The Imperial Capital, White Tiger Guild.
An icy voice reverberated through the entire Guild Master’s office, tendrils of chill seeping through the door crack and drifting into the hallway.
Every person passing by couldn’t help but quicken their pace, eager to distance themselves from this perilous spot.
“Ignoring the advice of your elders, acting willfully, and taking on a mission without authorization.
Refusing to correct your mistakes, evading reality.
Using offensive magic in a public area without permission, then fleeing after the fact, fearing retribution.
Even instigating a student to take the blame…”
“Oh, splendid, truly splendid. You’ve managed to accomplish all this in just a single afternoon.”
With each word Bai Xiao uttered, the grip of her tiger paw tightened further.
When it came to disobedient children like this, Bai Xiao believed a good beating was all it took.
And if one beating wasn’t enough, then another would certainly do the trick.
“Bai Auntie! Stop, stop, stop! You’re going to break me!”
Aya Tone clutched at the tiger paw pressed against his head with both hands, yet no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t move it even an inch.
As the tiger paw contracted, Aya Tone felt as if his head were a watermelon, on the verge of splitting open with a resounding ‘crack!’
“Bai Auntie, please let me justify… ah, no, please let me explain!”
“Oh?”
Bai Xiao eased her grip slightly, then ‘kindly’ lifted Aya Tone closer to her.
“I’m quite eager to hear your justification, then.”
“Gulp…”
Gazing at Bai Xiao, who was barely ten centimeters from his face, the aura of a predator emanating from her caused Aya Tone to involuntarily swallow.
He suddenly remembered.
He had encountered this very Bai Auntie during a previous ranked match.
However, back then, she had appeared before him as a ferocious white tiger.
Clothed now, he hadn’t recognized her at first glance.
With Bai Xiao’s hand transforming into a tiger paw, his long-dormant memories awakened.
The thunderous roars of the tiger had been truly awe-inspiring, and after Aya Tone realized there were no rewards for the ranked match, he had simply given up.
Consequently, he had been chased and thoroughly beaten, an experience that had left a profound impression.
“Um, Bai Auntie, could you perhaps put me down first?”
With his feet dangling, Aya Tone felt utterly insecure.
“Speak!”
“Eek!”
Aya Tone’s heart clenched, and he began to ‘justify’ himself at the fastest pace he had ever spoken.
“Yesterday, sneaking out to take a mission was my mistake, I’m sorry!
But releasing magic at the venue, that was for a reason; the venue owner’s daughter said she wanted to see it, which is why I dared to use it.
Besides, I ran… I left right after my performance, so I had no time at all to instigate a student to take the blame!
Auntie, you’re wrongly accusing me!”
The more Aya Tone spoke, the more aggrieved he felt.
‘How could this be his fault? It was clearly Miao Qingzhu’s doing!’
What he didn’t know was that Miao Qingzhu had already been called home last night, experiencing a taste of the fatherly love she had missed in her childhood.
Today, it was simply his turn…
“Heh heh.”
Bai Xiao wore an expression that clearly said, ‘Do you really expect me to believe that?’
‘You’re an S-rank witch; everyone in that venue combined wouldn’t be your match.’
“It’s true!”
Aya Tone still tried to prove his innocence.
However, Bai Xiao had no further interest in listening, tossing Aya Tone to the secretary standing nearby.
“Keep a close eye on him. He is not to leave your sight for a single step until he enters the dungeon tomorrow!”
“Understood.”
The secretary reluctantly caught the ‘little darling’ who had been thrown to her.
‘Consider this a day off for the Guild Master.’
“No, no, no! Absolutely not!”
The moment Aya Tone heard he would be watched until tomorrow, he disregarded Bai Xiao’s lingering anger and began to struggle relentlessly in the secretary’s arms.
He still needed to video call Xiao Jiu tonight; if he was kept here, something was bound to go wrong.
“No room for negotiation!”
