I Accidentally Triggered the Restricted Punishment Protocol - Chapter 14

Half an hour later, Qin Wuzhou returned with the hem of his robe dripping blood. He was humming a cheerful little tune and appeared to be in a pleasant mood.

Yi Hanxing sipped her warm honey water and glanced down at the sand dune. She saw that the once snow-white sea of sand had become a scarlet wasteland. It was cluttered with dense clusters of severed limbs and broken torsos, resembling a literal living hell.

The Bone Wastes were heavy with demonic energy. Even if this batch were wiped out, a new generation of demons would inevitably be born. However, judging by Qin Wuzhou’s proficiency, she estimated that this place had already become his personal leek field. There was no telling how many times he had visited to harvest these demonic leeks.

Having just endured a baptism of blood and sweat, Yi Hanxing remained silent. She stood in stark contrast to Qin Wuzhou, who seemed quite exhilarated and was nearly skipping as he walked.

Upon returning to the Ghost Market Inn via the Shrunken Earth technique, Wu Yingzi was still nowhere to be found. Worried, Yi Hanxing could not help but ask, “Master, that female cultivator who was sharing a room with me, where did you take her?”

Qin Wuzhou walked ahead of her and hopped over the threshold. “I let her find another place to sleep. She will be back tomorrow.”

Tomorrow? What did that mean? Was this punishment not over? Was it going to last all night?

Yi Hanxing froze in her tracks. Just as she was about to speak, there was a sudden knock at the door. “Miss Yi, are you alright? It is Jiang Yinghui.”

Almost at the exact moment Jiang Yinghui identified himself, the smile on Qin Wuzhou’s face dimmed imperceptibly. However, his lips immediately curled into an even wider, more exaggerated arc.

The sight of that brilliant and hypocritical smile made Yi Hanxing’s scalp tingle. She rushed forward to place herself between him and the door. “Immortal Jiang, is something the matter?”

Jiang Yinghui’s tone was hesitant. “I smell a strange scent coming from your room. Is there someone else inside?”

Yi Hanxing wondered if this man’s nose was made of a dog’s. Subconsciously, she sniffed the air herself. Aside from the faint, identical scent of incense lingering on both her and Qin Wuzhou, she could smell nothing else.

“No, I am alone. Immortal Wu had business and went out as well.”

Jiang Yinghui fell silent for a moment before replying with a quiet, “Is that so?”

He did not leave immediately. He appeared to be hesitating. Yi Hanxing glanced around and nearly had a heart attack. She realized she had forgotten that the lamp was still lit inside the room.

She lunged forward with practiced agility and blew out the candle. “I am really going to sleep now!” she stammered loudly. She prayed that Jiang Yinghui had not seen two shadows cast against the door.

The person outside remained silent. After all, he did not dare intrude into a lady’s private chamber at night. His shadow lingered for a moment before he slowly walked away.

Having dismissed yet another uninvited guest, Yi Hanxing breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around only to find that Qin Wuzhou had not left. Instead, he had made himself at home and was sitting on her bed.

The hem of his robe was still dripping blood!

Feeling a bit faint, Yi Hanxing forced herself to look away and approached him. “Does Master have any further instructions?”

Qin Wuzhou smirked and asked teasingly, “You are so nervous. One might think you are hiding a lover in your golden chamber.”

Yi Hanxing gave him a joyless smile. “If Master has no further orders, then let us call it a night.”

Qin Wuzhou interrupted her directly. “Next, how do you plan to approach Lin Wujiu?”

Here it was. The pimp was back with his inescapable mission. While she cursed him in her head, she did not realize that calling him a pimp technically meant she was insulting herself as well. She tested the waters with some nonsense. “Uh, I will fully display my beautiful exterior and my heart of gold to strive to make him fall in love with me?”

Qin Wuzhou smiled without saying a word. He adjusted himself into a more comfortable position on the bed.

His smile made Yi Hanxing feel frantic. She lowered her head and asked humbly, “I beg for Master’s guidance.”

Recalling something, Qin Wuzhou said airily, “Were those charm techniques from the Hehuan Sect not quite impressive when you used them on me?”

