Splat!
With a muffled thud, Shen Baiyun felt a sharp pain from her backside, her face instantly turning pale, and tears almost immediately sprang to her eyes.
“Ah!”
She cried out, then covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes, but she bit her lip fiercely, refusing to show weakness.
Hong Yan, however, showed no mercy, holding her down with one hand and wielding the stick like the wind.
Splat! Splat!
Several blows landed consecutively, each precise and powerful, making her small body tremble. Her voice caught in her throat, producing a series of choked sobs.
Shen Baiyun finally couldn't hold back. Tears rolled down her fair cheeks. While crying, she gritted her teeth and cursed in a low voice, “Bastard... smelly Jiang Ye... you just wait for this Princess!”
Jiang Ye stood far away. Hearing this, he didn't get angry; instead, he laughed.
“Oh, she's cursing now? Looks like the force isn't enough.”
Hong Yan understood and increased her strength again.
Splat!
This time, Shen Baiyun finally couldn't help but let out soft “woo-woo” sounds.
The proud Princess demeanor completely vanished, leaving only a little girl covering her bottom, shedding tears of grievance.
“Be honest. Tell us everything, and we won't hit you anymore.”
Hong Yan said as she swung the stick.
Tears in her eyes, Shen Baiyun glared fiercely at Jiang Ye, feeling both shame and anger. Her small face was red and swollen... for a while.
Shen Baiyun was hit for quite some time, and her initial arrogance had long been beaten out of her.
Her face was flushed, tears had already dampened the corners of her eyes, her lips were bitten white, and her small body struggled several times, but she ultimately couldn't escape Hong Yan's powerful hand.
“Woo-woo...”
“Bastards... you're bullying me...”
She mumbled in a tearful voice, but before her words finished, the stick landed another blow. She trembled all over, almost jumping up, and even her crying broke into a screech.
Shen Baiyun finally ran out of strength completely.
She lay there limply, sobbing with a heavy nasal sound. Her small face was red with shame, the corners of her eyes were as red as if they had been dyed with rouge, and tears rolled down incessantly.
But for some reason, mixed in those tears was an inexplicable expression.
Faintly, it wasn't just grievance, but also a strange... panic and helplessness.
There was even a subtle tremor.
She bit her lip, her voice trembling like a kitten's, “I'll tell... I'll tell, isn't that enough...?”
Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow, slowly walked closer, and stood in front of her. He looked at the mixture of moisture and stubbornness in her eyes, and a corner of his mouth curved up.
“Isn't that better, being obedient?”
He half-crouched, raised a hand, and gently stroked her hair. His fingertips brushed through her strands, as if comforting her, yet also as if slowly demonstrating his power.
Shen Baiyun shivered, her heart skipped a beat, and she looked at him with tear-filled eyes.
She bit her lip, not speaking, but her earlobes were red all the way to her neck. Her entire body was trembling, huddled there in a small ball, like a small beast that had just been tamed.
Hong Yan put away the stick at this point, clapped her hands, and said with a smile, “Alright, Seventh Princess, now it's your turn to speak. How close is that Shen Lian to you?”
Shen Baiyun lowered her head, glaring angrily at Jiang Ye, and huffed, “I'll tell... but you're not allowed to hit me again.”
Hong Yan smiled and swung the stick, “That depends on whether you're honest.”
Shen Baiyun could only bite her lip. Finally, under their gaze, she spoke in a low voice with a flushed face, recounting everything she knew, little by little... In the end.
Shen Baiyun walked out of Tianxia Tower with a flushed face and a somewhat dazed expression.
Her steps were still a bit unnatural, her small hand clutching the corner of her clothes. She looked as if she was trying to escape something.
As soon as she stepped out the door, a figure silently appeared beside her.
It was her Dao Protector, Wei Xuanyin.
“I'm sorry...”
“Princess...”
Wei Xuanyin spoke in a low voice, her eyes filled with guilt, “Just now, I was intercepted by a Qi. The opponent was at least at the Peak of the Quasi-Emperor realm. I couldn't get away for a while and couldn't help you.”
