Feather Duster

After the two were tied up by Gu Yue and dragged back home, they were shoved hard through the door. Just as Tang Wulin thought time had frozen, Gu Yue moved.

She did not unleash any flashy soul skill. She merely raised her right hand elegantly, her five fingers slightly spread.

Pale blue soul power swiftly gathered and took shape in the air. A few seconds later, a strangely shaped "weapon" appeared out of nowhere and landed in her hand.

It was a... Feather Duster?

Its entire body was made of some unknown blue crystal, its handle carved with intricate ice-flower patterns. At the end of the crystalline rod was a cluster of fluffy, soft feathers that even glowed faintly under the infusion of soul power...

This turn of events was way too hardcore. Way too absurd!

Tang Wulin and Le Zhengyu's pupils both shook as their brains completely crashed. One second ago, it had been a battlefield of jealousy; the next second... were they doing housework?

Gu Yue coolly weighed the glittering Feather Duster in her hand and spoke in a down-to-earth tone, like an auntie haggling at a market. "Lie down."

Two simple words. Concise and beyond dispute.

Tang Wulin said, "...Huh?"

"If you don't want your head to bloom, lie down." Gu Yue arched a brow and lightly tapped the solid wooden coffee table beside her with the Feather Duster. It gave a dull thunk, and frost instantly spread across the table's surface.

Le Zhengyu's eyes darted around as he instantly seized upon a lifeline! The aloof goddess had transformed into a neighborhood committee auntie—this adorable contrast was simply off the charts! He forced down the urge to grin wildly and piled on a fawning smile uglier than crying. Hurriedly stepping forward, he gave Tang Wulin a hard shove. "Did you hear her? Hurry up and thank Gu Yue for her magnanimity! This is VIP-level 'family discipline'—other people couldn't get it even if they begged! Come on! Lie down! Show some proper attitude!"

Tang Wulin was caught between a rock and a hard place. Gu Yue's death glare lay before him, while Le Zhengyu's "friendly assistance" came from behind. Gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, he stiffly dropped with a thump, face-down onto the carpet. That posture looked less like punishment and more like some difficult yoga meditation pose.

"Very good." Gu Yue nodded in satisfaction, then lightly stepped around behind Tang Wulin.

Le Zhengyu curled up in the corner of the sofa, burying himself in the cushions and exposing only a pair of mischievous eyes, ready to enjoy the show of the year. In his heart, he had already awarded Gu Yue the trophy for Best Adorable Contrast Female Lead.

Holding the Feather Duster, Gu Yue traced a cross in the air and muttered under her breath, as though beginning some soul skill. Blue soul power flowed through the crystal handle and into the feathers, making the fluffy plume instantly tense up, poised to strike.

Tang Wulin squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, waiting for that legendary blow that would leave feathers flying and eggs smashed.

"Whoosh—!"

A nearly imperceptible rush of wind sounded.

The agonizing pain he had expected did not come. Instead, an indescribably gentle, unbelievably soft touch landed on his... butt.

It did not hurt, nor did it tickle. It was a tingling massage-like sensation infused with cool soul power.

Tang Wulin abruptly opened his eyes and turned back with a completely bewildered expression. Gu Yue wore a stern face, so focused that she seemed to be creating a work of art. Her wrist swung the Feather Duster in an exceptionally standard arc, once, then again, precisely covering his entire backside.

Her movements were outrageously practiced. Every time it fell, the gentle soul power contained in the feather tips seeped into his muscles, bringing a strange sense of comfort. Not only was there no pain at all, but it even felt like his meridians were being cleared and his fatigue washed away.

How was this family discipline? This was clearly a top-tier spa treatment!

Le Zhengyu's eyes nearly popped out on the sofa. He watched Gu Yue's eternally icy face, her brows tightly knitted and lips pressed into a straight line, looking as though she were solemnly carrying out the harshest possible sentence. Yet the glowing Feather Duster landed on Tang Wulin like a diligent housewife dusting off dirt that did not even exist!

"Pfft..."

A tiny, suppressed sound escaped Le Zhengyu's throat.

He hurriedly covered his mouth, but his shoulders began shaking uncontrollably.

