167 - Destroyer of Ice and Fire

Lan Ze was stunned for a moment before crying out, "Master! Look at Ning Song Wu, look at what she has done to me!" Peng Zi Lai glanced at Lan Ze's severely injured face, then at Ning Song Wu, whose eyes were still red, and sternly rebuked, "How disgraceful to behave like this in public! Return to Hongfei Pavilion, we'll settle this there!" In the main hall of Hongfei Pavilion. Peng Zi Lai sat on the main seat with a solemn expression. Two rows of disciples stood respectfully with their heads bowed. Lan Ze and Ning Song Wu knelt in the center, too afraid to speak. The injuries on Lan Ze's face looked serious but were merely superficial. Ning Song Wu, on the other hand, seemed unharmed but was suffering from a severe blow to her abdomen. The pain was like being cut with a knife. Her mouth was filled with the taste of blood, but she'd rather swallow it than spit it out. "Who struck first?" Peng Zi Lai asked grimly. Lan Ze quickly replied, "Of course it was her! I don't know what deep grudge she holds, but she attacked me without saying a word. Master, look at the blood on my face!" With a casual glance at the two, Peng Zi Lai continued, "Why would she hit you for no reason?" "Ning Song Wu has disliked me for a long time. Does she need a reason to hit me?" The other disciples, hearing her lie, dared not speak out. He Lan Mian Mian raised her eyes, about to say something when another disciple tugged at her sleeve and gave her a look. Ignoring it, He Lan Mian Mian stepped forward and said, "That's not true. Lan Ze provoked her first with excessive insults!" "You have a good relationship with her, of course you'd say that. Master, ask the others if it's true." Peng Zi Lai looked at the other disciples, who were so frightened they trembled, unable to step forward. "Enough! Lan Ze, watch your words!" shouted He Lan Mian Mian. "He Lan Mian Mian, step back and stop talking. Ning Song Wu, speak for yourself," Peng Zi Lai instructed, turning to Ning Song Wu. Ning Song Wu held in a mouthful of blood, grinding her teeth in frustration. She glanced at Lan Ze and slowly spat out a few words, "If I had another chance, I wouldn't stop at this." Tears welled up in Lan Ze's eyes as she looked pitifully at Peng Zi Lai, "Master, look at her! Such arrogance, why do you keep her in Bei Fa?" Peng Zi Lai looked at Ning Song Wu and asked slowly, "One more chance. What do you have to say?" Ning Song Wu wanted to cry but held back. She remembered the time not long ago in Rong Ku Pavilion. Master had been away from Bei Fa for over ten days, and she had missed him terribly. When he finally returned, he took her to the Plum Garden and taught her swordsmanship. But she couldn't get it right. The master, upset, said, "If you can't complete it, sitting on the ground and crying won't help. What kind of behavior is this?" She still remembered that cold night in the Plum Garden, with scattered petals falling, a few landing on the master's shoulder, unnoticed by him. His angry face really frightened her, making her heart tighten. She thought she could never let her master get angry again. Sitting on the ground crying was indeed shameful. Ning Song Wu took a deep breath, forcing back her tears, and said each word clearly: "Disciple has nothing to say." Peng Zi Lai was silent for a moment, then said, "Ning Song Wu, you've truly disappointed me. If Ran Fan Yin saw this, she'd be deeply disappointed too." He sighed, looking towards an imaginary point outside the hall door. "Go to the punishment room, receive twenty lashes. For the next ten days, you are excused from lessons." Two disciples stepped forward, each grabbing one of Ning Song Wu's arms, half dragging her out of the main hall. Ning Song Wu only remembered He Lan Mian Mian’s anxious face and Lan Ze’s triumphant glare. Lying expressionlessly on the bench, with one disciple holding the execution rod, Ning Song Wu stared blankly at the ground. Such a small child, looking no older than nine or ten, a delicate girl—how could he bear to strike her? After all, it was just a fight; wasn't this too severe? Master was too harsh with twenty lashes. If he hit her hard, would she survive? "Umm... I'll hit lightly, bear with it, it won't be too hard," he consoled Ning Song Wu, raising the rod with trembling hands. Even though he didn't hit hard, as soon as the rod landed on Ning Song Wu’s back, she spat out a mouthful of blood. Despite the gentleness of the strike, Ning Song Wu, a ten-year-old with little internal strength, couldn't withstand twenty lashes. Seeing her spit blood, the disciple became even more troubled. At that moment, the door to the punishment room was suddenly pushed open, and Lan Ze, with her newly treated wounds, narrowed her eyes and entered. "Are you... Lan Ze? What are you doing here?" The disciple asked, confused, then asked again, "Did master cancel Ning Song Wu's punishment? I knew it, twenty lashes were too much..." "No. Master asked me to supervise and ensure all twenty lashes are completed,” Lan Ze snarled, touching her injured nose. "Master said to hit hard. Otherwise, she won't learn." "What?" The disciple frowned, scratching his head with the rod, "But... this..." "Aren't you going to hit? Master gave the order himself, how dare you disobey?" Lan Ze shouted. Ning Song Wu seemed cut off from everything, dumbly staring at the ground. Seeing the disciple hesitate, Lan Ze snatched the rod and, using all her strength, struck Ning Song Wu's back! Lan Ze came from a renowned martial family, skilled in martial arts. The force of her strike far surpassed that of the disciple's previous gentle blow. "Ugh!" Ning Song Wu groaned, her brows knitted together, feeling as if her organs were being torn apart, her back burning with searing pain. The rough rod tore through her clothing and left a terrifying bloody mark on her delicate back. Her fingers gripped the bench's edge so tightly they almost dug into the wood.