The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 483 Punished

"Big brother, I was wrong. I'll never do it again."

Realizing he had made a mistake, Bai Yunchi took the initiative to admit his error before Shen Yiyang could reprimand him.

Looking at Bai Yunchi, who was showing a good attitude in admitting his mistake, Shen Yiyang couldn't help but sigh. This kid is always like this.

He never makes excuses or tries to absolve himself of his mistakes. He is always quick and has a good attitude in admitting his mistakes, but this does not guarantee that he will repeat the same mistake next time.

"Since you know you've done something wrong, you should be punished. You're not allowed to leave the house for a month. Stay home and study to reflect on your mistakes."

Shen Yiyang is increasingly behaving like an elder brother towards his younger brother in front of Bai Yunchi.

He knew that no punishment would actually work on Bai Yunchi. The only way to ensure that he would not get into trouble in Nan Chu was to keep him by his side and prevent him from leaving.

"No."

Upon hearing Shen Yiyang's punishment of him, Bai Yunchi immediately became anxious.

"Big brother, punish me for something else. It's absolutely not okay for me to stay indoors for a month."

"My trip today wasn't entirely fruitless. I ran into one of He Chen's little lackeys in the market."

"That man's name is Lao Yu, and he has been working for He Chen for many years."

“We used to see each other quite often when we were in Beijing.”

"Although I didn't greet him, I'm sure he saw me."

“After he goes back, he will definitely tell He Chen about running into me in the market.”

"Even if He Chen is unwilling to meet me, this old man can still be used."

“We’ll use him to get close to He Chen and get him to work for us. That way, we can know about any moves He Chen makes immediately.”

"If I am grounded, then this matter cannot be accomplished."

Shen Yiyang looked up at Bai Yunchi and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. This kid really could drive a person crazy.

In an instant, he suddenly felt a little sorry for Bai Qishan.

Having such a rebellious son must have been quite a burden for Bai Qishan. No wonder he sighed and shook his head whenever he mentioned his son back then.

Bai Yunchi said he would punish him in any way except for confinement, but the situation was clear: Shen Yiyang could not do anything to Bai Yunchi.

Bai Yunchi was going to go out to lure that old man into a trap and set up a plan around He Chen. He was so busy that he was afraid his feet wouldn't even touch the ground. How could he possibly have time to accept punishment?

That kid is incredibly cunning; he would never do anything that would put him at a disadvantage.

Bai Yunchi felt a chill run down his spine under Shen Yiyang's gaze. At this moment, he felt like a weak and innocent prey in front of a ferocious beast, waiting for his fate to pronounce its judgment.

"Big brother, what's wrong?"

Looking at Shen Yiyang, Bai Yunchi, unusually, couldn't even speak properly.

Shen Yiyang turned his head away, avoiding looking at Bai Yunchi. He was afraid that if he looked at the kid any longer, he would get sick from anger.

"Alright, I won't restrict your movements, and you can come and go freely, but you must read every single book every day."

"I'll select the books later and have someone send them to you."

"I will set rules for which book you will read each day and how much you will read."

"You not only have to read these books, but after you finish reading them, you also have to write down your thoughts and feelings. I will check them."

Shen Yiyang's punishment was even more painful for him than killing Bai Yunchi.

Reading is the thing Bai Yunchi fears most.

In his words, his father was a rough man who could hardly read a word, and he completely inherited his father's rough nature, having no talent for studying at all.

Asking him to calm down and study properly is simply asking him to do something difficult.

As expected, Bai Yunchi jumped up to object as soon as Shen Yiyang finished speaking.

"Brother, please change the punishment. I can't study, and I don't know how to study. Studying will kill me."

Shen Yiyang didn't even glance at Bai Yunchi; that kid just needed to be taught a lesson.

Despite being born into a prestigious family, he is an ignorant and incompetent fool who dislikes reading.

It's fine to be martial, but you can't be a good-for-nothing who only knows how to punch people but has an empty head.

