Isolation measures

"You dared to hit me?!" Xiao Yan let out a beastlike growl. His eyes, bloodshot from staying up late and seething with rage, fixed on Xiao Yi. He bent down, scooped up two handfuls of wet dirt, and charged at him! He moved so fast that he stirred up a little whirlwind, splattering mud even onto the bamboo leaves nearby.

"Holy shit! You're serious!" Xiao Yi yelped. Seeing Xiao Yan bearing down on him, he instinctively tried to dodge. But he had only just changed into his new clothes and was still moving a little stiffly. That, coupled with his surprise at Xiao Yan's violent reaction, made him stumble. He barely avoided the head-on collision, only for Xiao Yan to seize his arm.

"My new clothes!!" Xiao Yi let out a heartbroken howl as he watched Xiao Yan's mud-covered palm press against his brand-new sleeve, leaving a perfectly distinct muddy handprint. That hurt him more than a slap to the face! This was the first decent outfit he had owned since coming to this world!

Xiao Yan could not have cared less about clothes right then. His humiliation and fury left him wanting nothing but to pin this fellow-who had appeared out of nowhere and struck him-to the ground and grind him into it! With Xiao Yi off balance, the two immediately tumbled into a tangled heap. They picked up dust all over the clean flagstones, then soon rolled onto the dirt beside them, turning into a pair of mud monkeys.

"You just won't quit, will you!" Xiao Yi could feel that his hair had come undone too. His face and neck were covered in mud, and his new clothes were a miserable sight. Anger rushed straight to his head. Watching Xiao Yan still clawing and scratching at him, he decided that since the pot was already cracked, he might as well smash it completely. He grabbed a fistful of mud from the ground. "Take this! Tathagata Divine Palm!" With that roar, he mercilessly plastered the mud across Xiao Yan's face.

And so, an utterly childish and chaotic mud battle unfolded in a once elegant, tranquil courtyard of the Xiao Clan. The two boys rolled and wrestled on the ground, spouting all manner of incomprehensible curses and cries of pain. Dust billowed and mud flew everywhere, making the scene briefly look quite "brutal."

Xun'er stood several meters away, watching the two wrestling "mud men," now indistinguishable from each other, with a complicated expression on her little face. She worried that Brother Xiao Yan might get the worst of it, but she also found the sight before her just... too filthy. Knitting her delicate brows, she carefully retreated another two steps to ensure that her spotless skirt would not get caught in the crossfire.

The mud battle finally ended with both sides utterly exhausted and stripped of all dignity. The courtyard was a mess, with specks of mud staining the once graceful bamboo, stone table, and stone stools. Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi drew apart in mutual disgust, walked over to the well in the corner, and began clumsily washing the grime off themselves.

The icy well water splashed over their faces and dispelled a little of their anger, but their arguing did not let up in the slightest. "You beast! You're already up to no good at your age, doing that sort of thing to little sister Xun'er!" Xiao Yi berated him relentlessly while laboriously scrubbing the nearly dried mud from his face. He was now convinced that he had uncovered a "scandal."

Xiao Yan was just as bedraggled, and those words made his anger flare even higher. He splashed water hard into Xiao Yi's face. "Pah! You don't know shit! I was helping Xun'er nourish her meridians! Stop spewing bloody slander. I think you're just jealous!"

Xun'er approached with a clean handkerchief, intending to wipe Xiao Yan's face. Hearing their argument, she could not help taking his side, frowning at Xiao Yi. "Exactly! Brother Xiao Yan isn't anything like you say! Besides, what do things between Brother Xiao Yan and me have to do with you? Who besides you would interfere?"

"I would."

A low voice, devoid of emotion, sounded behind the three of them like a phantom, carrying unquestionable authority. All three froze, then whipped around.

Ling Ying had silently appeared behind them at some point. Dressed entirely in black, his face expressionless and his gaze sharp as a hawk's, he regarded them coldly-Xiao Yan and Xun'er in particular.

His gaze lingered on the two for a moment, his tone level but chilling. "Nourishing her meridians may have been well-intentioned, but men and women must observe proper boundaries. This must not happen again. From today onward, until the young master can prove his innocence, the young lady should return to her own courtyard and refrain from coming here."

After speaking, he cast a pointed glance at Xiao Yan. Clearly, he had heard Xiao Yi's "accusations" and Xun'er's "defense" and reached his own conclusion.

