Chapter 25: Scarlet Whip

Ji Yunhe provided Changyi with a whole night of rain in the dungeon. Changyi fell asleep again from his exhaustion. She stood at a distance and did not move.

The morning sunlight streaked in from the dungeon stairs, and the two demon masters who were guarding her courtyard came rushing down the steps. Ji Yunhe paid no attention to their panic. She gently untied Changyi from the wall and placed him comfortably on the floor.

Then she took off her jacket and covered his naked lower body.

"How could Master Warden release that demon?!"

"This is in defiance of the Valley Master's orders! This is not a good idea! Please come with us to see the master!"

Ji Yunhe did not respond to any of their assertions. She turned around irritably, "Alright already. Quit making so much noise."

She conjured a drop of water on her fingertip then carefully pressed it against Changyi's mouth. His lips parted a bit and took it in. Ji Yunhe stood up, followed the two demon masters out of the dungeon, and headed for the Li Feng Hall.

Repair work had begun across the valley now that the jade phoenix had left and the jiaoren was back under captivity. Ji Yunhe approached the Li Feng Hall amidst sounds of knocking and tapping. It was covered by a layer of construction gauze, shading it from the sun and making the inside warm and stuffy.

Lin Canglan's expression was grim and the corners of his mouth drooped, displaying the displeasure of a superior. Ji Yunhe's footsteps grew heavy under his stare when she walked in.

But she did not stop, and her eyes were calm as she returned his gaze. Upon reaching the center, she bent her knee and saluted as usual, "All hail the Valley Master."

Lin Canglan coughed and did not tell her to get up.

"Hail to you. I'm afraid the children have grown up. Their wings have hardened and they don't like to listen to the old man anymore."

Ji Yunhe did not respond. Lin Canglan waved his hand and Lin Haoqing walked over, kneeling down next to her. The wound on his face did not get better over the night. It now looked even more hideous.

"Father."

Lin Canglan acknowledged him with a nod and gestured for him to stand up. Then he turned his head and continued to question Ji Yunhe,

"Yunhe, instead of resting properly in your room last night, why did you go to the dungeon and do this to Haoqing?"

Ji Yunhe stayed silent. Lin Canglan's eyes grew more and more grim.

"Haoqing split the tail of the demon yesterday and fulfilled Princess Shunde's second wish, but rather than honoring him, you decided to act out of jealousy?"

Lin Canglan seemed so angry he started coughing again. The sound of his coughs mixed with the construction outside the hall made Ji Yunhe feel somewhat irritated.

She looked at Lin Canglan on the stage with his demon servant Qing Shu behind him, and then glanced at the silent Lin Haoqing. She snickered to herself -- they sure lived burdensome lives. More ridiculous was that she also had to be the same way.

"You are all my children, you should not treat each other like this."

As Lin Canglan talked, Qing Shu stepped forward from behind him and threw a red whip onto the ground.

It immediately captured everyone's attention.

"According to the rules of the valley, what should be done when you hurt a fellow officer?"

Qing Shu replied, "Master, according to the rules of the valley, those who plot to harm a fellow officer or wound a fellow officer are punishable with ten lashes from the scarlet whip. If lives were taken, whip to death."

The scarlet whip was covered with tiny spikes like the tongue of a tiger. Landing on flesh, it would rip off a good chunk of skin. Landing hard could rip a wound deep enough to see bone.

"Yunhe, as Master Warden, you should lead by example." Lin Canglan covered his mouth and coughed for a long time before finally catching his breath.

"Twenty lashes. Haoqing, you will carry it out."

Lin Haoqing coldly nodded his head, picked up the scarlet whip and walked to Ji Yunhe's side.

Ji Yunhe looked up at him. Her eyes were calm but her mind thought of the day at the snake cave. The eyes that stared at her from the bottom of the cave had life in them, anger, sadness, and disbelief. And now, his gaze was like dead water. Ji Yunhe looked away. The scarlet whip cracked and landed on her.

Lin Haoqing had become the young valley master that everyone wanted. Most importantly, he had become the young valley master that Lin Canglan wanted. So he whipped without mercy. After three whips, Ji Yunhe's back was already a bloody mess.

But she did not cry out in pain. She believed as long as a person could bear the consequences, there was nothing he or she could not do in life. She chose to visit Changyi, beat Lin Haoqing, and stay out overnight. Some of these were impulsive and some were deliberate. But they all pointed to this outcome. So she received it silently and without a blink. Twenty whips landed on her body, and she swallowed all the blood.

After the whipping came to an end, Lin Canglan said, "Now that you've been punished, we can let it pass. You may get up."

Ji Yunhe clenched her teeth and stood up. Lin Canglan waved his hand, signaling the end of the meeting. She turned her bloodstained back and left the hall with everyone else.

A bloody trail formed behind her as she walked. If it were someone else, they would have been carried out. But she seemed unaware of her wound. The other demon masters all stared at her.

Ji Yunhe rarely received punishments. She had always known exactly what to do and how to do it. Enraging Lin Canglan to the point of whipping her in public had never happened before. So they had no idea that this normally relaxed and lazy Master Warden was so tough on the inside.

"Lin Haoqing," after leaving the Li Feng Hall, Ji Yunhe faintly called out to him.

"Sea of flowers, wasteland, snake cave. See you at noon."

Lin Haoqing paused briefly, but he did not turn his head. Then he walked away as if he did not hear her. Ji Yunhe also turned and walked off, as if she had not said anything.

She returned to her room, wiped the blood off of her back, changed her clothes, and went out again.

This time, no one blocked her at the door. Lin Haoqing had finished splitting open Changyi's tail, and her "misbehavior" had been punished, so she was now free to drag her half-dead body to do whatever she wanted.

She checked her surroundings to make sure no one followed her, then walked into the sea of flowers. The snake cave, which was the scariest thing to them when they were young, now seemed to be just a small cave.

Lin Haoqing was already waiting at the entrance when Ji Yunhe arrived. He stood alone in front of the cave with his hands folded and looking at the distant road. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking.

"Lin Haoqing," she called out his name.

He sneered, "What is it? You received a whipping in the hall and now you want payback?"

"Do you still remember what happened here?" Ji Yunhe did not dwell on what he said and just pointed to the cave.

"Do you want to know the truth?"

Lin Haoqing looked at Ji Yunhe. The sneering smile on his face faded, and his expression gradually grew dim.