𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓━━━J. Cheng

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝘄𝗼

002—Punished and Scolded

When the other disciples had come back, [First Name] had already calmed down from the panic after feeling such an unknown emotion. Hearing the other girl's gasps and upset complaints, [First Name] peaked outside through her window.

"Why did nobody bring our sheets back? It's all drenched! We don't have enough spares for everyone!"

"Was nobody here earlier?"

"No, I'm pretty sure that somebody stayed behind for today's night hunt."

"..."

There was silence in between the girls for a moment. And then, quickly noticing that they were about to turn around and look towards her window, [First Name] suddenly crouched down and instinctively placed her hands on her mouth, despite knowing that they wouldn't hear any noise she makes anyway, given the distance.

"... Let's just ask the senior for some spares from other buildings." the other girls nodded in agreement, not wanting to further the problem since it's related to [First Name], of all people. After hearing their footsteps moving away, [First Name] separated her hands from her lips, sighing softly. "There was no need to hide though..." she muttered, questioning her past actions. She stood up and looked outside once again, breathing in the fresh air of the Cloud Recesses in silence.

"They avoided me first and now I'm the one avoiding them?" she mockingly sneered at herself. Waiting for nothing, [First Name] nonchalantly gazes at the peaceful moon among the spread of clouds. "This Is getting awkward..." Although the seniors still continued to talk to her, it was only during her report after her night hunts, or when they scolded her for disobeying some rules. The same as always. Except, they started getting stricter at the same time the other girls started ignoring her. So, she ended up guessing that the seniors must've told them something like, 

'Ignore her for a while.' or 'Don't play along with her antics.'

Or maybe worse, they also got punished because of the troubles she caused. If that's the case, [First Name] completely accepts that it is indeed her fault and she can't blame them at all. However, she doesn't know if that's really the case. Thus, she could only act like this. 

A light yawn unknowingly left her lips and suddenly felt sleepy. "..." No matter how unruly [First Name] is, living in Cloud Recesses since birth did make her sleeping schedule similar to the others. She decided to take off her outer robe and loosened her sash as well. She simply left the clan's forehead ribbon on her head. She didn't waste any more time and threw herself in her bamboo bed.

For another few minutes, [First Name] stared blankly at the ceiling before muttering, "My room feels lonely now." Before the precise sleeping time came, she would invite some disciples to talk with her for a while. Any topic was fine, though, it was mostly about their night hunts. 

Suddenly, she shook her head. 'Enough of this, I should sleep.'

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After bowing and greeting the elder, [First Name] raised her head and left her hands on both of her sides, waiting for the older woman to speak. She is one of the elders in charge of the female cultivator's education, similar to Lan Qiren in the males. Her scary stern gaze was focused on [First Name] who showed indifference. Years of getting herself in this kind of situation helped her get used to this. 

"Lan [First Name], you were left behind from yesterday's night hunt since you were in charge of taking care of the building. Of course, the laundry was included in your tasks, however, what did you do when it rained yesterday?" the elder raised her head a bit and continued, "You neglected your duty and caused inconvenience to your peers. They had to ask the other building for spare sheets and blankets."

'Oh. They went for night hunts.' She forgot again. Before, the others would tell her if they had night hunts and would remind her to do her tasks when she was in charge for the day. She paused for a moment, mentally laughing at herself. She remembered that she was to take care of the building yesterday morning. But probably at some point during the day, she forgot.

Realizing that she hadn't given an answer yet, she proceeded to do so. She bowed her head again, "My apologies. This disciple forgot." 

Her head was down and she could hear the heavy sigh from the elder. "How can you and your father be so different... Causing troubles here and there, now I have to discuss this with Elder Qiren... again." With her head down, the older woman couldn't see the impish smile on [First Name]'s lips. 

"Enough. Copy Righteousness twice and reflect on your actions. Because the other disciple's blankets and sheets were drenched and muddied, go clean them by yourself and have them dry out before the others come back from their night hunts."

Hearing this, [First Name] hesitated for a moment before raising her head and replied with a nod, "I understand."

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[First Name] stared at the pile of sheets and blankets right in front of her door with a nonchalant gaze. "Well... How thoughtful, they even delivered these themselves to me." she chuckled. After taking a deep breath, {First Name] pulled her loose sleeves up and picked up the large pile of white sheets all at once. It was a lot, of course. There are over thirty other residents in the building she stays in. However, carrying all of these was no big deal. Well, it is indeed a bit heavy but [First Name] does take pride in her unparalleled strength. 

Not wanting to waste any more time, [First Name] went outside and did her punishment. 

With the number of sheets and blankets tasked to wash, [First Name] used up all her time in the morning and noon, and only finished cleaning early in the afternoon. Rubbing her hands with a handkerchief, [First Name] stared proudly at her work. Since it's quite sunny and would be most likely windy in the evening, these would dry before the disciples arrive back.

Placing her handkerchief back to the space inside her sleeves, she then looked down at her hands. It's all red. [First Name] simply shrugs and paid it no mind, heading back to her room to prepare the papers, ink, and brushes so that she could write later after dinner. Though, recalling something, she stopped for a moment to think. "Oh right..."

She used her copies of Righteousness to lure out the ghosts by burning them during her previous night hunt. Since she had nobody to ask for copies in the building because of the other disciples' recent odd behavior towards her, she pondered for a while. 

And then she nods to herself. "Alright, I'll go ask him."

ehe

Published: December 20, 2021