Rewards and Punishments

Sang Ying was trapped in a nightmare.

In her dream, she still couldn't protect Jimo Residence, and Feng Ji and his group forced their way in.

In the end, no one in the entire Jimo Residence survived, and even he himself was beheaded by Feng Ji and his head was hung in front of the Rizhao City gate.

Even so, she did not die, and could even hear the discussions of people coming and going below the city gate.

"Is she really alright? Why hasn't she woken up yet?" It was a man's voice, which sounded somewhat unfamiliar.

"The healer already said she's just exhausted and will be fine after a little rest. You insisted on disturbing her, so naturally she can't rest properly," another person said.

Upon hearing this, Sang Ying sensed that something was amiss.

But soon, a third voice rang out. "Why are you two so close together? You're blocking my way!"

"Tch!" The first person to speak scoffed. "So what if I'm blocking your way? I saved her; I should be allowed to look at her more."

The man was met with two crisp "Pah!"s.

Sang Ying frowned, her consciousness slowly returning.

"What are you three doing? Get out of the way and stop disturbing your sister!" This time it was a woman who spoke, and Sang Ying found her voice somewhat familiar.

The heavy eyelids were slowly opened, and a faint light shone into the eyes.

Sang Ying's vision quickly cleared, and three handsome faces simultaneously entered her field of vision, startling her.

She instinctively reached for her sword, but her hand missed its mark.

Before Sang Ying could even make a move, another familiar face squeezed in. She immediately recognized it as Fu Yinqiu.

"Sang Ying, you're finally awake!" Fu Yinqiu was overjoyed. With a forceful movement, she pushed the other three aside and then slowly sat down beside Sang Ying's bed.

Sang Ying sat up with Fu Yinqiu's help, but her gaze remained fixed on the group of unfamiliar men.

"Madam, what's going on? Has the crisis in Rizhao City been resolved?" Seeing Fu Yinqiu's smiling face, Sang Ying guessed that Rizhao City should be fine now, but she still asked.

Sure enough, the other party immediately laughed and said, "Don't worry, Rizhao City is safe now. Not only is it safe, but the patriarch and your elder brother have also returned safely!"

Sang Ying's eyes lit up instantly. "They're all alright?!"

Fu Yinqiu nodded heavily, giving Sang Ying an affirmative answer.

Seeing this, Sang Ying finally felt relieved.

Heaven knows how panicked she was when she heard about the accident involving the Jimo Household head. If it weren't for her promise to the Jimo Household head, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long.

Seeing Sang Ying's relieved expression, Fu Yinqiu's eyes softened even more. "You deserve the most credit for the defense of Rizhao City. You have done so much for our Jimo Household, we truly don't know how to thank you enough."

If in the past she only felt a fondness for a beautiful and kind girl like Sang Ying because she lacked a daughter, now she genuinely wants to treat her like a daughter.

Not because of her talent, nor because of her future extraordinary achievements, but simply because of this person.

Fu Yinqiu gently held Sang Ying's hand, feeling the rough calluses on her palm. "You should rest well. After a few days when you've recovered, we can discuss this matter in detail."

When that time comes, she will surely persuade Sang Ying to agree to become her godparent!

Fu Yinqiu thought to herself, but didn't show it on her face.

Sang Ying looked up at the three slightly reserved people in front of her again. She could tell that they seemed very interested in her, but Sang Ying still didn't speak up. Instead, she lay back down as Fu Yinqiu suggested.

She is indeed exhausted right now; she can worry about all the trivial matters once she has recovered.

With that thought in mind, Sang Ying soon fell into a deep sleep to Fu Yinqiu's soft whispers.

Seeing that Sang Ying was asleep peacefully, Fu Yinqiu quietly led her three nephews out the door.

After leaving Sang Ying's courtyard, Fu Yinqiu's previously smiling face immediately fell, "What's wrong with the three of you? You sneaked off to see Sang Ying without telling me, and even disturbed her recovery!"

