44. The Menace

Following Lin Jiuge's instructions, the newly selected group of disciples entered a period of intense hardship. Many of the children could not endure it and cried out demanding to go home. This disciple-recruitment drive became the smallest in the history of the Daiyue Sect in terms of numbers, but every single disciple was an elite, successfully cementing its place in the annals of history.

Naturally, Lin Jiuge was unaware of these details; she had simply had a heartfelt discussion with her senior uncle and her master that very night upon returning.

The next day, as soon as she woke up, Lin Jiuge used a damp towel to rouse a fast-asleep Lin Jiuzi. With her hair sticking up in all directions, Lin Jiuzi woke up and rubbed her eyes with chubby little hands.

"Sister, what are you doing?" Lin Jiuzi asked, trying to shake off her sleepiness as she regained some awareness.

"Jiuzi, the day's plan starts in the morning. Wake up earlier," Lin Jiuge said gently.

Lin Jiuzi did not catch a single word her sister had said. In her drowsy state, she was dressed by Lin Jiuge and hauled outside. It was not until a chilly gust of wind blew past that Lin Jiuzi was jolted fully awake. She then looked at her sister practicing the sword, her senior brother practicing fist forms, and the miniature little sword held in her own hand.

"Jiuzi, now that you're awake, you'll exercise along with us. Regarding what happened this time, crying won't solve any problems. You need to strengthen your own physique," Lin Jiuge said, crouching down to look Lin Jiuzi in the eye.

"Okay," Lin Jiuzi understood, but before long, her arms grew sore and she began to whine.

"Smack." Lin Jiuge corrected her posture, causing Lin Jiuzi to lose her grip, and the miniature little sword dropped straight to the ground.

The tears that had been brewing until now could finally be held back no longer.

"Wuwuwu." Lin Jiuzi cried so bitterly. Her sister no longer loved her; her arms were so sore, her legs so painful, and above all, she was furious.

Lin Jiuge paid her no mind, while simultaneously stopping Zhou Yan with a look from wanting to intervene, and also deterring Li Yun and Master Wudao Yuanzun—who had been scared off by their disciple's and grand-disciple's terrifying gazes.

Never had they expected that when Lin Jiuge got angry, though she didn't shout or roar, that look in her eyes was simply too frightening.

Lin Jiuzi continued to cry. Although Zhou Yan was practicing his fist forms, his heart had flown entirely over to Lin Jiuzi's side. Lin Jiuge, however, practiced her sword forms with absolute precision, her movements not off by even a fraction of a millimeter.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Lin Jiuzi stopped crying and made a resolution.

"Sister, I'm going to the study hall tomorrow." Lin Jiuzi figured that going to the study hall meant she wouldn't have to exercise.

"Very well, but once you go to the study hall, you must study diligently. There will be no changing your mind once you start," Lin Jiuge raised no objections this time.

"Okay, I will stick to going to school," Lin Jiuzi promised immediately, completely unaware that her sister had already recommended stepping up her physical fitness training!

"A promise made is a promise kept," Lin Jiuge said meaningfully. Even Zhou Yan felt a pang of sympathy for Lin Jiuzi: *Why on earth did you have to pick a fight and negotiate with your sister?*

The next day, Lin Jiuzi went off to school cheerfully, only to discover not only that the other children refused to speak to her, but also to her horror, that there was a physical training class. Left with no choice, Lin Jiuzi had to push through the exercises, crying all the while.

That evening, as Lin Jiuzi walked back in a trembling stagger, Zhou Yan felt his heart ache terribly for her. When they returned for dinner, he even fed her himself, though the atmospheric pressure radiating from Lin Jiuge right beside them was freezing.

After dinner, as Lin Jiuzi was reluctant to move, Lin Jiuge picked her up and placed her in a medicinal herbal bath, taking the opportunity to massage her arms and knead her legs.

Lin Jiuzi enjoyed a sound sleep through the night and bounded off to school the next morning, full of life. This made her stand out even more among the other children: *Why is everyone else in agony while you're bouncing around with energy?* Harboring this kind of resentment, the others ignored Lin Jiuzi even more. Even when Lin Jiuzi tried to talk to them, they would simply turn their heads and walk away.

That evening, Lin Jiuzi waited with a dejected expression until Li Yun came to pick her up.

"Little Jiuzi, what's wrong with you?" Li Yun asked, his heart aching for her.

