The Spirit World

Chapter 58: A Punishment That Is Not a Punishment

The cultivation at Bailing Mountain is like the falling leaves in autumn. If you are not careful, they will turn yellow above your head and fall to the ground. If you don’t look up, you will not be able to notice the arrival of autumn.

"On which day did that kid Wu'an Jun fill up the water tank?" The prime minister drank tea and squinted his eyes. The tea made his face rosy and looked very energetic.

"Seven days." The chief steward was the same as him, only he looked older: "Even one day faster than the two brothers of the master of the family." They sat in the recliners, swaying from side to side, just like two old men who were late for a cool breeze. One could not tell that one of them was the prime minister and the other the chief steward.

"Really... Then how long do you think the young master will need these four people?" The prime minister was obviously perked up and looked at the chief steward next to him.

"Yi Musheng is nine days old, and Nie Qian is also nine days old." The chief steward glanced at Chang Yufeng who was still dodging lightning at the edge of the barrier, and did not look at him again, still looking at the direction where the sun was about to rise very comfortably: "It's hard to guess, even nine days is not an exaggeration."

"Don't you believe that your young master can surpass them?" The prime minister kept looking at Chang Yufeng. He seemed to see an angry dragon and tiger. Chang Yufeng's eyes were so scary that they seemed to swallow up the Qilin. The bloodshot in his eyes could be clearly seen.

"I think! Five days! Five days at most!" The Prime Minister smiled at the chief steward and said, "If you lose, I'll give you a bag of tea! How about that?"

"Go away, I'm not betting with you! How can a stargazer like you always want to bet with others? Who can beat you?"

"Well, although I'm an astronomer, I won't joke about my own lifespan. If I reveal the secret, it's possible that I might shorten my lifespan by a hundred or eight years. I really don't know this!" The Prime Minister looked at the chief steward with a raised eyebrow and made an OK gesture with his fingers. His voice was even a little feminine and his fingers kept shaking.

"I don't believe it. I never bet with you!" The chief steward turned around and said: "If you want tea, I'll give it to you."

The chief steward saw the direction of the barrier again, and looked at Chang Yufeng who was avoiding the lightning with some surprise. Lin'er in his arms had fainted, and asked in confusion: "That little girl..."

The prime minister also looked in that direction, his eyes suddenly became serious: "Hey, it's better not to tell your young master's good points. At most, he looks like the princess, which is no big deal..."

"..." The chief steward closed his eyes. He could foresee that someone who would tear his heart apart in the future would linger in his mind. Even if that was the case, what could he do? No one could escape fate.

"By the way, the princess has returned to the palace safely. This is the gift she asked me to give to your young master." The prime minister took out a red jade treasure box from his sleeve: "I think it is a letter and a token of her engagement..."

"You said you didn't need the stargazing method..." The chief steward looked at him unhappily and took the box.

"It's useless if I say it's useless. You can guess it!" The Prime Minister looked at the chief steward with some disdain: "Hey, I'm telling you, don't disbelieve me, my guess is nine out of ten! Xiao Qingshan is not famous for his foresight!"

"..." The chief steward didn't look at him. He just put the box into his sleeve and looked at the prime minister with some contempt. He lay down flat and didn't want to talk anymore.

"Don't disbelieve me, the whole city was about to put me on the wanted list!"

Wow, you really put a good face on a bad thing.

"It is a great honor for the Xu family that their daughter becomes my personal disciple. You don't have to worry about the Xu family..."

Suddenly, the Prime Minister looked at the direction of the barrier very seriously and said, "I originally wanted to take in Erica's child. This child has a high ability to comprehend. I think she will learn it quickly. It's just a pity that no one has taught her for many years. She will be a good seedling, ah!"

"You can teach me if you want to. I can't stop you!"

"It's too tiring. Even if I die, I will never teach her a single method!"

"..."