Gu Yue's sweeping motion abruptly stopped. For the first time, suspicion appeared in her cool eyes as she slowly turned toward Le Zhengyu, who was huddled on the sofa.

"What are you laughing at?" A chill began gathering in her voice.

Le Zhengyu instantly felt a shiver run down his back, but his powerful survival instinct held him up. He struggled to straighten his face and tried to conceal his slip with a cough. "Ahem, it's... it's nothing! I just think this 'family discipline' is so creative, so... so artistically compelling! Yes, artistic tension! I was appreciating it, learning from it. I absolutely wasn't laughing! Really!"

He did not even believe that nonsense himself.

Gu Yue clearly did not believe him either. She gave a cold snort and exerted force with her wrist again. This time, the Feather Duster was no longer gently caressing him, but firing off punishment-laced "point shots."

Smack!

A crisp sound rang out as it struck Tang Wulin's butt with perfect accuracy. This time, the soul power was restrained, leaving behind only pure force.

"Ah!" Tang Wulin cried out miserably. The comfort from before vanished without a trace, replaced by scorching pain. His tears were nearly bursting out. "Gu Yue! You're seriously doing this?!"

"Who told you to move around and interfere with the enforcement of the law?" Gu Yue said righteously, her hand never stopping. Two more smacks landed, one on each side of Tang Wulin's backside. Her strength was perfectly controlled—enough to make him feel humiliated and hurt, but not enough to truly injure him.

How was this a beating? This was clearly precise "retaliation"!

Le Zhengyu watched anxiously. If this continued, Tang Wulin's butt was going to turn into a palette. He had to draw the fire away!

"Gu Yue! Please show mercy!" Le Zhengyu sprang off the sofa like a carp flipping out of water, rushing between them with his arms spread wide like a mother hen protecting her chicks. "Boss knows he was wrong! He really does! Look, his butt is already red! If you keep hitting him, we won't be able to show our faces outside tomorrow! If word gets out that you... that you 'educated' him with a Feather Duster, where would our dignity go?!"

"Dignity?" Gu Yue finally stopped and tossed the Feather Duster into the air. It hovered there, giving off a faint blue glow. She folded her arms and coldly glanced at Le Zhengyu.

"That's not what we mean!" Le Zhengyu's eyes spun as an idea came to him. He immediately put on a heartbroken expression. "We're reflecting on this! Reflecting deeply!

"I realize that Boss's actions seriously hurt your feelings. His crime deserves death! So I think this 'family discipline' is too light! It is nowhere near enough to soothe your anger, nor is it enough to show Boss's remorse!"

The effect of those words was immediate.

For the first time, clear cracks appeared on Gu Yue's perpetually icy face. She looked at Le Zhengyu, who was talking away with a face full of "sincerity," and for a moment did not know how to respond. His logic was so twisted it could make heaven and earth weep.

"So?" she asked coldly.

"So!" Le Zhengyu slapped his chest and declared passionately, "We request that the punishment be upgraded! Boss must redeem himself through practical action! For example... for example, he could clean your place for a month! Or... or be your errand boy for a month! He'll work without complaint and never utter a word of grievance! As long as you calm down, punish him however you want!"

Half of that was sincere pleading, while the other half was a trap. He refused to believe that Gu Yue, an aloof goddess, would actually become some landlord lady ordering Tang Wulin around to mop floors every day.

However, he had underestimated the strange sort of "domestic authority" that Gu Yue's Feather Duster had given her.

Gu Yue fell silent. Her cool eyes swept back and forth between Le Zhengyu and Tang Wulin as though evaluating the feasibility of the proposal.

A few seconds later, she made a decision that left everyone dumbfounded.

"Granted."

"...Huh?" Le Zhengyu and Tang Wulin froze at the same time.

"Since Tang Wulin is sincerely asking to be punished, I shall mercifully give him a chance to make up for his mistakes. And Le Zhengyu, aren't you quite good at talking?"

Gu Yue held out her hand, and the hovering Feather Duster slowly flew back into it. Using its tip, she pointed toward the living room. "Le Zhengyu, go wipe the windows. Tang Wulin, vacuum every speck of dust off the floor. The standard is that even if you licked it with your tongues, it still has to be clean."

