Lin Fan stood silently as the elders conferred among themselves.
Though his earlier display of humility had softened their judgment slightly, there was still no escaping consequence.
"Your punishment," one elder finally declared:
"Is to carry a weighted boulder—no less than your body weight—up and down this mountain one hundred times. Without Qi."
The gasps from the disciples were immediate.
That kind of punishment would take an entire day, maybe more.
It wasn't just exhausting—it was humiliating. Tedious. Public.
'What the fuck…?' Lin Fan's shoulders slumped for a brief moment.
A flicker of regret crossed his face. He nodded without protest, bowed again, and turned to walk away.
At first, shame clung to him like dust.
He imagined the laughter behind his back, the whispers of "useless" and "hopeless" that always followed him like shadows.
But as he walked away, his eyes caught sight of her—her.
The same girl he had followed through the forest.