Yi Hanxing froze. A delayed heat crawled up her cheeks. It was not from shyness but from pure embarrassment. “That was different.”

She had worked up a sweat during their practice in the Bone Wastes. Her hair was slightly damp at the temples and her face was flushed like peach blossoms. As she turned her head away, a stray lock of hair stuck to her neck.

With her every movement, a faint and sweet fragrance wafted toward him. Qin Wuzhou recognized the scent of his own Drunken Gold incense, yet it was not quite the same. It was mixed with an ethereal and unknown floral scent, like the private fragrance of a woman’s chamber.

Come to think of it, he was currently in Yi Hanxing’s bedroom.

The night was silent and deserted. The window he had jumped through earlier remained open, allowing threads of cool breeze to drift in. The room was unlit and was illuminated only by the cold glow of the night luminescent pearls on the ceiling outside. In the flickering shadows, the girl’s neck was slender and pale, and the beads of sweat glistened like a bright moon dipped in cold water.

The strange sensation he had felt in the Bone Wastes when he saw her thigh entwined by the Vine Demon returned. Qin Wuzhou rested his chin on his hand and stared at her for a long time. Suddenly, he said calmly, “Try it on me first.”

Yi Hanxing gasped. “What?”

Qin Wuzhou was uncharacteristically patient. “I want to see how far your Hehuan techniques have progressed.”

Yi Hanxing hesitated. “That night, did Master not already see them?”

Qin Wuzhou stared at her for a while longer and then suddenly laughed. “Is this a refusal?”

Yi Hanxing shuddered violently and immediately straightened her posture. “Of course not!”

She followed his lead and climbed onto the bed to kneel face to face with Qin Wuzhou.

What was she supposed to do next? Like in a martial arts novel where two people strip naked and press their palms together for dual cultivation?

She thought she was doomed. She did not know how exactly Hehuan Sect cultivators harvested Yin to supplement Yang.

The two sat staring at each other. Qin Wuzhou shifted his posture by propping himself up with his hands behind him and leaning back. He lowered his thin eyelids and urged her lazily, “Why have you not started yet?”

Left with no choice, Yi Hanxing leaned forward. Her fingers brushed against his collar. His clothes were covered in bloodstains. Fortunately, he wore dark purple, so it was not overly obvious, or she would have fainted long ago.

Still, it was bothersome to look at. She decided to remove the dirty outer garment first.

Qin Wuzhou’s gaze remained fixed on her face. Even when her fingertips, which were trembling from nerves, accidentally brushed against his Adam’s apple, he did not react.

The top button of his collar was undone, offering a glimpse of two delicate and sharp collarbones. A few crimson droplets of blood still clung to them. The silver earring on his left ear shimmered slightly in the candlelight, making Yi Hanxing’s head spin.

The second button was difficult to unfasten. Yi Hanxing had to lean in even closer. She could smell a peculiar and sweet scent on him. It was distinct from the incense and was likely his natural body scent.

Yi Hanxing felt even dizzier. Her fingers fumbled for a long time before she finally unfastened the button. Just as she prepared to straighten up, her loose hair somehow became entangled in the button. A slight tug pulled at her scalp.

She frantically tried to untangle her hair, but the man in front of her breathed steadily and did not rush her.

After a long struggle, the hair only became more tightly wound. Half of her face was practically pressed against Qin Wuzhou’s chest. In her helplessness, she heard the man above her say softly, “I seem to have underestimated you. You certainly have many tricks.”

Yi Hanxing was confused.

Then she realized that this man actually thought her tangled hair was a deliberate attempt to seduce him.

With a flash of spiritual light, Qin Wuzhou simply cut the strand of hair caught on his chest. He then grabbed her shoulders to push her back and looked down to straighten his clothes. “Barely passable.”

Yi Hanxing quickly tied back the rest of her messy hair. “Thank you for your guidance, Master.” It seemed she had passed this hurdle.

Qin Wuzhou rose from the bed and began to walk out. After two steps, he remembered something and turned back. He stood by the bed and leaned down to stare at her. “I recall the deadline I gave you for this mission was three days.”