"No, this matter is not negotiable."

"You either stay home for a month or obey me and do as I say. There is no other option."

Shen Yiyang wouldn't tolerate Bai Yunchi acting like he always did, resorting to whining and throwing tantrums to get things done whenever he didn't want to.

Seeing Shen Yiyang's unmoved attitude, Bai Yunchi was about to collapse. It was impossible for him to stay indoors for a month, but it was also absolutely impossible for him to study.

"Big brother, big brother, I..."

"You have no other choice. If you say another word, you'll have to continue your studies, but you won't be allowed to leave the house!"

Shen Yiyang rejected Bai Yunchi's request without hesitation.

"Choose one. Once you've chosen, you can go out to take a shower and change into some clean clothes."

Seeing that Shen Yiyang was unmoved by reason and wouldn't listen to his pleas, Bai Yunchi hesitated for a moment before finally making up his mind.

"Okay, I choose to read books."

"But as you know, brother, I'm not very literate, so I probably won't be able to understand those books."

"Don't blame me if I don't read it well."

Since there's no other choice, the natural thing to do is to choose the one that will cause the least harm to yourself.

If he is confined to his home for a month and cannot leave the house, wouldn't all his previous efforts and the beating he suffered today have been in vain?

He's the kind of person who'll eat anything, but he never suffers a loss.

"It's okay, as long as you study, I'll find you a tutor who can also be your study companion."

"If there's anything you don't understand or don't get clear from reading it, you can ask him."

Shen Yiyang's words shattered Bai Yunchi's illusion that he could get away with just studying.

It's okay if you don't read well, and it's not a problem if you don't understand something. Anyway, the teacher will be there to help you. He will tell you how to read and answer your questions.

Baiyunchi immediately wilted as if it had been hit by frost.

This time he really had nowhere to run; his good older brother had blocked all his paths.

He had no chance to cheat or shirk his duty.

Thinking back on the torment he suffered during his school days, Bai Yunchi really wanted to slap himself across the face.

I shouldn't have agreed to study so readily.

Looking at the listless Bai Yunchi, Shen Yiyang suppressed a laugh and asked, "By the way, what did you want to say when you came in?"

"Ah, oh."

Bai Yunchi almost forgot about the important matter after being scolded by Shen Yiyang.

"Brother, what I want to say is that the person who was following me is dead. I hid his body in the alley."

"The person who's been following me must be from Wan Chun Lou. I was thinking about whether I could throw this person's body back into Wan Chun Lou."

"Let me warn the people at Wanchunlou: don't mess with us lightly. If you provoke us, you'll pay the price."

Shen Yiyang lowered his head and pondered for a while before saying, "Okay, I'll have Yuyao go there in a bit. Just tell him the location."

"Alright, that's enough for today. Go take a shower and get some sleep."

"Starting tomorrow, you will read with your teacher in the evenings."

"Oh."

Unable to escape the cruel tricks of fate, Bai Yunchi left with his head hanging low.

Shen Yiyang watched Bai Yunchi leave before he finally laughed out loud. He had never seen this kid so humiliated before.

It seems he's found a way to control this kid.

This kid needs to be taught a lesson, made to suffer more setbacks, and tempered to curb his impulsive and impatient nature.

However, it must be said that this kid has made great progress in his work today. He didn't act on his own whims and even knew to come back and ask for my opinion first, which is already quite good.

Bai Yunchi went out and told Yu Yao where he had hidden the people, and also told her what Shen Yiyang meant. Then he went back to his room to take a bath in a huff.

Looking at Bai Yunchi, who was dejected and furious, Yu Yao knew that he had suffered a setback at the hands of his master.

Others may not know their master's temperament, but how could Yu Yao not know?

His master always had a smiling face and seemed never to get angry, but in fact, if he got serious, no one could beat him.

Even his own lord, when his master is being stubborn, has to give way to him.

In this world, the only person who could make his master submit was the eldest daughter of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion, who lived in the palace.

