Ouyang Tianyun realized she couldn’t fool Zhu Yanyi any further. She sighed and said, "Alright, this is truly Master Xu’s intention. The truth is, they wanted to scheme against someone, but since they’ve stayed in the Punishment Hall for so long, they only know how to act, not how to speak. So, Master Xu hopes you will step in to help settle this."
Zhu Yanyi listened and replied, "That sounds a bit more truthful. What kind of person is Qiu Zheng?"
Hearing this, Ouyang Tianyun knew Zhu Yanyi was willing to help. She explained, "Qiu Zheng is quite stubborn. She wouldn’t do evil, but she is too good to her family. For example, she treats Qiu Qi like that. As long as Qiu Qi is happy, she will do anything. That is why Qiu Qi has such a personality."
Zhu Yanyi tilted her head, listened carefully, and after a moment of thought, said, "Let’s go. Since that’s the case, let’s go meet this Qiu Zheng properly."
When Ouyang Tianyun and Zhu Yanyi arrived at the Punishment Hall, Qiu Zheng had not yet arrived. Xu Xingtian saw them and hurriedly greeted, "You siblings are here. Come quickly. We’ll be relying on you soon."
"I’m no good at this," Ouyang Tianyun said with a smile. "That’s why I brought food. Uncle Xu, you’ll have to rely on our Fifteen."
"Fifteen, this time we really need you," Xu Xingtian said seriously. "We are a group of rough men in the Punishment Hall. We don’t know how to speak well, so we don’t know how to face the people from the other side. Only you can handle this."
Zhu Yanyi looked at Xu Xingtian. "Uncle Xu, relying on me is fine. I just want to ask, what benefits will I get if I help you?"
"Like this: for every successful fine negotiation, if the amount exceeds five hundred high-grade spirit stones, I will give you one extra credit point for each additional stone. How about that?" Xu Xingtian proposed.
"So little?" Zhu Yanyi said directly. "Five hundred high-grade spirit stones equal five thousand mid-grade, or fifty thousand low-grade. That’s quite a lot, even if it’s only fifty top-grade stones. And you only give me one credit point for each extra high-grade stone? That’s too little."
"How much do you want?" Xu Xingtian was speechless and asked.
Zhu Yanyi smiled mischievously. "I don’t want much. Just five points for each stone."
Xu Xingtian looked at Zhu Yanyi. "You are robbing me."
"Then you can do it yourself," Zhu Yanyi tilted her head, looking unconcerned.
"Fine, five points it is," Xu Xingtian thought for a moment and gave up. Her eloquence was no match for Zhu Yanyi’s. A few more credit points didn’t matter.
Ouyang Tianyun, standing nearby, gave Zhu Yanyi a thumbs-up. Indeed, she was her junior sister. This move was clever. It wasn’t easy to earn credit points usually. Daily credit points were hard to get. One needed specific contributions, such as growing more herbs than others, creating new planting methods, or refining pills that others couldn’t. That was how one earned credit points.
Zhu Yanyi’s method of earning credit points was quite good. Not needing credit points now didn’t mean she wouldn’t need them in the future.
Zhu Yanyi smiled and said, "Then it’s settled."
"Alright, I know. It’s just credit points. As long as you get as many fines as possible, the credit points are a small matter," Xu Xingtian promised generously.
"What if the Dean disagrees?" Zhu Yanyi continued to dig a trap.
"Don’t worry, the Dean will definitely agree. Leave that to me. As long as you get more fines, it’s fine," Xu Xingtian patted his chest to guarantee. Compared to credit points, he cared more about spirit stones.
"Okay," Zhu Yanyi made a reluctant expression, then nodded seriously. "Since that’s the case, I’ll try."
"Yes, we cultivators should be bold and step up," Xu Xingtian seemed to have time for idle chat now.
"Why don’t you do it? You are a cultivator too," Zhu Yanyi looked at Xu Xingtian with a smile.
Xu Xingtian paused, then said, "I’ll skip it. You do it yourself."
Zhu Yanyi glanced at Xu Xingtian. She was clearly doing this on purpose, but for the sake of credit points, she wouldn’t argue with her.
The Punishment Hall member who received Qiu Zheng led him in and left. Xu Xingtian looked at Qiu Zheng and said, "Family Head Qiu, we meet again."
Qiu Zheng smiled bitterly. "Hall Master Xu, let’s skip the pleasantries. Just tell me, what must I do to take my brother away?"
Xu Xingtian shrugged slightly. "Family Head Qiu, it’s not that I won’t help. The victim is our student. Look, this student, Zhu Yanyi, is here as a representative. Talk to her. As long as you reach an agreement, I have no objections." Xu Xingtian acted as if she were very easy to talk to.
Qiu Zheng observed Zhu Yanyi. Seeing she was a girl around twenty years old, she felt slightly relieved. As long as she wasn’t one of those hundred-year-old monsters, she would be easier to deal with. She coughed lightly and said to Zhu Yanyi, "How should I address you, student?"
Zhu Yanyi smiled lightly. "I just came to the academy. Among the students, senior brothers and sisters call me Fifteen. My name is Zhu Yanyi. You can call me Zhu Fifteen, or Miss Zhu."
"Then I’ll call you Miss Zhu?" Qiu Zheng said seriously.
"That’s fine too," Zhu Yanyi said with a serious expression. "You can just call me that."
"Good." Qiu Zheng nodded slightly. "Then, Miss Zhu, I apologize first for my younger brother bullying you. I hope you won’t mind because he is young and doesn’t understand things."
"That’s not right," Zhu Yanyi blinked, ignoring the trap in Qiu Zheng’s words. "How old is your brother this year?"
"He is one hundred and fifty-seven years old," Qiu Zheng said seriously.
"But I am only twenty-two years old. I’m not even half his age. It’s wrong to say he is young in front of me. No matter what, I think he is much older than me."
Zhu Yanyi pointed out the problem in Qiu Zheng’s statement seriously, then continued, "So, your reason that she is young and doesn’t understand things doesn’t hold up. Besides, in my hometown, 'young' usually refers to those under sixteen. We call them children or juveniles. From sixteen to eighteen is a transition period, called minors, meaning they are a bit older than juveniles and growing up. Over eighteen is called adults. Once you are an adult, you are responsible for your own actions and bear legal responsibility."
Zhu Yanyi looked at Qiu Zheng strangely. "In my hometown, people over eighteen must bear any legal responsibility. If the mistake is minor, education is the main approach, though occasional fines may apply. If the situation is serious, it’s troublesome. They will be sentenced to prison. So, I absolutely do not admit that one hundred and fifty-seven years old is still 'young'. No one is younger than me, right?"