sinovels Chapter 32: Getting Beaten Up
Chapter 32: Getting Beaten Up
By the time Shen Moqi carried Yunzhu back to her residence, it was already completely dark.
The journey there took more than two hours, but the return journey took more than three hours. After all, the return journey had exhausted most of their physical and spiritual energy, and with the two-zhang-long, several-jin-heavy cloud bamboo on their shoulders, they felt like their shoulders were about to break with every step.
What made him even more dumbfounded was that he encountered several disciples along the way. They all looked at him as if he were a fool. He could even faintly hear mocking laughter.
"Is that the disciple from the Scripture Pavilion? I never thought there could be someone so dim-witted among cultivators!"
Shen Moqi was too tired to argue, so she pretended not to see or hear anything.
When he got back to his lodgings, he threw Yunzhu on the ground, looked at it carefully, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
The branches and leaves haven't been cleared yet, how much weight will this add? No wonder they were looking at me so strangely.
After cutting down the bamboo, I was chased by the Cloud Bamboo Rat and could only escape by dragging the whole bamboo. After killing the Cloud Bamboo Rat, roasting and eating it, I was thinking about the details of the battle and the effects of the Cloud Bamboo Rat meat the whole way, and completely forgot about this incident.
"Well, I guess I'll have to be called an 'idiot' from now on." He said to himself with a self-deprecating laugh, and picked up a machete to start clearing away the branches and leaves.
---
After clearing away the branches and leaves, he propped the bare bamboo pole against the wall, then filled a basin with clean water and washed the wound on his left arm.
Three shallow, but burning painful, bloody welts. He quickly bandaged them, then sat cross-legged and began circulating the "Luo Xiao Gui Qi Gong" to restore his spiritual energy.
Half an hour later, his physical and spiritual energy had mostly recovered. He stood up and practiced the "Luo Xiao Qian Yuan Sword Technique" and "Treading Cloud Steps" in the courtyard, and also released several fireball and wooden vine spells. Although his body was still a little tired, his movements were no longer as stiff as they had been during the day.
Back in his room, he lay on his bed, his mind replaying the day's battle.
As he thought about it, exhaustion washed over him, and he turned over and fell into a deep sleep.
---
When Shen Moqi woke up the next day, she didn't rush to cut down the cloud bamboo.
He first checked the wound on his left arm; it had scabbed over, so it wasn't a big problem. Then he changed into clean clothes, left the sect, and headed straight for the market.
He planned to continue cutting down bamboo for a long time, so he needed to stock up on medicine for his wounds. Yesterday, he was scratched three times by a bamboo rat. Although the wounds weren't serious, he would need medicine if they got infected or if he got hurt more badly next time.
He wandered around the market and found a shop selling pills. He bought a bottle of wound medicine and a bottle of hemostatic powder, spending one spirit stone. It stung, but he had to spend it.
After buying the medicine, he hurriedly returned to his sect, just past noon.
---
When Shen Moqi returned to the Sutra Repository, she was stunned as soon as she stepped inside.
Senior Lin was actually on the first floor.
He was standing beside the desk, talking to a girl who looked to be about thirteen years old. The girl was wearing her newly issued disciple's robes, with her hair in two buns, and her big, round eyes were listening attentively to what Senior Lin was saying.
Shen Moqi braced herself and walked in. Just as she was about to greet him, Senior Lin's gaze swept over her and landed on her bandaged left arm.
"Oh." Senior Lin's voice was clearly sarcastic. "So that's why you've been taking so many days off lately. Turns out you were itching for a beating and went to get yourself punished."
Shen Moqi was a little embarrassed and scratched her head: "Greetings, senior. Please forgive my poor performance."
"Tell me, what happened?" Senior Lin's tone became indifferent.
Shen Moqi dared not hide anything and recounted the story of accepting the mission, cutting down the cloud bamboo, and fighting the cloud bamboo rat.
After listening, Senior Lin's expression changed from indifference to disdain, and finally settled on disappointment.
"A mere bamboo rat could hurt you?" He stared at Shen Moqi, his voice not loud, but every word was like a knife. "Did you learn all those spells from a dog?"
Shen Moqi lowered her head, not daring to utter a sound.
"Although I don't know what techniques you learned, I gave you the Cloud-Stepping Steps and the Luo Xiao Qian Yuan Sword Technique," Senior Lin said, looking quite angry. "And a mere Cloud Bamboo Rat has turned you into this?"
Shen Moqi lowered her head even further.
Senior Lin glanced at him, then suddenly turned and walked towards the entrance of the Sutra Repository.
"Come with me."
Shen Moqi's heart tightened as she recalled the legends Ji Yao had told her about Senior Lin—that he was fond of teaching others and liked to instruct his disciples in cultivating magic, sometimes beating them so badly that they couldn't get out of bed for days.
Shen Moqi was a little scared, but he didn't dare not go, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.
The little girl followed them out and stood at the door, looking around curiously.
Senior Lin stood in the open space in front of the Sutra Repository, his hands behind his back. When he saw Shen Moqi come out, he raised his chin.
"Demonstrate everything you know."
Shen Moqi took a deep breath and first demonstrated the "Luo Xiao Qian Yuan Sword Technique". The Qing Shuang Sword danced in her hand, its light flashing, and the moves were quite complete.
Senior Lin remained expressionless and did not speak.
He then demonstrated the "Stepping on Clouds" technique, nimbly and lightly moving around the courtyard.
Senior Lin remained expressionless.
Then came the Fireball and the Wood Vine spells. The fireball condensed in his palm and shot steadily toward the target; the wood vines sprouted from the ground and entangled the wooden stakes in the courtyard.
