Yu Di got up, made breakfast for Yu Lin, and then left to do his job. Working in the kitchens wouldn’t be so bad, would it? He knew how to cook well enough after living the life of a mortal for a few years.

  Maybe he’ll even get to make his favorite roast pork.

  The best part about this was that since this was a new place, maybe he can unlock more of his curse if he helped others out. He might simply unlock his entire curse by cooking for everyone.

  Wouldn’t that be grand?

  “Baba, can I come with you today?” Yu Lin asked.

  “No, it’s dangerous outside this week,” Yu Di said. “Stay with Senior Bai and practice. Later tonight, I’ll put you two back in the pocket dimension so you can advance faster.”

  “But Baba, it’s so boring here. I want to play.”

  Yu Di squatted down to Yu Lin’s level.

  “Did you say you wanted to meet Chang’e and the jade rabbit? If you do, you’re going to have to practice really hard from now on so that you can see them. Otherwise, your Baba is only going to take auntie Bai with him to see them.”

  “No! I want to see them. I’ll stay and practice with auntie Bai.”

  Yu Di patted her head.

  “Good girl. I’ll bring you back something sweet from the kitchen.”

  “Okay!”

  Yu Di walked to the middle of the sect among the practicing disciples. Even this early they were going at it, practicing their forms or sparring with each other. On occasion, he saw a bully or two but it looked like it was in good fun. Not that he could have done anything about it.

  Elder Li stood among the sparring disciples with his arms crossed, glaring right at Yu Di. He had two female servants flanking him. Both of them had their eyes downcast, rubbing their arms.

  Here we go.

  “Yu Di, you despicable scoundrel,” Elder Li shouted.

  Just like the transition between scenes at an opera, all the disciples stopped what they were doing and turned toward them. All they were missing were those painted masks to denote who the heroes and villains were.

  Yu Di would be wearing a white mask, representing a demon.

  “Greetings Elder Li.” Yu Di cupped his hands and bowed to Elder Li. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Kneel.”

  “I’m sorry Elder Li, but I injured my knees.”

  Someone kicked Yu Di’s knees from behind, forcing him to kneel to the ground.

  “You violated these two women,” Elder Li said. “Just because you’ve gained a few levels of cultivation and have the backing of Bai Feng, doesn’t mean you can do what you want in this sect.”

  Yu Di groaned.

  “I didn’t—”

  Someone shoved Yu Di’s head to the ground.

  “You don’t speak unless spoken to, you bastard.” Elder Li’s voice got really close there. “Where is Bai Feng?”

  “She’s home,” Yu Di muttered.

  “You’re going to go back there and tell that improper woman to come out here right now. Or else I will do worse things to you.”

  Yu Di sat up, rubbing his forehead where it hit the ground.

  “I’ve never seen these two women before in my life!” he shouted like an opera star. It felt wrong to him. Maybe he should have studied more with the actors.

  Elder Li kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling backward.

  “You shut your mouth you despicable coward. There were plenty of witnesses. You violated them last night near the servants’ quarters. You held them down and did unspeakable things to them.”

  Yu Di sat up, rubbing his chest. Well at least he knew that Elder Li wasn’t going to kill him right away. He needed Yu Di to lure Bai Feng out.

  That was not going to happen.

  “Was Bai Feng not enough for you? Did you seek to dominate others as she dominates you?” Elder Li shouted.

  “You leave Senior Bai out of this,” Yu Di said. Humiliating him was one thing. Humiliating Bai Feng who had done nothing but love this sect was unforgivable to him.

  “Oh? Trying to protect her reputation? We all know that she invited many servants to her home last night in a secret party. She promises power in exchange for something intimate.”

  “That is so wrong. She’s only trying to help the sect. Leave her alone.” Yu Di got up.

  “You and that whore should be kicked out of the sect, not rewarded with a chance to become an Elder. You and your daughter should be stripped and flogged.”

  Yu Di glared at Elder Li.

