I Accidentally Triggered the Restricted Punishment Protocol - Chapter 15

Qin Wuzhou quickly brushed aside the strange feelings rising in his heart.

He tucked the undergarment into his sleeve and shot a glance at his foolish disciple sitting on the bed. She looked utterly dazed, a sight that made him want to laugh. With a slight smirk, he strode out the door. The inn’s corridor was deserted, the only sound being the rhythmic clack-clack of his wooden clogs against the floorboards.

Rounding a corner, he suddenly came to a halt.

Three paces away, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the wall. The man’s eyes flickered with a fanatical light, his expression a mix of terror and exhilaration. Even the long scar crossing the bridge of his nose seemed to twist with emotion.

It was Jiang Yinghui. He stared fixedly at Qin Wuzhou’s face, muttering to himself, “It is you. It really is you. You actually didn’t die!”

Ever since smelling Qin Wuzhou’s scent on Yi Hanxing, Jiang Yinghui had been unable to sleep. He had participated in the siege against Qin Wuzhou years ago; although the latter had been ruined and left without a whole corpse, Jiang always felt that such a man could not die so easily. Thus, when he smelled that familiar spiritual aura coming from Yi Hanxing’s room tonight, he had waited by the door.

He had truly succeeded in waiting for his prey!

Qin Wuzhou watched him for a moment before casually raising a hand in greeting. “Yo, long time no see, Junior Brother Jiang.”

His tone was relaxed, but Jiang Yinghui felt as if he had been bitten by a venomous snake. His face turned deathly pale, and he remained speechless for a long while.

Qin Wuzhou paced toward him with his hands behind his back, nonchalant. When he was only half a step away, Jiang Yinghui snapped out of his trance, stumbling back a step and screaming shrilly, “Are you… are you a man or a ghost?!”

Qin Wuzhou pressed a finger to his lips in a “shush” gesture. “Keep your pleas for mercy down. Others are sleeping.”

But Jiang Yinghui was already frightened out of his wits. Back at Yuxu Mountain, he had viewed this man as the moon in the sky, an immortal among men. That man had the power to slaughter half a sect single-handedly; how could Jiang Yinghui possibly rival him?

The humiliating shadows of his past defeat rushed back like a landslide. In a fit of madness, Jiang Yinghui drew his sword and lunged at Qin Wuzhou!

Qin Wuzhou kept his hands behind his back. Jiang Yinghui couldn’t even see how he moved; the man was like a pitch-black phantom. In the blink of an eye, Jiang’s vision was filled with the man’s enlarging smile.

It was a smile of utter arrogance and wildness, tinged with an indescribable wickedness. With that brilliant grin, Qin Wuzhou gripped Jiang Yinghui by the throat and slammed him into the floor. Jiang’s head hit the ground with a resounding thud, smashing a deep hole into the thick wooden floorboards. Splinters flew, and the porcelain vases lining the corridor shattered in a chaotic explosion of sound.

Qin Wuzhou tightened his grip with a laugh. Jiang Yinghui’s neck bones began to crack inch by inch, emitting a crisp snapping sound under the palm. Blood stained Qin Wuzhou’s fingers.

Jiang Yinghui clawed fruitlessly at the wrist, blood and froth bubbling from his mouth and staining his collar. “Senior Brother Ye, I…”

He scrambled at Qin Wuzhou’s sleeve, but Qin Wuzhou suddenly frowned and tossed him aside.

Having caught a break, Jiang Yinghui managed to crawl up. He saw Qin Wuzhou crouching in place, wiping the blood off his hands with the hem of his robe. Only then did he use his relatively clean hand to tuck something that was halfway out of his sleeve back in.

The movement was lightning-fast. In Jiang’s bloodshot vision, he could only catch a fleeting glimpse of something pale pink.

“It would be a hassle if this got dirty. She would nag me when I give it back,” Qin Wuzhou muttered something under his breath and stood up.

Jiang Yinghui’s lips trembled, but he ultimately could not bring himself to call out “Senior Brother Ye” again.

The sound of footsteps echoed from downstairs; their conflict had alerted others in the inn. Qin Wuzhou glanced downstairs silently, then looked back at Jiang Yinghui. Meeting those burning golden eyes, Jiang felt a sharp pain in the nerves at the back of his head. Everything went black, and he knew no more.

When Jiang Yinghui woke up, he was lying in the corridor. The sky was just beginning to brighten. The inn was silent, but a sound like a giant bell was clanging in his ears.

It was Ye Mitian!

His pupils contracted as he leaped up. Stumbling, he drew his sword and rushed downstairs. He really isn’t dead! Why is he here? Has he come for revenge?

Following his blurry memory, Jiang Yinghui chased in the direction the man had disappeared. He kicked a door open, only to find someone already inside.

The two stared at each other in surprise. “Miss Yi?!” Jiang Yinghui frowned.

Yi Hanxing looked even more startled than he did. It was no wonder; Jiang Yinghui’s face and collar were covered in dark bloodstains, which, combined with the hideous scar across his nose, made him look terrifying in the morning light.