[eeaoao! ] The second cock crowed loudly, and the red light of the sun rose from the east. The scene after scene seemed to be in slow motion, and the sun rose very slowly.

【eeaoao！】The third crowing of the rooster was clear, but the aroma of rice was already wafting from Bailing Mountain. The rooster seemed to be hungry, and with a very short crow, the training before breakfast was over. The Qilin slowly returned to the texture of a water tank, motionless. The lightning also slowly disappeared, and the barrier opened. Chang Yufeng ran towards the medical clinic in Bailing Mountain like flying. Erica couldn't stop him, so she could only follow him. The half-demon boy collapsed on the ground. He was the only one who had been struck by lightning, and for a while, there was still no way to get rid of the demonized state.

"Doctor, are you okay?"

"You've consumed too much spiritual energy and you're exhausted. You'll be fine after a rest!" The doctor was a kind old lady. She fed Lin'er a pill. Erica stood behind Chang Yufeng, motionless. She was also exhausted. She was even wearing a long-sleeved dress. She couldn't move well during the evasion just now and was struck by lightning several times. On their way to the clinic, many people had already rushed to the Taoist sect to practice. The brothers and sisters actually used useless methods to fill up the Qilin jar on the top of the mountain little by little!

And those new disciples also went to the Dao Sect early. Except for them.

"That's good!" Chang Yufeng looked at the unconscious Lin'er. The scar on her forehead was terribly deep. Her bangs were also cut in half. Lin'er should be able to get close to the Qilin, but the Qilin's attack method was too fierce. Just defending would take too much of Lin'er's energy.

He heard Lin'er say that her master taught her many things, but she was too stupid and didn't learn them. Lin'er didn't feel sad when she said she didn't learn them, but smiled. Chang Yufeng looked at her and felt very unconvinced. She thought it would be great if she had a master like this, but she also knew that Lin'er didn't care how strong she was at all, or no matter how strong she was, she was always like that. She never asked to be strong, and even when she was very weak, she could still stand up bravely. This was her.

"You kids, getting injured is a necessary step in your cultivation. There's still a long way to go, so it's better to take it slowly..." The old doctor gave Chang Yufeng a set of pills and patted his shoulder: "Your dad was injured and lying in bed on the first day, unable to move! It took me a long time to heal him, and he came back in again the next day! You are smarter than your dad, because it was someone else who came in on the first day."

Chang Yufeng didn't know whether this sentence was saying good things about him or bad things about him. He felt it was not right. He looked at Lin'er, tightly holding the pill, and said nothing.

He understood that impotent rage was of no use at all, and he could only transform this anger into motivation.

But this nameless hatred!

Will definitely report!
Erica was also fed a pill, but the old lady didn't give it to Chang Yufeng.

"She will wake up soon, don't worry. Today you will enter the Bailing Mountain Library, where you will find the answers you want." The old lady went to take care of the other disciples and gave her a word before leaving.

Bailing Mountain, library?
From Bailing Mountain one could hear the sounds of disciples practicing, even the sounds of reading aloud and shouts from practicing Qi, and the painful cries of some disciples could also be heard one after another.

Soon, the four people from the Tianbu arrived at the agreed location again. They still didn't see the brothers and sisters from the Tianbu. The chief steward stood in front of them. Behind them was a red plaque with golden characters [Bai Ling Mountain Library]. The huge library was composed of vermilion eaves, white walls, gilded tiles and green pavilions. The area was so large that it occupied the entire Bai Ling Mountain. The two stone flying cranes in front of the door soared into the sky like soaring.

They had no food in the morning, and they had practiced so hard that they jumped up and down, and were all hungry. The prime minister stood behind the chief steward, stroking his beard with two fingers and waving a feather fan. The masked girl also stood behind the prime minister, holding something in her hand.

"The training in the Heavenly Department is far from being as simple as you think. The Qilin can only enter the next step of training after it is filled with water. This level of training is rare, and you failed today! Therefore, all meals for the whole day will be cancelled, and as a punishment, you will be punished to clean the library!"

