Humiliation

Su Li sat on the roof of the carriage, her legs dangling and swaying back and forth. She had no idea what a Baxi was; it was already a miracle that she could remember most common cultivation knowledge. Asking her to understand such niche lore was simply too much for her fluffy little head. She thought about it over and over but couldn't make head or tail of it. Giving up entirely, she perked up her ears to keep listening.

Du Yi swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. He hadn't expected Du Ling to bring this matter out into the open; this was a complete falling out. He took two steps back, his soles crunching against the gravel. He completely forgot about how Du Ling had just insulted him. Only one thought remained in his mind—Du Ling was flipping the table.

“What? Did I hit the nail on the head? You really worked out a beautiful scheme, didn't you? First you worked my mother to death, and now you're trying to use that same vile plot on me?”

Du Ling's smile was casual, while Du Yi was scared out of his wits. Atop the carriage, Su Li perked up her fluffy fox ears, rotating them like radar dishes as she eagerly devoured the gossip. Her eyes shone like two black grapes, the corners of her mouth curling up in pure amusement. What scandalous family secrets! Su Li's beautiful eyes sparkled as she listened. Who knew the South-Central Du Clan had such juicy drama? She wished she could pull a handful of melon seeds from her storage bag to munch on while watching the show.

“You—what nonsense are you talking about! Lin Ran died of an illness! She died of illness! What does that have to do with Father?” Du Yi was clearly lacking confidence. His voice trembled as he gritted his teeth to refute Du Ling, though no one knew what he was actually thinking. His fingernails dug into his palms, leaving crescent-shaped bloody marks. Not daring to meet Du Ling's gaze, his eyes darted around erratically.

“Died of illness? You know perfectly well how my mother died. But my mother's name is not something a bastard son like you is worthy of speaking!”

Du Ling snorted coldly. The sound wasn't loud, but it struck Du Yi's chest like a heavy mallet. An invisible aura rippled out from him—scholarly energy. Confucian cultivators did not judge each other by cultivation level, but by the righteousness nurtured within their chests. His scholarly energy was overbearing and sharp, like an unsheathed sword, pressing down on Du Yi until his face turned pale and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.

Even though his cultivation level was currently lower than Du Yi's, the hierarchy among Confucian cultivators was absolute. If one's scholarly energy was inferior, they would lose without a doubt, even if their cultivation level was two major realms higher. To a Confucian cultivator, cultivation level was merely a tool to write a few more lines of poetry.

Their true trump card was scholarly energy—the breath of righteousness nurtured in their chest for half a lifetime. Du Yi staggered back two steps, his soles dragging shallow marks in the dirt, nearly collapsing to the ground.

He had only ever felt scholarly energy of this caliber from their father. Yet, it was different from their father's. Their father's energy was heavy and weathered by time, like a massive mountain. But the scholarly energy of the Du Ling before him possessed an unparalleled, overbearing dominance, like a rushing river that could neither be stopped nor dammed.

Damn it, how can he have such deep scholarly energy! It must be the Scholarly Heart seed! Du Yi roared in his heart, his facial muscles twitching as the resentment and jealousy in his eyes threatened to spill over. Why did Grandfather's will dictate that the Scholarly Heart seed must be inherited by the eldest legitimate son? His mother was merely their father's “medicine,” and now that his own mother had been elevated to legal wife, why couldn't the Scholarly Heart seed belong to him?

He gritted his teeth, his fingernails digging deep into his palms. He trembled all over from the pain, but the oppressive scholarly energy kept him from even raising his head or speaking a single word.

Du Ling waved his hand, and the ink chains binding the horses shattered link by link, dissolving into wisps of black smoke. He mounted his horse in one fluid, practiced motion, his robes tracing a graceful arc in the air. He raised his whip and lashed down, the tip slicing through the air with a sharp crack. The whip struck true, landing squarely across Du Yi's face.

Half of Du Yi's originally fair face immediately swelled up. A bloody welt ran diagonally from his cheekbone to his jaw, splitting the skin and causing beads of blood to seep out and trickle down his cheek.

“You!” Du Yi forced the word out against the crushing scholarly energy, his voice sounding as if it were squeezed from his throat. His tone carried a mix of shock, rage, and a hint of fear he refused to admit even to himself.

“Why wouldn't I dare strike you?” Du Ling said coldly. “This lash is for your filthy mouth that dared speak my mother's name.” His gaze swept over Du Yi's face as if looking at an inanimate object that had nothing to do with him.

He looked back at Su Li, who was still sitting on the carriage roof with her chin resting in her hands, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she watched him. His gaze lingered on her face for a brief moment before he turned back to Du Yi, who was clutching his bleeding cheek.

“Go back and pass a message to that old bastard: I have no desire to associate with the Du family now that I've returned. You all had better behave yourselves. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind making life very difficult for the Du family!”

With those words, Du Qi pulled the reins. The horse neighed, rearing its front hooves before charging forward. Its hooves kicked up a cloud of dust that billowed in the twilight like a thick fog, swallowing Du Yi's figure.

Du Qi pulled the reins to slow the horse down. He glanced back at Su Li, who was still sitting on the carriage roof, resting her chin in her hands and smiling at him with bright, curious eyes. He slowly brought the horse to a halt. “You've been staring at me the entire way. If you have questions, just ask.” His voice wasn't loud, carrying a trace of helplessness and exhaustion.

Caught off guard, Su Li felt a bit self-conscious. Her smile stiffened, and her ears flattened slightly. She cleared her throat twice and looked away, pretending to admire the distant scenery.

But in the end, she couldn't suppress her burning curiosity. After all, since he had invited her to ask, it would seem rather dull of her to refuse. She took a deep breath, summoned her courage, and turned her head to look at Du Qi.

“What is a Baxi?”

Her eyes were wide and round like two black grapes, reflecting Du Qi's face. Du Qi looked back at her, the coldness in his eyes having dissolved at some point, leaving only a touch of helplessness and... affection? Su Li wondered if she was imagining things, but she clearly saw the same look her father used to give her when she was a child. What, was her question stupid? She was very smart! It was just that the term was too obscure for her to know. Surely he didn't think she was stupid?

Annoyed, Su Li puffed up her cheeks like an inflated pufferfish. She pouted at Du Qi, prepared to make him explain it to her thoroughly, or else she wouldn't let him off easily! Her tails fluffed up behind her like an open fan.

Du Qi rubbed his forehead, finding this little fox... amusingly silly. Every word of his conversation with Du Yi could have caused a massive uproar if leaked, yet she only cared to ask, “What is a Baxi?”

Well, looking at the fluffy tails that were about to burst behind the little fox, being a bit simple-minded wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

“Sigh, come down. I'll tell you.”