She seemed to have been looking for something. She was hunched over, clutching her chest, and nearly jumped when he entered. She immediately ducked behind a hanging bedsheet, her voice sounding unnatural. “Immortal Jiang.”

Suspicious.

Convinced she was hiding something, Jiang Yinghui strode forward and yanked the sheet aside. “What are you hiding—”

The words died in his throat as he saw her.

Today, she wore her hair in a single braid and was dressed in a pale pink skirt. For some reason, her face was flushed like peach blossoms, and her eyes were misty. She didn’t dare meet his gaze, appearing terrified by his fierce appearance. She simply hunched her shoulders and shrank back. “Did you need something, Immortal Jiang?”

A strange sensation rose in his chest. Jiang Yinghui felt a lump in his throat. After a long pause, he blurted out unexpectedly, “Are you unwell?”

Yi Hanxing was stunned. “Ah, no.”

Jiang Yinghui didn’t know what was wrong with him. For a moment, he even forgot his purpose for coming. He instinctively stepped closer. “But your face looks very red.”

Terrified, Yi Hanxing crossed her arms over her chest and backed away. “It is probably just too stuffy in this room!”

This is a nightmare. That damned bastard Qin Wuzhou actually kept his word and took her undergarment. The summer skirt was thin and light; any change would be painfully obvious. She didn’t even dare to make large movements.

Jiang Yinghui watched her, feeling that she was slightly different than usual. Even her pale pink skirt seemed more light and ethereal today.

“Meow!”

A black-and-white cow cat suddenly pounced from nowhere, its claws raking across the back of Jiang Yinghui’s hand.

Stung by the pain, Jiang Yinghui instinctively reacted with fury, drawing his sword to take the cat’s head.

“Immortal, stop!” Yi Hanxing rushed forward, shielding the cat with her arms. “This is my spiritual pet.”

The cow cat seemed remarkably intelligent. It let out another meow and jumped onto Yi Hanxing’s shoulder. She quickly grabbed it and, despite its struggles, forced it into her arms.

Jiang Yinghui healed the wound on his hand. The sharp pain had actually cleared his head. He composed himself. “I see. My apologies for the intrusion.”

“Not at all. My cat scratched you first. I should apologize to you, Immortal Jiang.”

The cow cat let out a dissatisfied meow.

Jiang Yinghui was not a talkative person by nature and was poor at communicating with female cultivators. He simply hummed in response, not knowing what else to say.

Yi Hanxing figured it was time to leave. “Then I will not disturb you, Immortal.”

As she turned to slip away, Jiang Yinghui felt a sudden impulse. “Wait.”

Yi Hanxing froze.

Jiang Yinghui asked, “Did you hear anything last night, Miss Yi?”

Yi Hanxing looked down at the cat in her arms, who looked utterly indifferent. She shook her head. “No, I slept very deeply.”

Jiang Yinghui’s expression shifted unreadably. He added, “Miss Yi, you carry the scent of someone I know very well.”

Yi Hanxing stole another glance at the culprit resting in her arms. “Really? Who?”

Jiang Yinghui’s voice sounded a bit dejected. “A disciple of Yuxu Mountain. My senior brother, and also Senior Brother Lin’s junior fellow apprentice. His surname was Ye.”

Who is that? A mental question mark popped up over Yi Hanxing’s head. This character never appeared in the original book.

“I am sorry, but I do not know anyone named Ye.”

Jiang Yinghui gave a self-deprecating laugh. “After that siege, besides the few of us survivors, I am afraid no one in the world remembers him.”

Yi Hanxing turned back. “Siege?”

Jiang Yinghui’s expression was complex. “Five hundred years ago, there was a case of a Yuxu Mountain disciple falling into demonhood and betraying the sect, which shocked the world. The person involved was Senior Brother Ye.”

From his tone, it seemed this was a major event known to everyone in the cultivation world. But as a transmigrator, Yi Hanxing could only fake a somber expression. “So it was that incident.”

Jiang Yinghui didn’t notice her act and continued with difficulty. “Senior Brother Ye was once the most outstanding genius of the younger generation. He reached the Golden Core stage in seventeen years and the Nascent Soul stage in one hundred and twenty-three years. Before the incident, he already showed signs of entering the Soul Transformation stage. He was the youngest Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivator in history. Even a century after his death, that record has never been broken.”

Yi Hanxing was astonished. “He is already dead?” Come to think of it, since Qin Wuzhou can create clones, he must be at least at the Soul Transformation stage.

Jiang Yinghui finally lost his composure, his face twisting in pain. “He turned to the demonic path, severely wounding Senior Brother Lin and his own master. He then proceeded to slaughter two thousand and eighty-seven cultivators of Yuxu Mountain. Finally, he was suppressed by the five Great Elders, his bones were stripped, his soul extinguished, and his remains were sealed beneath the Withered Bone Ruins.”

Yi Hanxing looked down abruptly. The cow cat had opened its eyes at some point, its golden pupils meeting hers with calm intensity.