"I have to sweep the floor!" The half-demon boy touched his stomach uncomfortably. He hadn't even finished his half-demon transformation, and his two fox ears were drooping, looking a bit ugly.

"Brother, it's so hard for me!" Erica touched her belly and said, "I should have known not to go to the Heavenly Ministry. I'm tired, hungry, and sleepy now, and I even have to sweep the floor! I really can't handle such a big house!"

Sweeping the floor is certainly not that easy, but even if it is not difficult, it would be impossible to sweep such a large library in one or two days!

Or, there is another purpose for them to come here, that is, to let them read books and study. If it weren't for the old doctor, I wouldn't have thought about it in this way, but she said that there is a way to subdue the Qilin jar here, and asking them to sweep the floor in the library may be just a clue. If they don't have any understanding, they may just sweep the floor obediently, but to what extent do they need to sweep the floor? It was not said.

Chang Yufeng and the others learned their lesson and changed into simple clothes. If they had done the same thing in the morning, they would have suffered a great loss.

If the Tianbu said nothing and reminded nothing, it would be very difficult. It was not like other sects that had special masters to teach and remind. It all depended on one person's understanding! What you were asked to do was just there, but they did not tell you what you could do or to what extent. It all depended on your own will. However, if you did not do it, the punishment would still be enough to make you drink a pot. "Continue today's practice tomorrow morning. If you do not pass, you will still not have food." The chief steward waved his hand, and the door of the library opened with a bang. The magic lights inside began to illuminate one by one. For a moment, the bookshelves, bookcases, and ladders on the first floor were all clear at a glance, but the partitions, layers, categories, and types were complicated. All the books above filled the entire library.

In Chang Yufeng's eyes, this is like a treasure! If only he could really read it!
This is like giving the people from the Tianbu a chance to browse through the library. After all, it is the treatment for the highest qualifications in Bailing Mountain, so it is a bit biased. It is not open to people from other levels, and they are specifically asked to clean it, while they are secretly helped by supporting them.

However, it still wouldn't be that simple, Chang Yufeng looked at the chief steward. At this time, he was not the young master of the Ning family, but just an ordinary disciple of the Tianbu.

It is definitely a huge opportunity for the people of Tianbu to enter the library! It's like slapping you in the face and then giving you a candy! That helpless and funny feeling really scared Chang Yufeng a little. Maybe there is something in it that makes them particularly scared.

After all, it's still biased. I won't tell you that this is biased towards you, this is called punishment!

Three people stood beside the library, looking at the two stone-carved flying cranes. They were a little worried that the two flying cranes would move like the unicorn water tank, and they were a little scared.

The masked little girl walked from the prime minister to Erica and handed the thing in her hand to Erica. Erica exclaimed and put it in her sleeve. The prime minister smiled obviously, as if his little granddaughter had received a big surprise. The chief steward looked at him helplessly and the others were a little confused.

You don't need any weapons to enter the library, you just need a broom and a constantly moving body, because this is obviously an impossible task!
"You'd better come out when the crane cries for the third time, otherwise I don't know what terrible things will happen." The chief steward joked.

He did not explicitly say that this was a favor to the Heavenly Department. If we compare them to cattle and sheep, those who study in an obedient manner are kept in captivity, while they are truly free-range. However, it is not the kind of rough free-range where you are led to fertile grassland. No, we give you abundant resources for you to explore, and whether you can learn or not is up to you.

Although this does not conform to the logic of ordinary people, but if you are a genius of the top level, getting such an opportunity is a good thing anyway, unless you are illiterate!

Of course, there are indeed people who cannot read, such as the half-demon boy.

The prime minister took the masked girl away, gently holding his hand, just like her being his own granddaughter. However, he kept paying attention to Erica, while the chief steward winked at Chang Yufeng, and no one knew what they meant when they left together.

