Zhu Yanyi looked up at the sky. "Since that is the case, shall we go to the herb field now? I haven't sparred with anyone in a while. It would be good to have a proper match."
She picked up a tomato and stood up.
"Let's go together," Ouyang Tianyun said. "We’ll drive the intruders away, then come back for our meal."
The herb field was the foundation of the Saint Academy. Every student cherished it deeply. Zhu Yanyi would never allow anyone to disrespect or damage what grew there.
"Let’s go take a look," Sikong Xuran added.
The group set off together. As they neared the herb field, Zhu Yanyi smiled. "By the way, when I start fighting, please don’t say anything. Just watch."
"Exactly," Ouyang Tianyun understood immediately. "We are here to check on our herb field, but we found thieves instead. Teaching them a lesson is only right."
Sikong Xuran laughed heartily. "That’s right. Yunfei, come out. We four have just returned. Who knows if some strangers came to the academy to learn?"
The others finally realized the plan. These four intended to create a time gap. Since they didn’t know who these people were, they would treat them as thieves. There was no need to be gentle with thieves; beating them up was perfectly acceptable.
Zhu Yanyi walked into her section of the herb field. Seeing the damage, a pang of heartache struck her. Many of her herbs had been destroyed. It wasn’t just her plot; Sikong Xuran’s, Yi Yunfei’s, and Ouyang Tianyun’s fields were ruined too.
They had already decided to teach these people a lesson. Seeing their fields trampled made that decision even firmer.
"When do they usually come?" Zhu Yanyi asked Gu Jun casually.
Gu Jun looked around and pointed to a group approaching in the distance. "They are here. Those four ahead are them."
Zhu Yanyi’s clear eyes swept over them. Four young men approached, wearing Shangmo Academy uniforms. They looked like spoiled brats.
Zhu Yanyi ignored their appearance. She watched as they stepped into the herb field and began picking herbs as if they owned the place. Her mood soured instantly, and anger rose within her.
"Who gave you the right to pick my herbs?" Zhu Yanyi asked. Her voice was calm, but the hidden fury in her eyes threatened to destroy them.
Yes, they were picking from Zhu Yanyi’s plot.
The four men paused, looking at her. One of them, acting particularly flirtatious, sneered, "Oh, a little girl. Is this your herb field? It belongs to me now."
"Who are you calling 'me'?" Zhu Yanyi flashed forward, landing a punch squarely on the man’s left eye. She was sent flying instantly. She had not held back, fueled by her anger.
"You… Do you know who I am? You dare hit me? Do you want to die?" The man clutched his eye, his face twisted in pain.
"You are so arrogant on my territory. It seems your other eye is still good. The lesson isn’t enough yet. Fairness requires balance." She moved in and punched her other eye, giving her matching panda eyes. The symmetry was almost comical.
Zhu Yanyi finished, her face calm. "Now, tell me again. Who are you calling 'me'?"
"You little girl, daring to hit me! I’ll fight you!" The man squinted, trying to gather magic elements.
Zhu Yanyi punched her again, disrupting her magic. "You call yourself 'my master'? You don’t deserve it. I’ve never met anyone who dared call themselves 'my master' in front of me. What are you? You dare call yourself my master? I’ll make you call yourself my master."
She punched her with every sentence. As a doctor, she knew where the nerves were most sensitive. She aimed for the spots that caused the most pain, punch after punch.
"You girl, bastard, jerk! I’ll curse your ancestors! I am your ancestor!" The man shouted insults, which eventually turned into, "Ouch! It hurts! Little ancestor, little auntie! You are my ancestor! You are my grandma! I won’t dare again! Please stop! It hurts!"
"You think it hurts now? I haven’t even finished beating you yet. Come on, let’s continue. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you." Zhu Yanyi beat her thoroughly before speaking seriously. "Tell me, how much compensation do you plan to pay me?"
The man felt her ears ringing. she was beaten to a pulp, yet she was asking for compensation? "A… Auntie, l… little ancestor, I’ve been beaten… like this, and you still want compensation?"
"Beating you is for taking things without asking. That is theft.
Our Saint Academy is kind and open-minded, so we absolutely do not allow theft. Therefore, such behavior is forbidden. I am punishing you, but that is separate from compensation.
While I was away, how many rare herbs did you steal? How many precious medicines did you damage? Shouldn’t you pay for that?"
Zhu Yanyi spoke firmly, as if her logic was undeniable.
"Exactly, exactly. Junior Sister Yanyi is right," Sikong Xuran said, cracking his knuckles. He called out to Yi Yunfei and Ouyang Tianyun. "Junior Brother Yunfei, Junior Brother Tianyun, come help. Since they came together, it’s unfair for Junior Sister Yanyi to handle them all. Let’s split them up. One each. Let’s teach them a lesson."
"Agreed," Yi Yunfei and Ouyang Tianyun said in unison. They turned to the other three, who were already terrified, and attacked.
Thwack! Thud! They beat them up happily, targeting sensitive nerve points. It was a very satisfying method.
Others, like Gu Jun, looked at the sky, the ground, and the nearby herbs, pretending not to see the beating.
After the beating, Ouyang Tianyun tossed the man aside, clapped his hands, and brushed off imaginary dust. "Junior Sister Yanyi, how should we calculate the compensation from them?"