"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!" Le Zhengyu sprayed out the mouthful of water he had just taken.

Tang Wulin collapsed directly onto the carpet, staring at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

"N-No, Gu Yue!" Le Zhengyu wailed miserably. "Licking it with our tongues... that's not ergonomically possible!"

"Then use another method." Gu Yue remained unmoved. With a flick of her wrist, the Feather Duster swung out again. This time, it targeted Le Zhengyu's forehead.

"Ah! I'll wipe! I'll wipe, okay?!" Le Zhengyu shrieked, clutching his head as he fled like a rat. He grabbed a rag and bucket and rushed toward the windows.

As he wiped, he cursed Gu Yue's ancestors all the way back eighteen generations in his heart. This was not a beating at all—it was a dimensional strike against his spirit!

Tang Wulin also climbed to his feet miserably, picked up the vacuum cleaner, and began his long journey of "atonement."

Thus, the villa living room, which had originally been filled with tension and the smell of gunpowder, turned into an utterly absurd scene:

An unrivaled young woman sat upright in the seat of honor on the sofa, holding a glowing "high-tech" Feather Duster with a solemn expression. From time to time, she issued commands—"A little more to the left. You didn't wipe that clean." "The vacuum cleaner is too loud. You're disturbing me." "Le Zhengyu, are you wiping the window or giving it a bath?"

Meanwhile, her two "prisoners," one high up on a ladder, worked away at the glass while muttering complaints under his breath. The other pushed the vacuum cleaner around the floor, his back radiating bitterness and helplessness.

The air was no longer filled with the pressure of soul power, but with a strange tension called "trying not to laugh."

After wiping one window, Le Zhengyu secretly turned to look back. The fading glow of the sunset streamed through the spotless floor-to-ceiling windows, falling across Gu Yue's profile. She had a faint frown on her face as she studied the Feather Duster in her hand with intense concentration, as though researching the ultimate mysteries of the universe. Her aloof temperament combined with that everyday household prop created a deadly kind of cuteness.

"Pfft..."

Le Zhengyu failed to hold it in again and let out a soft laugh.

"Le Zhengyu!"

Without even turning her head, Gu Yue flicked the Feather Duster back at him. It traced a graceful arc through the air and struck Le Zhengyu squarely on the butt. It was not hard, but the sound was crisp and loud.

"Ah!" Le Zhengyu jumped in place twice while clutching his butt. "I was wrong! I really was! I just thought... thought that when you get serious... you're especially... especially cute!"

The instant the word "cute" left his mouth, the entire world seemed to go silent for a second.

Gu Yue froze. Slowly, she turned around. A small storm seemed to be brewing in her cool eyes. She rose to her feet and walked toward Le Zhengyu step by step. Each step carried suffocatingly low pressure.

"Cute?" she repeated softly, a dangerous curve forming at the corner of her lips. "It seems the punishment I gave you earlier was not strong enough."

"Wait! Gu Yue! We can talk this out!" Le Zhengyu was scared out of his wits and nearly missed a step on the ladder.

Seeing his friend about to suffer a terrible fate, Tang Wulin could not bear it. He hurriedly raised the vacuum cleaner in front of himself and shouted, "Gu Yue! Listen to my explanation! This is all a misunderstanding! We were won over by your beauty and wisdom! Really! We admire you from the bottom of our hearts!"

Gu Yue stopped and looked at Tang Wulin, who wore the expression of someone bravely facing execution, then at Le Zhengyu, who was trembling behind the ladder.

In the end, she sighed helplessly. It was an extraordinarily long sigh, as though it blew away all the awkwardness and killing intent in the room.

"Enough. Stop acting. Did you two graduate from some drama academy?"

As for where that Feather Duster eventually went, Tang Wulin later recalled that he seemed to have seen Gu Yue store it in a spatial soul tool while muttering, "Keep it. It can still be useful during the next big cleaning."

From then on, the house gained an "artifact for guarding the home" that struck fear into everyone who heard of it.