  “You better leave my daughter out of this.”

  “Or what? You’re going to attack an Elder? I dare you.”

  Two kicks came from behind again, but it didn’t bring Yu Di to his knees. Instead, he whirled around with his fist and punched the two disciples in the face.

  “You dare attack my enforcers?” Elder Li shouted. “You have no respect for the sect or its members.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Yu Di laughed. It was half snort, half chuckle, really.

  “I never did. Quite frankly, I’m getting tired of you and the sect politics here.”

  “Pin him down and teach him a lesson.” Elder Li stood back, arms clasped behind him, head tilted high. His smug smile and immaculate beard made him look like an overbearing patriarch. He wore a pristine silk emerald robe as if he was about to meet with very important people.

  Yu Di hated these men the most. Those who think they’re above others.

  The two disciples Yu Di punched in the face came at him.

  Now came the tricky part. Yu Di had to tone down the strength he could use. He couldn’t go beyond his current level of cultivation or risk losing more of his lifespan. Being cursed for using his powers he can always regain.

  So all he had was level four at the Qi Condensation stage.

  Yu Di grinned. He could work with that. After all, these disciples weren’t much stronger than that.

  He stepped in close to the disciple on the right who took a wide punch at him. With his knees, Yu Di pushed the disciple to the side, causing him to fall over.

  With the other, he twirled again and this time slapped him in the face. The slap was so loud, the entire sect heard it within the fortress.

  While these silly children had a higher cultivation and numbers than Yu Di, they didn’t have his decades long practice of wielding and constructing Qi.

  He didn’t need much.

  The other disciple got back up only to be slapped across the face with a Qi infused slap. Yu Di made sure to unbalance him with a strategic push with his Qi.

  Soon more disciples joined the fray. For the boys, he slapped them in the face while tripping them with his Qi. For the girls, he held onto their ponytails with his Qi until they stopped. There was no way they would risk harming their hair.

  “What are you all doing?” Elder Li screamed. “Use your Qi. This is not a mortal’s brawl.”

  That’s when it got hard for Yu Di. How many people followed this despicable man? He fought off every Qi attack, at first.

  As they say, two fists cannot fight four hands.

  Not only that, but Yu Di was running out of Qi. No matter how fast he absorbed and actively cycled his Qi within his body, there was no way he could fend off all the Qi attacks.

  So he did the only thing he could do. He got into the fetal position and protected his vitals as best as he could. With the last bit of his Qi, he used it to defend himself from the strikes.

  “Baba!”

  “No Yu Lin, stay back!” Yu Di yelled.

  The attacks stopped and his daughter ran to him. She covered his body with hers.

  “No little Lin, you can’t be here.” Yu Di wrapped his arms around his daughter and hugged her close to his chest. Like hell he would let these thugs hurt his child.

  “It’s okay Baba. I got help. Uncle Gu is here.”

  Uncle Gu?

  Yu Di turned to see Gu Zi standing over him. His wrinkled face turned menacing as he stared at Yu Di.

  “Sect Leader Gu,” everyone greeted him.

  “This is what my sect has turned into?” Gu Zi asked. “Dishonorable idiots who beat up on a servant?”

  “Reporting to Sect Leader Gu, this servant was insubordinate and dared attack his fellow disciples and servants.” Elder Li cupped his hands and bowed his head. “He also defiled two female servants yesterday. He has broken the sect rules.”

  Gu Zi glared at Yu Di.

  “Is this true?”

  “Reporting to Sect Leader Gu, it is not true.” Yu Di held Yu Lin close. He wasn’t sure how Gu Zi would react to this. If he caved and allowed these idiots to punish him, he’d use his teleportation device with his daughter to go far away. “I have never met those two women before in my life.”

  Gu Zi turned his withering glare to the two female servants. They cowered together in a wall of gray.

  “They are the victims here,” Elder Li said. “With respect, they shouldn’t be forced to recount their horrible experience. I have personally questioned them myself.”