"Although we cultivators don't place much emphasis on the separation of men and women, Sang Ying is, after all, a young woman. Is it appropriate for you to barge in like this?!"

Fu Yinqiu frowned slightly, and with one word, she scolded the three youths so badly they couldn't lift their heads.

The three of them were prominent figures in the outside world, and others would praise and flatter them endlessly when they met them. But when they were with Fu Yinqiu, they were as obedient as lambs.

As the eldest of the three, Jimo Xuan was the first to be severely reprimanded. At the end, Fu Yinqiu added, "The three of you will kneel in the ancestral hall today, and you are not allowed to get up without my permission!"

Jimo Bai wanted to argue a bit more, saying that it wasn't his own initiative, and that he only followed the two brothers after seeing them run towards Sang Ying's courtyard, fearing that something might happen to his sister.

But before he could utter a word in his defense, the two people beside him covered his mouth.

"Don't worry, Madam, we will accept the punishment obediently and will never do such a reckless thing again!" Jimo Xuan quickly agreed.

Seeing that the three were relatively cooperative, Fu Yinqiu let them off the hook.

After watching the three of them enter the ancestral hall and kneel down, Fu Yinqiu turned and headed towards the study of the Jimo Household head.

At this moment, all the influential figures of the Jimo Household had gathered here, waiting for the arrival of the family head's wife.

After Fu Yinqiu sat down in the chair next to Jimo Duange, everyone began to speak.

The first to speak was naturally Jimo Duange: "The battle a few days ago was the greatest ordeal our Jimo Household has faced in thousands of years. This calamity was caused by evil people, but it was also the fault of our Jimo Household's long-standing stagnation."

Upon hearing the words of the Jimo Household leader, many people present silently lowered their heads.

Jimo Qing had noticed something was wrong early on and had advised everyone to change course, saying that it didn't matter if the journey to Eternal Night City took longer.

However, relying on their status as elders in the family, they ignored the advice of the family head and his son and insisted on driving the flying boat in, forcing the family head and his son to chase after them to rescue them.

Therefore, everyone was trapped by Feng Ji's strange magical Law Artifact, which almost led to the destruction of Rizhao City.

The other group remembered that it was they who persuaded the head of the Jimo Household to stay Jimo Hong, who had brought disaster to the Jimo Household.

Without him, the secret of Myriad Phenomena Mountain would probably have been discovered long ago, and Rizhao City would not have suffered such a disaster.

These elders were usually extremely proud, and it was rare to see them looking so dejected. Jimo Qing, sitting to the side, was quite surprised to see this.

If it could make them reflect on their actions, Jimo Qing felt that this crisis wasn't entirely without benefit.

"No one needs to blame everything on themselves. As the head of the Jimo Household, I also bear an unshirkable responsibility for the calamity that befell the family. Fortunately, my daughter Jimo Zanxing, fought desperately to defend the city, and the three younger members of the family returned to provide timely assistance, which prevented a major disaster from taking place."

He paused, then continued, "Therefore, these four should be credited with the greatest merit. Does anyone have any objections?"

Upon hearing the patriarch emphasize "Jimo Zanxing," many who knew the inside story wanted to speak. However, they hesitated when they thought of how this person, someone they had only met briefly, had risked his life to defend the city for them.

Even the most rigid person couldn't utter a single "no" and could only silently accept Sang Ying's identity as the "eldest daughter of the Jimo Household."

Seeing their attitude, the head of the Jimo Household finally managed to show a satisfied expression.

"Now that we've discussed rewards, let's talk about punishments!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the study door was pushed open again, and this time the butler and Jimo Hong, whom he had firmly restrained, appeared behind the door.

A note from the author:

Once the revisions are finished, I'll definitely resume updating three times a week as soon as possible! There might even be extra chapters!

This is my first time writing a long post. Thank you everyone for your continued support. I will continue to work hard! (Holding Wings JPG)

See you all tomorrow!