After a moment, Yi Hanxing recovered. “May I ask, Immortal Jiang, what was your senior brother’s full name?”

Jiang Yinghui said, “His crimes were heinous, yet his fame was so great that he attracted countless followers. To prevent anyone from straying or attempting to summon his soul, Yuxu Mountain set up a Name-Suppressing Array. It is forbidden for anyone to mention his name. I cannot even say it.”

“After so many years, besides those of us who were there, no one likely remembers his name anymore.”

Jiang Yinghui watched the girl walk away with the cat, his eyes dark. He clenched his fists and searched the laundry room once more. Nothing. The room was clean, without a trace of demonic energy. If not for the lingering ache in his neck, he would have truly thought everything last night was just a nightmare.

As abruptly as he had appeared, Qin Wuzhou had vanished without a trace. Jiang Yinghui didn’t dare keep it a secret; he went straight to Lin Wujiu’s room to report the night attack. Lin Wujiu offered words of comfort to the distraught Jiang and began discussing a backup plan.

Meanwhile, after leaving Jiang Yinghui, Yi Hanxing returned to her room with the cat, feeling as if she were carrying a ticking time bomb.

Once she had locked the doors and windows and cast a silencing spell, she placed the cat upright on the bed. She knelt on the floor and called out, “Master.”

Qin Wuzhou narrowed his eyes at her actions. “What now?”

Yi Hanxing looked dead serious. “Before, I didn’t recognize your greatness. I had no idea you had such a glorious past.”

A genius who turned demonic and betrayed the sect, led a massacre that terrified everyone, and then somehow came back to life with even greater power and an peerless divine artifact. Who could stop such a disaster besides the original protagonist? Certainly not her.

With a touch of sincere flattery, she asked, “Master, so your original surname was Ye.”

He kept saying he had a grudge against Lin Wujiu; it must have started back then. Though she didn’t know how he returned from the dead or why he ended up in Qingtang Valley, things were starting to make sense.

Su Meiniang had said Qin Wuzhou was strange—naturally flamboyant but repressive once he became the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect, keeping the valley isolated and forbidding talk of the past. It was likely to hide his true identity as a fugitive from the immortal sects. In that case, had he initially suspected and wanted to kill her because he feared she would realize his true identity and report him?

Qin Wuzhou remained noncommittal. Instead, he said, “Some things are better left unknown. Now, tell me yourself—should I keep you around?”

I knew it! Yi Hanxing stiffened. She immediately shuffled forward on her knees and began respectfully petting him from head to tail.

At first, Qin Wuzhou had refused to let her touch him. But under her persistent efforts, the cat finally allowed her approach. He squinted his eyes, tilting his furry chin up, enjoying her gentle scratching. “It is useless to flatter me. Your life depends on my whim.”

Yi Hanxing nodded and bowed obediently. “Of course, of course. My heart belongs solely to you, Master!”

She became even more diligent in grooming him. After some time, her arms grew tired. When she pulled away, the black-and-white kitten had curled into a ball and fallen asleep.

Falling asleep so defenselessly in front of an outsider was not his style. Yi Hanxing touched the kitten’s head; it felt a bit hot.

In the book, it was mentioned that the Glass Sun would bring side effects to the host if overused. Considering how many demons Qin Wuzhou killed last night, she guessed he was suffering from its backlash.

Strike while he’s down! Yi Hanxing felt the urge again, her hand resting on his body.

…But why did it have to be in the form of a cat? Who could kill a kitten? Certainly not her.

Besides, even if she injured the clone, the main body would still be alive. Furthermore, their “plastic” master-disciple relationship had finally improved a little (?). Now was probably not a good time for a death-defying gamble.

Yi Hanxing sighed and pulled the cat into her arms. Since dawn was still a while away, she decided to get some sleep. She was exhausted and definitely couldn’t go out tomorrow.

Half an hour after Yi Hanxing fell asleep, Qin Wuzhou groggily opened his eyes. Finding himself held in someone’s arms, his expression turned quite strange. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had been held by anyone.

Come to think of it, he never allowed anyone close. He hadn’t even let her touch the cat clone at first, yet last night he had let her pet him several times…

When the backlash of the Glass Sun hit, he had unintentionally fallen into a coma. He vaguely felt a very comfortable aura nearby and instinctively moved closer, touching something soft and warm. It was like a campfire on a winter night; he, a frozen man, had gradually begun to revive.

This stupid disciple now knew his true identity, yet she hadn’t run off to report him while he was unconscious, nor had she laid a hand on him.

Before him was the girl’s enlarged sleeping face. He stared for a long time, his thoughts unreadable. She mumbled something in her sleep and turned over, trying to hug the cat tighter.

Qin Wuzhou snapped out of it and instinctively frowned, trying to climb out of her arms. His front paws pressed down; although separated by an outer robe, the absence of her undergarment made the sensation exceptionally vivid.

He froze, realizing what it was. His heart suddenly skipped a beat.