The rules in the valley were strict. As soon as Gu An finished speaking, someone quickly stepped in and took Gu Feifei away.
Seeing this, Gu Yiping knelt on the ground with a thud.
Gu An understood that he was trying to plead for mercy, but today he was determined to teach Gu Feifei a lesson, so he immediately concealed the tenderness in his eyes.
"Dad, Feifei is still young. She definitely can't withstand fifty lashes!" Gu Yiping saw Gu An turn his head, but still wanted to give it a try. He knelt forward and tried to tug at Gu An's robe.
Gu An's hand tightened instantly. This adopted son had been sensible and obedient since childhood and was his pride. But now, for the sake of that reckless girl, he was kneeling in front of everyone. It really broke his heart.
"Get up!" Gu An's stern rebuke made Gu Yiping tremble.
Ji Yunxi sighed inwardly. This was what they meant by "the deeper the love, the harsher the discipline."
She glanced at Li Jiuge and Ji Yunyi. The three of them tacitly turned around and left, not wanting to see Gu Yiping's current grievance.
Gu Yiping actually knew in his heart that it was all Gu Feifei's fault today. But he had protected her all his life. How could he bear to watch her be punished?
After a moment of silence, Gu Yiping raised his head. "Dad, I'll take her punishment."
At that moment, Ji Yunxi hadn't gone far. Hearing the sound, she turned her head and glanced, still expressionless, with a coldness in her eyes.
Gu Yiping couldn't protect her for a lifetime. He thought he was being good to his younger sister, but in fact, he was just indulging her and hurting her.
Gu An also knew this very well. He sighed, his face full of vicissitudes. "Yiping, you're hurting her! If she causes a big mistake this time, can you take the blame for her too? She has to grow up and can't be so willful forever."
"But..." Gu Yiping wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Gu An. "Don't be so stubborn. Don't say that no big mistake has been made yet. When she really causes trouble, will there still be a chance for you to speak?"
Gu Yiping lowered his head. He knew his dad was right. Those who made mistakes should be punished, and it was the same for everyone.
Li Jiuge was being pulled forward, but couldn't help but look back out of curiosity. Seeing this scene, she felt quite emotional and shook her head in a deliberately mature way.
Ji Yunyi patted her and shook his head like her. "What are you doing with that tsk-tsk-tsk expression?"
"I'm lamenting her lack of self - improvement and forgiving her misfortune. Gu Feifei's brother loves her so much, but she always causes trouble for Gu Yiping." Li Jiuge felt quite sorry for Gu Yiping. She looked at Ji Yunxi walking in front and shook her head. "Forget it. You wouldn't understand even if I told you."
Li Jiuge's head - shaking gesture made Ji Yunyi laugh. "Yunxi has never given me any trouble, but what about you? You've caused quite a few troubles too."
Ji Yunxi watched the two of them playing and joking. Her eyes were bright and sunny, and a gentle smile appeared on her face. She hoped they could always be this happy. She would bear all the dangers.
"Yunxi, what are you thinking about?"
"Ah..." Her thoughts were pulled back. Ji Yunxi shook her head. "It's okay. I'm just a bit tired and want to go back and rest."
Ji Yunyi wanted to ask something else, but was called by Li Jiuge. "Don't ask. Yunxi, go back and rest first. We'll go back too."
Ji Yunxi didn't think much and turned around to leave, going back to her room.
Seeing her go far away, Ji Yunyi then concealed his smile and smoothed the wrinkled sleeve that Li Jiuge had grabbed. "Come on, what do you want to do?"
Li Jiuge spread out her hands. "What else can I do? Yunxi wants to keep us away from danger by using Gu Feifei, but it's not that simple. We're already in the game."
Ji Yunyi sized her up and down. "So?"
"Yunxi is being too naive to face the danger alone and leave us behind. As the saying goes, the person who tied the bell should untie it. Gu Feifei was the one who drugged us. She must have the antidote. Let's go and ask for it." Li Jiuge raised her eyebrows, looking quite sly.
Ji Yunyi suddenly curled his lips. The two of them were rarely in such good agreement.
Avoiding everyone, they came to the place where Gu Feifei was being held. Their footsteps startled Gu Feifei, who was sitting dejectedly in the corner.
Thinking it was her brother or Gu An coming to see her, she quickly stood up and went to the door. "Brother, is that you coming to see me?"
However, the people she wanted to see didn't come. Instead, two enemies showed up.
"What are you doing here?!"
Li Jiuge was too lazy to talk to her. "We're here for the antidote to the Soul - Dissolving Powder."
Gu Feifei was still a bit unconvinced and spoke with resentment. "I don't have the antidote anymore. And the antidote to the Soul - Dissolving Powder is only effective if taken in advance."
Li Jiuge's eyes widened, and a sense of worry welled up in her heart. "What?!"
Gu Feifei said impatiently. "I'm waiting for my punishment now. Why would I lie to you?"
The two of them were full of disappointment on their faces. They didn't expect such a result. If their spiritual power couldn't be restored, once Jiang Yaoji came, they would surely be no match for her.
Feeling indescribable disappointment, they didn't want to say much and turned around to leave.
Looking at their disappointed expressions, Gu Feifei didn't feel happy. Although privately she didn't want to help Ji Yunxi, she also realized that this was a critical time. If something big went wrong, even the Qinse Valley might be in trouble.
"Wait! Although there's no antidote, as long as you sit in meditation calmly and take some tonics to enhance your spiritual power, you should be able to recover faster."
"... You're not completely heartless." Li Jiuge and Ji Yunyi glanced at each other. They knew that Gu Feifei wasn't completely devoid of conscience, and they felt a bit comforted.
As soon as they left, they immediately found Gu An and got a bunch of tonics for spiritual power.
Ji Yunyi briefly explained what Gu Feifei had said and told Gu An not to tell Ji Yunxi.
Fortunately, Gu Feifei wasn't completely hopeless. Gu An felt guilty and was eager to take out all the tonics.
In another room, Ji Yunxi sat cross - legged, focusing on her dantian, holding her breath and concentrating, not thinking about trivial matters. Gradually, she entered a state of trance and forgetfulness. The surrounding sounds seemed to be magnified several times. The sound of dripping water and the chirping of birds were clearly audible.
She saw a force in her spiritual consciousness sea, emitting a faint green light. Ji Yunxi knew she had entered her spiritual consciousness sea. She continued to exert her strength, and many white lights flew into the spiritual consciousness sea. They were the natural essence from heaven and earth, and the light seemed to be growing stronger.
Ji Yunxi knew that her cultivation had advanced again. Noticing that she had been sitting in meditation for a long time, Ji Yunxi exited her spiritual consciousness. She raised her palm upwards and absorbed the energy into her dantian. She felt her dantian warming slightly and was a bit dizzy.
She carefully recalled and found that the divine power she used in the Yunqi Palace back then belonged to Feng Xingzhi, and she didn't have a headache at that time. That meant she didn't have this part of the divine power on her at that time.
Ji Yunxi looked at her palm. A faint divine power slowly flowed in her hand, interweaving into different shapes. It was cool and refreshing, making people feel as if they were in the spring breeze and at ease.
Ji Yunxi frowned slightly and clenched her hand. The light of the divine power disappeared. It seemed that this divine power had suddenly returned to her, but why did she have no impression of it at all?