After speaking, she paused and looked at Shen Baiyun with some hesitation.
To be honest, although she hadn't personally witnessed what happened in the pavilion, her spiritual sense had detected some activity... she had a rough idea.
Given Shen Baiyun's status, being treated like that... it was indeed quite difficult to speak of.
But who knew, Shen Baiyun was uncharacteristically not angry, nor did she complain. Instead, she looked a bit stunned, her entire delicate small face flushed, as if she had just come out of a steamer.
She seemed not to have heard Wei Xuanyin's explanation, her gaze slightly unfocused, and her tone was light and airy, as if in a trance, “Oh oh... it's, it's fine... you couldn't have helped anyway...”
After speaking, she gently tugged at her skirt, her face turning even redder.
Wei Xuanyin was startled, vaguely feeling that something wasn't quite right, but she couldn't ask too many questions, so she just silently followed behind her.
Shen Baiyun walked with her head down, biting her lip, her mind a tangled mess.
This time, she had originally intended to feign weakness, seize the opportunity to gain Jiang Ye's sympathy, and incidentally gather some useful intelligence. As a result... she was instead beaten to tears by that scoundrel, and even lost all her dignity!
And the most outrageous thing was.
She actually... didn't dislike that feeling a little bit?
Shen Baiyun's face instantly turned even redder, as if her secret thoughts had been discovered. Her small hands clutched her sleeves tightly, and she gritted her teeth, shouting in her heart:
“Bastard Jiang Ye!”
“If I ever meet you again next time... hmph!”
“This Princess will definitely... definitely...”
At this moment, Jiang Ye's devilishly handsome face happened to appear in her mind. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but shake her head, trying to shake that image away.
Wei Xuanyin, watching from behind, was stunned and asked cautiously, “Princess... what's wrong?”
Shen Baiyun's cheeks were puffed out, like a deflated balloon, and she turned her face away, muttering, “Nothing!”
After speaking, she forcefully suppressed the chaotic emotions in her heart, took a deep breath, and said with forced composure, “As for Shen Lian, we will no longer have any contact with him.”
“Offending the Jiang Clan... brings no benefits whatsoever.”
As soon as these words came out, Wei Xuanyin's eyes immediately lit up, and she beamed with joy.
She felt a huge sense of relief in her heart.
Before, she had vaguely felt that Shen Baiyun seemed to have been bewitched by something, actually going to help a Demonic Path rogue who was already in decline and universally reviled.
That Shen Lian, apart from his violent Demonic Technique and extreme murderous intent, had no future whatsoever.
Although she hadn't explicitly said so at the time, she never supported Shen Baiyun's choice in her heart.
Now, seeing her finally come to her senses, Wei Xuanyin was naturally overjoyed.
“Good, good, good!”
She nodded repeatedly, “Anyway, it's still not too late for us to turn back now. Shen Lian is just a Demonic Path remnant with a bit of talent; compared to the Jiang Clan, he's simply not worth mentioning.”
Shen Baiyun listened and nodded silently.
Now that she had calmed down and reflected, she indeed felt that her previous judgment had been impulsive, and could even be said to be a bit muddled.
Fortunately, there wasn't much deep interaction between her and Shen Lian, just a simple transaction of interests, without too much emotion involved.
Moreover, Shen Lian had already left.
Jiang Ye was the person truly worth winning over now.
However... thinking of this, Shen Baiyun suddenly stomped her foot, angrily cursing herself in her heart for being useless.
“Hmph, Jiang Ye, don't be smug for too long!”
She suddenly puffed up her small face, her eyes stubborn, and secretly vowed in her heart:
“One day, this Princess will definitely get her revenge for today!”
“I'll make you kneel and call me great-grandmother sooner or later!”
...On the top floor of Tianxia Tower.
Jiang Ye leisurely sipped fragrant tea, his expression lazy and content.
Hong Yan stood behind him, lightly massaging his shoulders, humming a tune, a smile of unknown meaning on her lips.
Qing Xuan sat to the side, her brows slightly furrowed, a hint of hesitation in her eyes, and she asked softly, “Young Master, is that woman's word credible?”