beaten, it was there beside him, communicating with spiritual qi so that the spiritual qi could soothe his injuries bit by bit and help him recover.

He did not know when he had completely accepted it. Perhaps it was when their lord first gave him guidance. Perhaps it was when he first used it to cooperate with his companions and successfully hunt a mystic armor beetle. Perhaps it was tonight…

“You also think I’m fine like this, don’t you?”

The broom nodded slightly again, as if it had gained sentience.

But life-bound artifacts were born from the soul, so they had spiritual nature hidden within them to begin with.

Lu Wenxing finally smiled, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from him.

That night, he calmly accepted his own nature. Lying back down on the bed, he pillowed his head on his hands and continued, “I’ve figured it out. I’m going to resign from the Punishment Hall. I’m not suited for that place.”

With a temperament like his, there would be who knew how many people and matters he found displeasing in the future. He could not be willful again, and everything had to be done according to the rules. But did that mean that from now on, he had to appear fair on the surface while gnashing his teeth in anger behind the scenes? Wouldn’t that end up damaging his health? Not to mention that if this went on for a long time, even he did not know whether he might relapse into his old ways.

At the same time, he also felt somewhat guilty. The Punishment Hall was something his lord had put him in charge of. On the first day he took office, he and his sister had both been very happy. The Lu family had never had power or influence in their ancestry. For him to become a Hall Master was a matter that brought glory to the family name. If his parents were still here, they probably would have opened the ancestral hall and worshiped the ancestors long ago.

But Lu Wenxing thought it over and over, and he still had to do it. Worried that he might go back on his decision, he prepared gifts at daybreak and went to find Ma Hongxuan to apologize, but did not find him. Then he went to find Ren Rubi and came up empty again. He delayed until the sun had risen, thinking that at this hour, he would not disturb his lord. Then he went to the small residence to request an audience. As it happened, Qiu Ping’an passed by and told him their lord had gone out early in the morning.

Qiu Ping’an said, “You didn’t know? Our lord took Ma Hongxuan and Mo Linglan to Fengcheng. The envoy from Fengcheng who arrived in the morning left with them too.”

…

Chi Yixuan was currently sitting in a carriage, with Ma Hongxuan and Ren Rubi riding horses as guards on either side.

For this journey, they were using the red-maned horses Qian Dingning had brought.

Red-maned horses were yellow-grade mid-grade spirit beasts bred by the Donglai Kingdom’s imperial family. Originally, they had only been low-grade, but because their temperament was relatively gentle and they were also fast, they had been promoted to mid-grade.

The life-bound artifact even clicked its tongue. In this world, apart from humans, everything else wasn’t graded by strength, but by usefulness. Red-maned horses are clearly yao creatures, and their cultivation is generally at the second level of Qi Refining, but because they aren’t human and are useful to humans, they’re categorized as yellow-grade spirit beasts. If some cultivator were also categorized as a mystic-grade spiritual object according to this kind of system, they would probably fly into a rage.

Chi Yixuan took a sip of homemade milk tea and teased, “Have a little confidence. What if yao creatures also rank us? Maybe in their eyes, I’m just a mystic-grade two-legged beast!”

The life-bound artifact paused. His Majesty truly does love all living things.

Chi Yixuan nearly sprayed out a mouthful of milk tea. What did this have to do with whether he loved all living things or not? The life-bound artifact really could seize any chance it got to flatter him!

He changed the subject. “How fast are red-maned horses? How long will it take to reach Fengcheng?”

The life-bound artifact said, In the Easternmost Continent, red-maned horses already count as very good travel spirit beasts. If they travel day and night, they can arrive at Fengcheng in five days.

Chi Yixuan was stunned. “That’s even faster than a practitioner riding the wind!”

Back then, he had taken Wutong and ridden the wind to Fengcheng, but that had been a straight line. Red-maned horses ran on the ground, so they inevitably had to cross water and take detours. If they could reach Fengcheng in five days, that was indeed faster than a practitioner riding the wind.

“No wonder all the books I read before said practitioners need to find a mount!”

Chi Yixuan sighed with feeling. “If we could equip the Xuanyuan Guard with travel spirit beasts like these someday, now that would be flashy! But five days is still too slow.”

Chi Yixuan was too lazy to waste so much time on the road.

As it happened, he had an experiment to carry out.

Qian Dingning was sitting in the carriage ahead. After all, he still had no cultivation, so he had to rely on a carriage for travel. In this world, for those of lower status to travel at the front was not disrespectful. On the contrary, it meant they were serving as coachmen to open the way.

This time, Guard Ma was not riding a horse, but sitting on the carriage shaft and talking with him.

They were not discussing anything else, but precisely what had happened in the Punishment Hall yesterday.

Qian Dingning sighed. “Zhaoge really has opened my eyes! I heard that Long Tianhu even cursed at that Perfected One before…”

Guard Ma lowered his voice. “Shh. This is within the range of a Golden Core Perfected One’s divine sense.”

Qian Dingning waved his hand. “What’s the problem? It’s not like we’re saying anything bad about him.”

A trace of yearning appeared in his eyes. “Maybe I’ll just live in Zhaoge permanently in the future.”

As they were speaking, Guard Ma suddenly raised his head warily and lifted the carriage curtain to look outside.

Qian Dingning asked what was wrong. Guard Ma said, “The wind ahead is a little wrong. The smell is wrong.”

Qian Dingning was stunned. “Guard Ma, your nose is even sharper than a dog’s!”

Even though Guard Ma was on alert, the corner of his eye still twitched when he heard this.

The red-maned horses were still moving forward, and very soon, they passed through the forest ahead. In the next instant, the scenery before their eyes changed. They had actually run onto a grassland all at once.

Guard Ma’s eyes widened.

Qian Dingning’s mouth also fell open. His memory was not bad, and he remembered that this grassland was several hundred li away from where they had been before. Even if the red-maned horses ran without stopping for a moment, it would still take another full day to reach this place. But now, how had they suddenly crossed over here?

Was it real, or an illusion?

Involuntarily, both of their gazes glanced toward the carriage behind them.

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