Punish the Heavens and Punish the Gods - Chapter 08
After Bai Ningtian had beaten Lu Peng until he could no longer stand, he dragged him to the dungeon beneath his mansion—the so-called Heavenly Prison. He ordered his men to interrogate him about Yan Jie Lie Xia’s whereabouts. But no matter what they did, Lu Peng refused to speak—even on the brink of death.
Finally, Bai Ningtian grew impatient and decided to handle the interrogation himself.
He sneered and said, “You fool. Do you even know where your ‘brother’ is? Tell me, and I’ll spare your life. After all, he’s the real murderer who killed my son.”
Lu Peng’s face was covered in dirt and bl00d, but his eyes still burned with defiance. He nodded slowly and said, “Fine, come closer. I’ll tell you.”
Bai Ningtian smirked, leaning in eagerly.
Then—pah!
Lu Peng spat right in his face.
A twisted smile spread across Lu Peng’s face as he said, “I don’t know. Hahaha!”
Bai Ningtian’s expression instantly darkened. Rage flared in his eyes as he picked up the long whip beside him and lashed it across Lu Peng’s chest.
“You dare mock me?” he barked, striking him again and again. “You brought this upon yourself!”
The whip cracked several more times, tearing flesh and drawing bl00d, but Lu Peng only clenched his jaw and refused to make a sound.
Bai Ningtian stopped for a moment, panting. “Will you talk now?”
Lu Peng opened his bloodied lips and said through gritted teeth, “Death isn’t scary. What’s truly terrifying… is betraying your comrade. I, Lu Peng, will never say a word!”
“Hypocrite!” Bai Ningtian roared, whipping him again and again. After ten strokes, he grabbed a bucket and splashed salt water across Lu Peng’s wounds.
“Ahhh—!” Lu Peng screamed in agony, his voice echoing through the dungeon.
Bai Ningtian threw the bucket aside and shouted toward the ceiling, “Son! Father will avenge you! No matter where that murderer runs, even to the ends of the earth—I will hunt him down!”
Lu Peng glared at him through bloodshot eyes and spat, “Then kill me already!”
Bai Ningtian gave him a cold, cruel smile. “Kill you? Oh no… that would be far too easy. I’ll make sure you wish you were dead.”
His laughter filled the prison, harsh and chilling, echoing off the stone walls as he turned to stare out the window.
The next day…
I happily led Xiao Hei toward the academy. But as soon as I reached the gate, a stern-looking old man stopped me.
“Horses aren’t allowed inside the academy!” he said firmly.
I frowned. “Old man, can’t you just rent me a stable? Name your price.”
He scowled a little at being called old man, but when he heard “price,” his tone softened immediately. “Tuition is twenty-five gold coins. A stable will cost five gold coins per month, and one term is four months. That makes forty-five gold coins in total. You’ll pay everything at once, right?”
Without a word, I took out a gold bank card worth fifty coins and handed it to him. “Keep the change. Consider the extra five gold your mental compensation fee.”
His eyes practically sparkled. Stroking his long white beard, he chuckled. “Ah, what a generous student. If you ever run into trouble, come to me!”
I gave a faint smile, then paused—his voice sounded oddly familiar.
“Wait,” I said, “your voice…”
He smiled proudly. “Yes, I’m not only the vice dean—I’m also the academy’s announcer. The voice you always hear? That’s me.”
I sighed. “So that’s it. Alright, I’ll leave Xiao Hei in your care. Be careful—he’s got a bad temper.”
The vice dean nodded confidently. “Don’t worry.”
As I turned away, I couldn’t help thinking, Are all humans this greedy? I had thought the people of the Lanwu Kingdom were supposed to be kind and noble.
When I reached Teacher Lin’s classroom, I was the first one there. I took a seat, crossed my arms on the desk, and promptly fell asleep.
“Yan Jie Lie Xia! Class has started!”
I opened my eyes lazily. It was Teacher Lin, looking slightly annoyed. The classroom was already filled with students.
Today’s lesson was about battle energy—fighting spirit. Everyone listened intently; after all, they’d paid a small fortune to study here.
But my mind was elsewhere. I couldn’t stop thinking about Lu Peng. I had a bad feeling, a heavy one. Something had happened to him—I could feel it.
I spent both morning classes half-listening, lost in thought.
At noon, I went to the cafeteria. Just as I stepped inside, someone bumped into me hard.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” I snapped.
A few girls stopped in their tracks. They turned around—and when their eyes met mine, their expressions softened. “Sorry!” one of them said quickly.
I blinked. In front of me stood seven girls—each of them breathtakingly beautiful, like fairies descended from the heavens. For a moment, I was completely speechless.
Then I remembered my annoyance and said, “You bumped into me, didn’t you have eyes?”
The entire cafeteria went silent. Every male student turned to stare at me like I’d lost my mind.
One of the girls, the one with a perfect figure and light blue hair cascading over her shoulders, stepped forward. Her tone was cold but elegant.
“I am Yan Ruoyang, the top beauty of Shaoyang Academy,” she said. “Since childhood, no one has ever dared speak to me like that. You…”
I froze. What?! I just yelled at the campus goddess?
Before I could respond, another girl with long purple hair walked up beside her. Her voice was soft and calm.
“Sister, it was our fault. Let’s just go.”
I pointed at the purple-haired girl and said, “Now she talks sense.”
Yan Ruoyang’s fair face turned red with anger. “Yan Lan, let’s go!” she hissed, turning sharply. The seven of them left together, their steps light and graceful.
As soon as they were gone, the male students around me whispered among themselves:
“Did that guy eat bear hearts and leopard guts or what? He actually insulted the academy’s seven goddesses!”
I smirked slightly. Funny you mention that.
Back in the Orc Kingdom… I really had eaten a bear man’s heart and a leopard man’s guts.