Bai Xiao realized she had been far too lenient with this child, which was precisely why today’s troubles had arisen.
She slapped Aya Tone’s ‘itchy’ backside with an open palm.
Aya Tone: “Hiss!!”
“…”
‘What happened to the gentle auntie I was promised?’
‘Indeed, the gentle auntie he’d met yesterday must have been an illusion…’
Helplessly, he could only send a message to Fire Finch, informing her that he was grounded and asking her to look after little Aya Jiu tonight.
Once this S-rank dungeon was dealt with, he vowed never to return to the Imperial Capital.
‘My butt hurts so much…’
****
Yan’an City.
“Hahahaha! Someone actually thought Auntie Bai was gentle, and now they’re grounded? I’m dying of laughter!”
Fire Finch’s unrestrained laughter pierced through the unclosed curtain, lingering playfully above the guild hall.
Some new recruits, mistaking it for a resentful spirit invasion, hastily drew their weapons and stood ready.
“Could you please stop making that almost-human laugh?”
Li Jia massaged her forehead, looking at Fire Finch, who was sprawled in the boss chair.
‘How old was she, yet still so childish…’
“…Go on, go on. Go find a team and play; stop being an eyesore here.”
Interrupted by Li Jia, Fire Finch dismissively waved her hand.
“No way!”
Li Jia declared that she wasn’t short on money, so why would she go looking for trouble?
Rather than aimlessly wandering outside, she preferred to keep a constant watch on Fire Finch.
Informants claimed that Fire Finch had recently been seen with a little girl, which had compelled Li Jia to pay close attention.
Based on her understanding of Fire Finch, this woman had never taken care of children before.
She typically found amusement in teasing children, a woman full of wicked delights.
Yet, this very Fire Finch was now taking a little girl out to play.
‘Something was amiss.’
Furthermore, Aya Tone had gone north to support the Imperial Capital, making it impossible for him to bring Xiao Jiu.
Therefore, only one truth remained!
****
The evening glow cast its hues across the Imperial Capital, painting a magnificent picture.
The orange-red radiance, like a gentle veil, softly draped over the modern high-rises.
It allowed the city’s history and modernity to intertwine, creating a unique charm.
Suddenly!
“Boom!”
In that instant, whether walking on the streets or soaring through the sky in an airplane, everyone in the Imperial Capital distinctly felt a powerful tremor.
Guards and adventurers stationed across various sectors had already received intelligence, moving constantly among the populace to calm the frightened crowds.
This tremor did not originate from the planet’s tectonic activity.
Instead, it was entirely caused by fluctuations in the Imperial Capital’s spatial fabric, affecting human senses.
Aya Tone, confined to his room, naturally perceived this spatial fluctuation.
Such intense spatial oscillations could only point to one truth—an S-rank dungeon had opened!
“Secretary sister, why don’t you just let me go?”
Aya Tone leaned back in his confinement room chair, gazing up at the ceiling.
Opposite him sat the secretary, meticulously watching his every move.
“You should be content; all you got for provoking the Guild Master was a day of confinement.”
As for secretly letting Aya Tone go?
The secretary indicated that she was powerless to do so.
‘Of all people for this child to provoke, the Guild Master’s word is absolute.’
‘If Aya Tone were to escape, she, as his supervisor, would not escape responsibility…’
At the mere thought of Bai Xiao’s punishment, the secretary decided it was better for a fellow Daoist to die than for her to suffer.
Therefore, she offered her apologies.
Aya Tone, unwilling to let go of any hope for freedom, persisted: “Secretary sister, you’ve also detected the spatial fluctuations. The S-rank dungeon has opened; we need to get there quickly!”
Secretary: “The dungeon needs time to stabilize. Don’t even think about it. The Guild Master will inform us when it’s time.”
Aya Tone: “…”
How boring. It seemed he really would be locked up for the entire night.
‘I wonder if Xiao Jiu will miss me.’