Chapter 16: His Heart Really Can’t Take It

Chapter 16: My Heart Really Can't Take This

Now that the two of them were together, Xue Youtan felt a chill run down his spine, and his skin and flesh began to ache.

He reached up to rub his shoulder and heard Wu Qingcheng chime in, "Why so rough? You really don't know how to cherish a delicate flower. And here I was thinking about your injury and brought you medicine."

With that, Wu Qingcheng pulled a medicine bottle out of her Dingxu and handed it to Pei Zhi.

Pei Zhi didn't reach out to take it.

"What, afraid I poisoned it?" Unfazed by his wariness, Wu Qingcheng opened the bottle herself, scooped out a dab of ointment with her finger, and with the speed of lightning, applied it to the wound on Pei Zhi's shoulder.

"Hiss~" A sharp burning sensation shot through him, and Pei Zhi let out a soft grunt. Before he could speak, he noticed the wound that had just been treated was healing at a visibly rapid pace.

Tsk, gotta hand it to the head wife—she shows off her treasures the moment she arrives.

Nice, with Wu Qingcheng around, by the time Pei Zhi takes the remaining five lashes tomorrow, his wounds might already be healed. He wouldn't have to worry about beating the male lead to death and having to restart.

Too lazy to keep watching this married couple flaunt their affection, Xue Youtan formed a hand seal, and his tall figure vanished into the night.

As if sensing the disturbance, Pei Zhi glanced toward where Xue Youtan had disappeared, but there was nothing there except a severed branch he had just cut down.

The next day.

Xue Youtan had just pushed open his door when he saw Xiao Yiheng waiting at the entrance.

Seeing him come out, Xiao Yiheng bowed and greeted, "Master~"

That look of wanting to speak but holding back—it was obvious he had something to say. Normally, Xue Youtan would have stopped to ask what he wanted, but he had overslept and had only fifteen minutes left on the mission countdown. He needed to hurry to Pei Zhi's courtyard to finish the remaining lashes—no time to waste on his dilly-dallying.

So Xue Youtan just acknowledged him with a grunt and sidestepped around Xiao Yiheng, who was blocking his way, to move forward.

He had only taken two steps when his sleeve was grabbed. Xiao Yiheng tugged at it and called out, "Master, I have something important to report."

I know you're in a hurry, but hold your horses.

Unless Xiao Yiheng was about to tell him he'd been possessed by a 21st-century programmer's soul, nothing was going to stop him from heading to the North Courtyard to deliver those lashes.

Xue Youtan shot him a glance, and Xiao Yiheng's hand gripping his sleeve was knocked away by an invisible force. "Whatever it is, report it after I return."

With that, to pick up speed, Xue Youtan summoned Liguang and prepared to fly on his sword. He had already struck the pose when he heard Xiao Yiheng quickly add, "I wanted to tell you, Master, that Pei Zhi has already come to the study hall to wait. You don't need to rush to the North Courtyard."

Xue Youtan, who was stepping onto the sword, stumbled and nearly fell off it. "Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

"I..." Xiao Yiheng felt he had never been so wronged in his life.

The study hall was in the adjacent warm pavilion, just twenty steps from the bedroom. As soon as Xue Youtan entered, he indeed found Pei Zhi already there.

Contrary to the expectation that his wounds would be mostly healed, the Pei Zhi before him looked listless and sickly. Even in clean clothes with his hair tied up, the pallor on his face was impossible to hide. Moreover, he could barely stand—if not for Ling Yue supporting him, Pei Zhi would likely have collapsed on the spot.

If he hadn't seen Pei Zhi in the hot spring last night, Xue Youtan would have genuinely believed the male lead was about to kick the bucket.

Nice, so he's pulling the sick act on me here? Does he think the next five lashes will be lighter because of this?

"Ready?" Xue Youtan looked at Pei Zhi, curled the corner of his mouth, and pulled the nine-section whip from his waist.

Pei Zhi had just nodded when Ling Yue stepped in front of him. "Junior Fellow Pei's body can't withstand any more of this. If Master insists on making up the full count of lashes, then Ling Yue will bear the rest in his place."

And that wasn't all. Ling Yue turned to the disciples around them and began to rally them, "Brothers, Junior Fellow Pei is your junior brother too. Can you really bear to watch him be beaten to death right before our eyes? Why don't we stand together and help him?"

At her rallying cry, a few of Ling Yue's die-hard fans started chiming in, "I'm also willing to take the punishment for Junior Fellow Pei."

Soon, more and more people joined in. They spontaneously formed a human wall, shielding Pei Zhi at the very center.

Xue Youtan was seriously annoyed.

Seeing the time had already been whittled down to just three minutes, Xue Youtan's face turned cold, and he cracked the nine-section whip against the ground, leaving a gash in the floor.

"Are you crawling out yourself, or will I whip you out?!"

His voice was cold and final, sounding even more heartless amid the chorus of pleas. But Xue Youtan wasn't trying to grind affection points with Pei Zhi anyway, so he didn't care whether Pei Zhi held a grudge. Right now, survival was the priority.

"Master, you—" Ling Yue tried to say more but was cut off by Pei Zhi.

He covered his mouth and coughed lightly, about to limp out of the crowd, when Xue Youtan, unable to wait any longer, lashed out with his whip, coiled it around Pei Zhi's waist, and slammed him hard onto the ground.

Xue Youtan was in a rush, and he lost control of the force behind this strike. Pei Zhi's knee slammed into the stone pillar of the training platform, and a crisp crack of bone breaking rang out.

"Ngh—" Pei Zhi clutched his knee, gritting his teeth against the pain. But before that wave of agony could pass, the next lash came whipping toward him.

Xue Youtan swung the whip wildly, as if racing against time, with no regard for form. Only after the fifth lash landed and the system's "ding" sounded did he instantly stop.

"Ding—Congratulations, host, on completing the flogging task within the time limit. You have earned 100 points and 500 prestige. A random item has been dropped and delivered to your inventory. Please check it in time. Current points: 180, prestige: 1000, mission progress: 5%."

So close—just three seconds to spare. Three more seconds and he would have failed the mission and been forcibly deleted!

Xue Youtan dropped the whip, all strength leaving him, and nearly collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, Li Luoshu was quick to step forward and steady him, saving him from losing face in front of everyone.

Don't give me any more timed missions from now on—otherwise, barely making it through like that is really going to give my heart a stroke. He meant it. His back was soaked with sweat.

Xue Youtan took a moment to catch his breath and was about to check the random item reward on the system page when he heard Ling Yue let out a wail, "Junior Fellow Pei's face~ Wuwuwu, it won't leave a scar, will it? Master is so mean. Ling Yue doesn't like Master anymore. Wuwuwu..."

Xue Youtan followed Ling Yue's voice to look at Pei Zhi and saw a bloody gash across the male lead's originally fair and handsome face.

The mark ran from his collarbone up across his neck, reaching from his chin to the corner of his mouth, with flesh torn and hanging open—utterly horrifying.

I'm dead, I'm dead. "Never hit a man's face" was an iron rule of the martial world. He had been rushing and hadn't paid attention, and he'd actually scarred the male lead's face!!!

Wu Qingcheng's miraculous medicine only worked on wounds on the body, not the face. If the male lead ended up with a scar on his face in the future, turning from a handsome man into an ugly one, how was he supposed to keep his harem and be a stud?!