  Gu Zi took three heavy steps toward Elder Li. From the ground, Yu Di could sense the powerful Qi radiating from the sect leader. If the ground wasn’t reinforced by the natural Qi, it would have cracked down into the bedrock.

  “Move.” With a casual swipe, he pushed Elder Li aside. “You two. Tell me the truth or I will make you wish molestation was the worst thing to happen to you.”

  The two women got to their knees and bowed their heads to the floor.

  “Reporting to Sect Leader Gu, Elder Li is telling the truth. That man molested us and forced us to do depraved things.”

  Gu Zi used his Qi to lift Yu Di up off the floor and floated him over to him.

  Yu Di hung in the air, holding onto Yu Lin.

  “Uncle Gu, my Baba would never hurt anyone,” Yu Lin said. “He’s a good guy.”

  “Children shouldn’t speak unless spoken to.” Gu Zi pulled with his free hand and Yu Lin separated from Yu Di. He gently placed her down on the ground. “Now, Yu Di, you stand accused of this. Can you prove that you’re innocent?”

  Yu Di pulsed his Qi and broke Gu Zi’s light grip on him. That brought an eyebrow raise from the sect leader. Well, it wasn’t like he was holding onto him hard anyway. Otherwise he would already be dead.

  Yu Di stood up straight and glared at the two women himself.

  “I can. You two claimed I did stuff to you. What did I do?”

  The two women broke their glare from Gu Zi to stare at Yu Di.

  “You forced us to go with you to the servants’ quarter and did lewd things to us.”

  “Like what?”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t speak in front of a child.” Elder Li pointed at Yu Lin.

  “No, she needs to stay here,” Yu Di said. “As her father, I want her to see what true justice looks like. So girls, tell me and everyone here what I did to you.”

  The talkative woman screwed up her face.

  “You made us strip and then you pushed us down. You… you then…” The woman sobbed as tears came down her face.

  Yu Di didn’t want to do this, but these two forced his hand. He pushed his Qi into his right eye and used a forbidden technique to see through clothes. He focused on Elder Li.

  Once he saw what he wanted, he stopped the technique. Yu Di blinked a few times, trying to get the image out of his head. That wasn’t the worst part though. He was effectively blind in that eye for at least two days, if not more.

  “If I did that, then you wouldn’t mind telling everyone any unique markings on my body,” Yu Di said.

  Elder Li looked like he was about to object.

  “Reporting to Sect Leader Gu,” Yu Di said with his hands cupped. “If she said I did such horrible things, then she should have seen something to identify me. Otherwise, it could have been someone else who did this terrible thing and we should stop at nothing until they’re caught.”

  “Go on,” Gu Zi commanded.

  The woman was hesitant.

  “Do I have a weird mole the shape of the state of Qin on my chest?” Yu Di asked. “Maybe I have some hair growing in the shape of a Buddha? Maybe a rabbit shaped mole on my butt?”

  Yu Di paused for a second.

  “Or maybe, I have four moles in the shape of a star growing on my left flank.” Yu Di pointed to his left side, right where Elder Li had the same exact moles.

  At that, the woman flinched. She quickly bowed her head. It didn’t go unnoticed by everyone present.

  Yu Di laughed.

  “Reporting to Sect Leader Gu, these women were not molested by me but by someone else entirely. They have four moles right where I pointed. I’m sure that if the person who molested them stops, we can all get on with our lives.”

  "This is ridiculous," Elder Li said. "Why are we taking the word of this rapist? We should destroy his cultivation and throw him out of the sect. Everyone here agrees with me."

  All of the gathered cheered. Not hard since Elder Li gathered them and Yu Di beat many of them in the fight. They all pushed closer and closer to Yu Di, ready to beat him up again.

  This sect had no honor.

  Yu Di didn't need to show them any honor either. But he would like to teach them a lesson about messing with others.

  “Stop. Or do you think this Sect Leader won't kill you all?” Gu Zi's Qi flared, quieting the mob.