Senior Lin finally spoke, "All show and no substance." He said coldly, "It looks impressive, but it's utterly useless in a real fight."
He picked up a stick from the ground—yes, not picked it up, but grabbed it—and then looked at Shen Moqi.
"I'm only using the spiritual power of the second level of Qi Refining, just the same stuff you used earlier. Go all out and see how I beat you up."
Before he could even finish speaking, he raised his hand and unleashed a fireball, without waiting for Shen Moqi's reply.
The fireball was small, only about 20% the size that Shen Moqi usually condensed, but it was extremely fast, heading straight for Shen Moqi's abdomen.
Shen Moqi's expression changed, and she used the Cloud Step to dodge to the right.
He thought he could easily dodge it, but to his surprise, the fireball made a turn in mid-air and continued flying towards his abdomen. Shen Moqi was shocked, but it was too late to dodge. At this moment, it looked like he was meeting the fireball with his abdomen. "Sizzle," the fireball hit his abdomen solidly.
"hiss--"
Although the fireball was small, and Senior Lin had clearly held back, his clothes were still burned with a hole, and a blister appeared on his abdomen, causing a burning pain.
"You think fireballs can only travel in a straight line?" Senior Lin's voice rang out. "You think you can dodge it once with the Cloud Step and then not consider dodging it a second time?"
Shen Moqi gritted her teeth and stood up straight.
Senior Lin made his move again. This time it was a wooden vine technique—a vine suddenly sprouted from the ground and wrapped around Shen Moqi's left foot. Before he could break free, Senior Lin had already closed in, and the wooden stick struck him hard in the chest.
"If I were using a sword, you would already be dead."
Fireball, Wooden Vine Technique, Cloud Step, Sword Technique… Senior Lin used these techniques in turn, each more than three times. Each time, he defeated his enemy in one move, without any unnecessary actions.
Shen Moqi was beaten so badly he was crawling on the ground. The fireball burned him with several blisters, the wooden vines tripped him countless times, the wooden stick poked his chest, and he was whipped on his back, shoulders, thighs... Every part of his body ached.
At the entrance of the Sutra Repository, the little girl stared in disbelief, her mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg. Several disciples passing by also stopped and watched from afar, secretly marveling.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Shen Moqi collapsed to the ground, her whole body aching, and she didn't even have the strength to get up.
Senior Lin threw down the wooden stick in his hand, looked at him, and his expression softened a little.
He pulled a cloth bag from his pocket and threw it in front of Shen Moqi.
"Some healing medicines, you'll have to figure them out yourself."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the scripture pavilion. After taking a few steps, his voice came again:
"Stop playing dead, come in, I have something to tell you."
Shen Moqi gritted her teeth, pushed herself up from the ground, and limped inside.
---
Inside the library, the little girl was already standing beside the desk. When she saw Shen Moqi enter, her eyes were full of sympathy.
Senior Lin pointed to the girl and said to Shen Moqi, "This is a new disciple, surnamed Wen. From now on, the two of you will be in charge of the first floor. You can discuss the arrangements yourselves, and you can explain the rules to her."
After saying that, he didn't wait for Shen Moqi's reply, turned around and went upstairs, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Shen Moqi was stunned for a moment, then looked at the little girl.
He couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. This little girl was incredibly lively and a real beauty in the making. He wondered what kind of trouble she would bring him.
With one more person added to the library, he would have more time to attend to other matters.
The young girl was quite generous and bowed to him, saying, "Wenquan greets Senior Brother."
Shen Moqi suppressed a laugh, thinking to herself, "I don't want to soak in a hot spring."
His face remained impassive. "Shen Moqi," he returned the greeting, then glanced at his disheveled appearance and gave a wry smile. "You can stay here and familiarize yourself with the surroundings, and organize the books on the first floor. I'll go back to treat my wounds, rest for a day, and carefully consider the guidance I received from you today. Tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), I will come to explain the rules of the Scripture Pavilion to you."
Wenquan nodded, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.
Shen Moqi limped back to her residence, took out the cloth bag given to her by Senior Lin, opened it and saw several bottles of ointment.
He sighed, lifted his clothes, and began to apply medicine to the burns and bruises on his body.
After applying the medicine, Shen Moqi sat cross-legged and circulated her spiritual energy to soothe the injured area.
After the soreness subsided, Shen Moqi began to carefully consider the methods used by Senior Lin. Senior Lin's methods were entirely within the scope of the second level of Qi Refining, yet the effects were more than ten times greater than those of her own methods.
This involves skill level, but more importantly, it's a matter of combat awareness.
Take the fireball technique for example. He realized it the first time he was hit. Senior Lin's fireball could not change its trajectory after it was launched, but he had already predicted his dodge direction when he launched the fireball. Therefore, the fireball he launched had an arc-shaped attack trajectory. When he dodged, he was instead sent to be attacked by the fireball.
So when Senior Lin launched the fireball for the second time, he didn't dodge. But this time, Senior Lin's fireball was a straight line, hitting him directly, who was like a wooden stake.
Seeing the fireball approaching for the third time, he completely abandoned all pretense of decency, immediately dropping to the ground, secretly gloating. He figured whether the fireball flew in an arc or a straight line, lying on the ground couldn't possibly hit him; just dodging one round was a victory. Little did he know that the fireball exploded just above him, showering him with countless sparks—the stinging sensation was indescribable.
There's also the Wood Vine Technique, which always appears on my path and always has an unexpected effect. However, I discovered that Senior Lin didn't look at where the Wood Vine Technique would appear before using it. His eyes were always fixed on my upper body, yet he could accurately judge the movement of my feet. As soon as the Wood Vine Technique was released, my feet would either be tripped or bound.
There are also swordsmanship and footwork...