"Elder Ling?!" Xun'er exclaimed, reluctance written all over her face. "But Brother Xiao Yan, he..."

"Young lady, please." Ling Ying cut her off. His tone remained even, yet brooked no resistance. Xun'er looked at his icy face, then at Xiao Yan's stunned and furious expression. In the end, she could only pout aggrievedly and follow Ling Ying out of the courtyard against her will, casting one last worried glance back at Xiao Yan before leaving.

Watching Xun'er being "forcibly" taken away reignited Xiao Yan's anger. This time, he laid every ounce of resentment at Xiao Yi's feet! If this bastard hadn't spouted all that nonsense, why would Elder Ling forbid Xun'er from coming here?! He spun around, his reddened eyes fixing on Xiao Yi, who was likewise rooted to the spot in shock, and roared, "This is all your fault! I'll fight you to the death!!"

Like a lion driven into a complete fury, Xiao Yan lunged again, grabbing Xiao Yi's only partially cleaned hair with both hands. "Holy shit! Again?!" The pulling made Xiao Yi's scalp tingle, and he flew into a rage too, reaching out to seize Xiao Yan's hair just as tightly.

"Can't win a fight, so you pull hair instead? You little brat! Someone found out about your dirty little business, and now you've cracked, haven't you? Humiliation turned to rage, huh?!"

The two tangled together again, this time in a pure tug-of-war over their hair. The scene was even more chaotic than the mud battle.

"F- your whole damn ancestral line!" Xiao Yan bared his teeth in pain, but his hands did not yield an inch. He yanked hard on Xiao Yi's hair, trying to force him to the ground.

"Let go, damn you! You little punk!" Xiao Yi felt as though his scalp was about to be ripped off. His other hand clamped desperately onto Xiao Yan's hair as well. They were like two fighting cocks with blood in their eyes, neither willing to let go first.

"That's for sticking your nose in! That's for getting Xun'er taken away!" Xiao Yan roared, driving his knee hard into Xiao Yi's lower abdomen.

Xiao Yi grunted, feeling a vicious blaze surge straight into his dantian, and abruptly bellowed, "Behold my ultimate technique! Monkey Steals the Peach!" Taking advantage of the instant when Xiao Yan's previous force was spent and his next had yet to rise, his right hand shot down like lightning, grabbing precisely and forcefully between Xiao Yan's legs!

"AOOOW-!!!"

A scream so piercing it could have split eardrums rang up into the clouds. Xiao Yan instantly curled like a shrimp, every trace of color draining from his face. His eyes bulged so far they nearly popped out of their sockets. He instinctively released Xiao Yi's hair and covered his vulnerable parts, trembling all over with pain. He lacked even the strength to curse and could only make hoarse, gasping sounds.

"Heh, now you know how tough I am!" Xiao Yi shook his hand smugly. Though plenty of his own hair had been pulled out, seeing Xiao Yan's miserable state instantly made it feel worthwhile.

Yet his triumph lasted only a few seconds before Xiao Yan, whose agony had eased slightly, abruptly raised his head. Destructive fury burned in his bloodshot eyes as he howled, "Immortal Plucks the Bean!"

In an almost instinctive counterattack, Xiao Yan's fingers shot out with the speed of a thunderclap that left no time to cover one's ears. They unerringly pinched Xiao Yi's chest, then twisted viciously!

"Mother fucker!!!"

Xiao Yi instantly felt an indescribable agony, accompanied by an intense tingling itch, shoot straight into his brain, forcing him to blurt out a foreign curse! That sensation was excruciatingly sharp!

Xiao Yan kept twisting hard as he cursed, "You foreign devil! Even your swearing in a fight is in a foreign language!"

At the words "foreign devil," Xiao Yi reached back and clamped down on both of Xiao Yan's hands. "I studied abroad and learned foreign languages! Did you? You country bumpkin!"

"Pah! Studied abroad? More like you were a foreigner's lapdog, you traitorous lackey!" Xiao Yan cursed back without giving an inch. The pain in his crotch and the fury in his chest intertwined, leaving him wanting only to tear this hateful bastard apart. They glared at one another, both injured and panting heavily, neither conceding to the other as all manner of otherworldly profanity spilled from their mouths.