"Uncle—no, Senior Uncle, none of them will talk to me," Lin Jiuzi said, sad once again that nobody would interact with her.

"If they won't talk to you, then just beat them up until they submit," Li Yun suggested.

"Senior Uncle, I can't beat them," Lin Jiuzi said, glancing down at her chubby little arms.

Li Yun fell into a dilemma as well; he couldn't very well issue an official order commanding the other children to play with Jiuzi.

"Just study hard and be first in everything. Make them have no choice but to consult you, and conquer them with your knowledge and sincerity." This was the suggestion given by Lin Jiuge, who happened to overhear the conversation.

Taking those words to heart, Lin Jiuzi applied herself. Whether in theoretical knowledge or physical training, she excelled in every category. While others struggled to learn a technique after a dozen tries, Lin Jiuzi mastered it on the first attempt with flawless form.

Gradually, some children began to ask Lin Jiuzi how she did it. Remembering what her sister had said, Lin Jiuzi put on a serious little face and pointed out their mistakes one by one.

Before long, many of them realized that Lin Jiuzi did not actually have a bad temper, and that they had been the ones in the wrong before. Having been in the sect for a month now, they understood the people and affairs within it quite well. They knew that, much like Zhang Boyu, some children had powerful backers and were merely going through the motions since their masters had already been designated behind closed doors. For the rest of them, only through hard work could they secure any resources.

Lin Jiuzi was currently the best teacher and resource they had access to. As if her previous ostracization had never happened, Lin Jiuzi gradually resumed normal conversations with them.

On this particular day, Zhang Boyu, who was throwing a tantrum and stubbornly refusing to go to the study hall, was ruthlessly dragged over by his grandfather, regardless of how shamelessly he rolled on the ground and wailed.

Especially since everyone—including Lin Jiuzi, whom he loathed—was better than him, he howled even louder every day. This time, however, Zhang Geng had hardened his heart. No matter how much Zhang Boyu howled or made a scene, it was all to no avail.

"Useless," Lin Jiuzi said, casting a look of disgust at Zhang Boyu, who was rolling all over the floor.

"Such a loser. Only toddlers throw tantrums and roll on the ground," someone remarked. Having spent a lot of time with Lin Jiuzi, these children had also loosened up.

"What are you all talking about? You think I'm like you guys, who actually have to work hard just to scrape together a few resources? I don't need to," Zhang Boyu stopped crying and flew into a rage.

"Apologize," Lin Jiuzi said, her face stern. Her sister had told her never to look down on people who worked hard.

"I won't," Zhang Boyu retorted, stiffening his neck.

"Are you sure you aren't going to apologize?" Lin Jiuzi clenched her small fists.

"I said I won't," Zhang Boyu stubbornly refused to yield.

Like a tiny cannonball, Lin Jiuzi lunged forward, pinned Zhang Boyu to the ground, and began beating him up. Her sister had taught her that unruly brutes who refused to listen needed a good thrashing; if they still weren't convinced, you just gave them a second round!

With her small fists landing heavy blows, and backed by her diligent studies—staying up to learn extra things at night, alongside the fighting techniques her sister had taught her—Zhang Boyu, who was ten years older than Lin Jiuge, was beaten until he burst into tears. He cried miserably, which naturally resulted in their parents being summoned.

When Zhang Boyu's father, Zhang Xianglin, heard that his son had been beaten up by someone, he rushed right over. Upon seeing that the culprit was a little toddler named Lin Jiuzi, Zhang Xianglin fell silent.

"Senior Brother Zhang," Lin Jiuge arrived shortly after, having also been summoned in the capacity of a guardian.

Zhang Xianglin looked at Lin Jiuge—Lin Jiuzi's guardian, whose head only reached his chest—and then at Lin Jiuzi, who barely had a speck of dust on her.

"Junior Sister, I'll take my leave," Zhang Xianglin said, hauling the crying Zhang Boyu away. He couldn't even defeat a toddler; he had no face left to cry about it.

"Sister," Lin Jiuzi said, feeling a slight twinge of conscience now that the fight was over.

"Well done," Lin Jiuge affirmed.

Lin Jiuzi was shocked, her little mouth forming an O-shape. Why was her sister reacting this way when she was clearly the one who had thrown the first punch?

"Spoiled brutes don't need to be coddled," Lin Jiuge said in a very calm tone.

What Lin Jiuge left unsaid was that if Zhang Boyu's father had chosen to be unreasonable, she would simply have been even more unreasonable.