Su Tao’er stood by the side, rubbing her own delicate buttocks. Even though she was not the one being hit, her subconscious made her feel a sharp pain.
Si Yan shook his palm and looked at Bai Lan, who had already changed back into his scholar attire. He said coldly, “If you do this again, you know what the consequences will be.”
Si Yan’s heart was collapsing. Not only had Bai Lan frightened Su Tao’er, but his nonsense had almost been overheard. ‘If Bai Lan’s identity is exposed, I can ignore that for now, but if my image as a master is gone, then it is all over,’ Si Yan thought. ‘My dear disciple will probably run away and avoid me like the plague, and my future wonderful life will be ruined.’
Si Yan had been ruthless just now. He grabbed Bai Lan, pinned him to the ground, and gave him a harsh beating on the rear. His hands were wrapped in Stellar Qi, and every slap was crisp and loud, nearly leaving bloody welts.
However, his wretched disciple’s rear was indeed incredibly soft — even more feminine than a woman’s. The sensation of hitting him was truly beyond words. If Si Yan had not watched this troublesome disciple grow up since childhood, his Dao Heart might have wavered.
At the very least, Si Yan now felt that if Bai Lan insisted on seeking death, he would not be stingy with his physical discipline.
After Bai Lan changed back into men’s clothing and approached with a folding fan in hand, he finally seemed to have returned to normal. “Honored Master, I am swollen…”
Si Yan gave a fake smile and threatened, “Heh, want to try again?”
This guy had almost ruined Si Yan’s grand plan. If Su Tao’er had truly been scared away today, Si Yan would not have minded cleaning up the sect right then and there.
Bai Lan said flatteringly, “Honored Master, I have brought the Water-Fire Flower for you.”
Si Yan took it and then gave Bai Lan a look. “Apologize to your junior sister.”
Bai Lan stepped forward, his lips parting slightly as he spoke with a demure grace, “Little Junior Sister, please do not take what just happened to heart.”
Su Tao’er waved her hands repeatedly with a strange expression. “It is fine… It is fine, really…”
Although she said that, Su Tao’er had gained a brand new understanding of the Destiny Pavilion.
‘Inside the Destiny Pavilion, the strangest person isn’t the First Senior Brother who poses under the tree every day, nor the Third Senior Brother with the emotional trauma,’ Su Tao’er realized. ‘It is this Senior Brother Bai Lan. From earlier until now, he has shown two completely different personalities. When he moved to kill, he was exceptionally vicious, taking a head with a single sword stroke!’
In this Destiny Pavilion, perhaps the only normal person was their master, Si Yan.
Su Tao’er felt that her master was such a serious, stern, and meticulous person, yet the disciples he taught were all so different. It seemed the person she could rely on most was still her master.
However, while Su Tao’er was pleasantly surprised by Bai Lan’s strength — being able to instantly kill a master of the Xuanyuan Realm — she was also curious. Before Protector Feng was killed, he seemed to have recognized Bai Lan. What was he so afraid of?
Si Yan stood in place and pondered for a moment.
He said, “Tao’er, is this the first time you have seen a dead person?”
Su Tao’er was startled at first, then shook her head. “No, this is not the first time.”
Si Yan paused and said, “Do not think your Second Senior Brother is cruel. This group of people had malicious intentions, and they never planned to let us go. They brought this upon themselves.”
Su Tao’er nodded and answered frankly, “I understand that logic. Thank you for your guidance, Honored Master.”
Si Yan felt somewhat relieved. “That is good. You are a lady from a prestigious family, and your Senior Brother Bai has a bit more of a rough, worldly air. I hope you can adapt and not overthink it. This is also to cultivate your state of mind. In the future, you will inevitably see scenes even worse than today. So, I hope you can understand.”
Su Tao’er remained calm and said obediently, “I will follow your instructions, Honored Master.”
Hearing this, Si Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had given the girl a heads-up. If similar incidents occurred in the future, it would not be too difficult to handle.
Si Yan then ordered Bai Lan to bury the bodies of these people. Leaving bodies in the wilderness would be an affront to the heavens. Moreover, if they were not buried, the people of the Luoqing Sect might come looking for them, which would be troublesome. While dealing with this, Si Yan even had Bai Lan erase all traces of the sword strikes.
During this time, Si Yan kept staring into the pitch-black Bottomless Abyss below.
He sensed something. He felt like there was something down there.
This place was once an Undersea Rift Valley, and this abyss was a cave within that rift.
So, what would be down there? Had anyone ever entered it before?
“Honored Master, what is wrong?” Bai Lan, who had quickly buried the bodies using magic, came over and asked.
Si Yan stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, “There should be an Array Technique barrier down here. Someone has been down there before. I have seen this kind of array before… It is similar to a Spatial Barrier that can appropriately fold space. This place is probably not as deep as we imagine. If we break the array, we might reach the bottom very quickly.”
Si Yan clapped his hands and said, “I will stop thinking about it. We can just go down and see. Since someone set up an array to block outsiders, there must be something down there. I should be able to crack it. Let us go treasure hunting!”