Following Bai Yunchi's directions, Yu Yao quickly found the body.

After finding the body, Yu Yao did not rush to drag it out. Instead, as Shen Yiyang had instructed, she threw it at the entrance of Wanchun Tower.

Instead, he had his men light torches and carefully examine the entire corpse.

The thick calluses on this person's left palm indicate that he is a left-handed swordsman.

The fact that such thick calluses can be worn on the hands indicates that this person is highly skilled in martial arts.

In addition, the man had a total of six stab wounds, but none of them were fatal.

In other words, this person did not die because Bai Yunchi stabbed him in a vital spot; there was another reason for his death.

Yu Yao pried open the man's mouth, and just as he had predicted, the man had been poisoned before Bai Yunchi finished him off with a fatal blow.

"This kid is getting weirder and weirder. He carries poisons with him wherever he goes, and they seem to work quite well no matter what."

"If it weren't for those poisons, he would probably be dead today."

"Boss, what do we do with this guy?"

The person who came with Yu Yao pointed to the corpse on the ground and asked.

"As you instructed, throw it at the entrance of Wanchun Tower."

Yu Yao gave the instructions while washing her hands with a handkerchief.

His business here is done, and he should go back to report.

Since Yu Yao left, Shen Yiyang has lost the will to read.

He spent his time pacing back and forth in the courtyard by himself.

He originally thought that the matter in Nan Chu would be resolved soon, and he would be able to lead his men back immediately.

But when he arrived in Nan Chu, he realized that things were far more difficult and troublesome than he had imagined.

The plan was to go back within a month, but judging from the current situation, it might take more than a month, or even half a year, to get back.

In the past few days, he has received messages from his father every day via carrier pigeon. The messages are roughly the same, telling him to let go of the affairs in Nan Chu.

He was told that Jiaojiao had sent someone to take over the affairs here, and that he should be ready to return at any time.

Shen Yiyang knew very well what the Marquis of Zhenbei and Shen Tianjiao were worried about. He also knew that his safety was of great importance, directly affecting the peace and stability of the court and the northern frontier.

But he was truly unwilling to go back like this, since they hadn't found anything yet.

He has never been so unsuccessful and pathetic in his life.

That's why, despite the pressure from his father, he didn't immediately go back as instructed, but instead decided to give himself another month to wade into the murky waters of Southern Chu.

Let's see if we can find the answer we want. If we can find the answer we want, then the pressure on Shen Tianjiao will be much less.

Others may not know the hardships their sister has endured, but how could he, as her brother, not know?

All the current issues are so complicated and there's no single solution, which is giving Shen Yiyang a real headache.

This feeling of powerlessness and frustration made him doubt his own ability to get things done.

"master."

Shen Yiyang, who was lost in thought, was brought back to reality by Yu Yao's address of "Master".

"Is everything done?"

"Yes, everything has been taken care of."

Yu Yao moved closer to Shen Yiyang and said, "The person who was following us is a master knife user who is left-handed."

He was stabbed six times, but none of the six stabs were fatal.

"The real cause of death was poisoning. The poison was very potent; in just a short while, the man's tongue had turned black."

"His internal organs must have already been invaded by the poison by now."

Shen Yiyang was stunned for a moment. He knew that Bai Yunchi had brought all sorts of medicines with him when he came, saying that Chao Yun had given them to him for self-defense.

But he never expected that Bai Yunchi would have such a potent poison that could kill a martial arts master in such a short time.

"That kid did it?"

"Yes, no one but him would do that. It's lucky he had the poison on him, otherwise he might not have made it back today."

Yu Yao felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about it. If Bai Yunchi hadn't been carrying that poison, he would have been the one collecting Bai Yunchi's body just now.

Shen Yiyang's expression changed drastically, and he whispered, "Keep a close eye on him. This must not happen again."

“Starting tomorrow, wherever he goes, you will follow him.”

"Yes, I understand."