Yi Hanxing’s heart sank. She knew it was not over. She quickly defended herself. “Although I did not kill Lin Wujiu, I have managed to stay by his side. The mission cannot be considered a total failure, right?”

Qin Wuzhou replied, “I made it very clear. Take Lin Wujiu’s primordial Yang and kill him. Which of those have you achieved?”

Since he was still talking, there was room for negotiation. Yi Hanxing argued, “Actually, I truly do not understand. It makes sense that Master would want him dead if there is a grudge, but why must I take his primordial Yang?”

Setting aside the fact that the female lead was about to appear, at which point the male lead’s primordial Yang might already be gone, the original book never mentioned that Lin Wujiu practiced the Way of Heartlessness. What point was there in sleeping with him?

Qin Wuzhou gave a cold and faint smile. “There is no harm in telling you. Simply killing him is far too boring. To die at the hands of the one he loves most, now that has some flavor.”

Yi Hanxing thought he had the wrong person and should go check on Wei Ruyi instead. She sighed, realizing the grudge between these two ran deep. Her mind raced as she said solemnly, “Master, you are mistaken.”

Qin Wuzhou raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Yi Hanxing’s expression turned serious. “Master, you have never loved anyone, have you?”

Qin Wuzhou’s smile widened, but he remained silent.

It was obvious. How could a devil who only knew how to kill care about love? But that was perfect as it gave her the chance to persuade him.

“True love is not about physical touch. It is about the soul,” Yi Hanxing said, drawing from her experience with novels and dramas. “Physical intimacy without emotional connection is just a short term one night stand or a long term friends with benefits arrangement. It is like a set of clothes. Once they are old, they are replaced without a second thought. There is no sentiment. Even if I betrayed Immortal Lin afterward, he would not shed a single tear for me.”

Qin Wuzhou seemed intrigued. “Friends with benefits, that is an interesting way of putting it. By that logic, you and I are also a one night stand or friends with benefits. Without sentiment, hmm?”

Yi Hanxing choked and then immediately gave a sweet and flattering smile. “How could that be the same? Our bond as master and disciple is deep. I would carve out my heart for Master. My feelings are true and my love is real. The moon represents my heart.”

“Enough.” Seeing that she spoke better than she sang, Qin Wuzhou cut her off. “Get to the point.”

“Okay.” Yi Hanxing immediately dropped the smile and continued professionally. “So, back to Immortal Lin. If Master wants him to feel the sting of betrayal by a loved one, he has to fall in love with me. That cannot be done through crude physical pleasure. I must touch his heart.”

“A lot of talk and all of it is nonsense,” Qin Wuzhou dismissed. “What exactly do you want to do?”

Yi Hanxing smiled confidently. “If Master is willing to let me try it my way, I can make Lin Wujiu fall in love with me without necessarily using dual cultivation.”

After all, there are many types of love. Who says the love between friends, siblings, or family does not count?

Qin Wuzhou studied her for a moment and appeared to weigh his options. Finally, he spoke. “Third time is the charm. If you cannot make Lin Wujiu fall in love with you within five days, you are on your own.”

Five days is five days. One more day alive is a win. Just as Yi Hanxing breathed a sigh of relief, his hand landed on her shoulder.

His long fingered hand reached behind her neck. With a few deft movements, he untied the ribbon at the back of her neck.

Yi Hanxing’s face instantly burned. That was the tie to her undergarment!

Qin Wuzhou pinched the thin ribbon between two fingers and slowly pulled the connected fabric outward.

In the silent room, the sound of soft fabric sliding against skin was amplified tenfold.

“Tomorrow, for the entire day, you must go out exactly like this.” Qin Wuzhou gave her a lively wink. “This is your first punishment for failing the mission.”

What! The previous events did not count?

However, she had no chance to protest. As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Wuzhou tucked the thin and flimsy piece of clothing into his palm.

He instinctively glanced down. It was barely the size of his palm, thin and soft. It was a style he had never seen before, and holding it between his fingertips felt strange.

It seemed to still carry a trace of her warmth.