However, Chang Yufeng also vaguely understood what he meant. He really gave him a backdoor. He could already fully expect that even if he didn't finish it, "the punishment would remain the same."

The Tianbu Tianbu means the department that is handed over to God. We don't need to teach you anything. Your talent and qualification are all up to you, in addition to your hard work.

This beautifully renovated library is right in front of the four people. Do they really need to clean it?

Chang Yufeng certainly wouldn't! With such a rare opportunity, maybe you can get a martial arts secret book, the most important thing is to look for it carefully.

This also echoed the half-demon boy's thoughts. He was prepared to think so, but he had a fatal problem, that is, he could not read.

Chang Yufeng, Erica, and Lin'er looked at each other. The half-demon boy leaned on the right and followed behind them. The four of them walked past the stone-carved flying cranes and looked into their eyes with some fear. Fortunately, they did not start anything. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was strange that they were really scared by the Qilin tank tonight!
They entered the door of the library, which had a vermilion threshold. A scent of books rushed into everyone's nose. It was obvious that people came and went here frequently, otherwise the old books would have given off a rotten smell.

"Wow! It smells so good!" "It's amazing!"

“This is the fragrance of knowledge!”

“The aroma of knowledge!”

"Bang!" The vermilion door closed in an instant, startling everyone who had just been sighing.

“No way!” The half-demon boy knocked on the door vigorously, and the knocking sound echoed in the library.

Chang Yufeng didn't feel sad at all, he was even a little happy.

How to deal with the Qilin tank! I must find it today!

"Erica, Lin'er! Let's go!" Chang Yufeng took the lead in touring the library, and the half-demon boy also parted with them in disappointment.

The huge contrast with the outside world hits you in the face. There are only neatly arranged books here, and there are more books! There is no place that looks shabby at all. The magic lamps spread the light all over the library, as if it is shining with the golden light of knowledge.

There should not be much difference between this place and ordinary book collections, but the quality and category of the books collected here are definitely unmatched by many libraries.

This is an opportunity and must be seized.

"We need to find a way to crack the Qilin Cylinder. Erica, you go over there, Lin'er, you go over there. Everyone, be careful."

"Okay!" Lin'er slowly ran over and started to look through it.

"Okay, but brother, do we really not have to sweep the floor? Our job is to sweep the floor!"

"My silly sister! Don't you understand?"

"Understand what?"

"This isn't a punishment. We don't need to clean the floor! Tomorrow's training is the important thing!"

"I don't know."

"If you don't understand, just focus on finding books about formations or ancient biology." Chang Yufeng buried his head in the books. For him, the anger this morning was diluted by the joy of being slapped and given a candy. Or rather, it was more like being played around by the prime minister and the chief steward. There might be no one who really wanted to gain power more eagerly than him! So at this time, he also looked for those Taoists and magic. They were not arranged to learn Taoist cultivation directly, and there must be other intentions or arrangements. Being able to enter the library is simply one of the most precious candies.

What they wanted to defeat the most now was the Qilin Jar! There was definitely a way to destroy that terrifying thing!

Books such as "Qianqiu Formation!", "Datong Formation", "Siege Equipment!", etc., which are related to formations and the making of durable Qimen Taoist methods, are very likely to record this kind of thing.

"Ahem!" An old man's voice came over, and Chang Yufeng, who was flipping through a book quickly, was startled. Is there someone else here?

Everyone felt something was wrong and immediately put down their books and ran together.

Isn’t it really not that simple?

Chang Yufeng looked around. Rays of blue light were floating above their heads like swimming fish. To be more precise, they were floating on the edge of a book on the dome.

An old man angrily got off the swimming fish and threw the half-demon boy aside.

"I've been a library guard for so many years, but this is the first time I've encountered an illiterate Tianbu disciple! I've never seen such a thing before!"

(End of this chapter)