The Programmer Cultivator

Seeing this, Guann Zhenzhen laughed. ”In that case, let’s have Master Huineng go first. I imagine that with your talent and Cultivation, Master, you’ve never ridden a horse before, have you? Today, we’ll let you have a little ride!”

As she finished speaking, Guann Zhenzhen waved her hand. The black nails in the young Monk’s body instantly dissolved into black smoke and seeped into his flesh. The bleeding from his many wounds stopped at once.

The young Monk, Huineng, went completely limp and slid down from the rough-hewn wooden cross.

”Strip him,” Guann Zhenzhen ordered, a chilling smile on her face.

Behind her, two of the three Disciples who had been keeping their heads bowed stepped forward. They came before the young Monk, Huineng, and hauled him to his feet.

As he was held up and manhandled, the young Monk Huineng closed his eyes and began to softly chant a sutra. ”Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, practicing deep prajñāpāramitā, saw that the five aggregates are all empty, and thus crossed beyond all suffering. O, Śāriputra...”

Guann Zhenzhen had seen this scene countless times—Huineng facing impending torture without a change in expression. Her eyes glinted with excitement. ’I hope this time is different!’

The young Monk Huineng silently chanted his sutra, ignoring her completely.

”Put him on it,” Guann Zhenzhen commanded.

At her word, the three Disciples lifted the young Monk.

”My, my, it seems Senior Huineng’s tastes are quite unusual,” Guann Zhenzhen said with a wicked smile.

As he was rocked back and forth, Huineng’s eyes looked as if they would burst from their sockets. He clenched his jaw, but after a moment, he began chanting his sutra again.

After a long while, Guann Zhenzhen’s smile faded, and her expression slowly turned grim.

”Change it,” Guann Zhenzhen said coldly.

The wooden horse stopped. Huineng was hung on the cross again, this time with his back to the crowd. Then, one of the Disciples removed a collar from a man with a vacant gaze. The man instantly snapped out of his stupor.

He showed no panic upon regaining his senses. Instead, he just stared blankly at Guann Zhenzhen.

Guann Zhenzhen gave him a faint smile. ”Take good care of our Master Huineng.”

”Yes, Zhenzhen!” the man said vacantly.

He walked over to Huineng’s cross. Huineng must have understood what was about to happen. After a long moment, he closed his eyes and spoke. ”I will make the vow. This humble monk... will make the vow.”

His voice held the faint trace of a sob.

Guann Zhenzhen paused. With a silent wave of her hand, the man retreated. The three Disciples quickly produced a set of clean clothes, dressed the young Monk, and led him away.

Guann Zhenzhen looked at the two remaining men. ”So, which of you seniors is next?”

Under her gaze, both men averted their eyes.

”Since you won’t choose, let’s have Academician Qing Lian go first!” Guann Zhenzhen said with a wide smile.

Hearing this, Nangong Cheng, dressed in his Confucian robes, shut his eyes. After a long moment, he spoke in a ghostly whisper. ”Sigh... I’ll write. I’ll write for you... for free.”

As he spoke those words, Nangong Cheng’s entire aura changed, as if something inside him had shattered.

”You! Do you think I don’t dare make you sit on it and find out?!” Guann Zhenzhen’s face instantly turned dark as she pointed at the wooden horse. It was no wonder she was so furious. A scholar with a Literary Gallbladder and one without were on completely different levels.

Nangong Cheng lifted his head, his face a mask of weary sorrow. ”My entire Cultivation is sealed. I can’t even cripple it myself. Do you think I did this on purpose?

”My Literary Gallbladder is cultivated from that very integrity. You were intent on shattering it.

”I had no choice but to agree, and still you aren’t satisfied. What more do you want from me?”

Guann Zhenzhen stared at the ashen-faced young man in the Confucian robes, unable to tell if he was faking it. But a part of her believed him.

’After all, that old fiend gave me these Soul-Locking Nails. They shouldn’t be malfunctioning.’

She fell silent for a long moment, then turned her grim face to the middle-aged man in the Daoist Robe. ”And you, Daoist Hua?”

Daoist Hua Zhengyu glanced at Nangong Cheng’s ashen face, then back at Guann Zhenzhen. ”Sigh... I admit defeat. I’ll perform the divination.”

Having gotten the answers she wanted, Guann Zhenzhen didn’t press them further. She shot Nangong Cheng one last cold glance, then waved her hand. The black nails in both men’s bodies dissolved into their flesh.

She turned on her heel and walked out.

The moment she left, several Disciples entered. They silently lifted the two men, who had collapsed onto the floor, and carried them into separate rooms. Clean clothes and hot water had already been prepared inside.

After they were brought in, the Disciples began to undress Nangong Cheng.

Nangong Cheng stiffened. He looked at the Disciple beside him, a look of trauma in his eyes. ”Get a Child to do it,” he said.

The two Disciples paused for a second. Without a word, one supported him while the other hurried away.

A moment later, the Disciple returned with four Children. They were all exceptionally cute boys, but their dull eyes had lost all their natural light. All that remained was a withered numbness that was utterly at odds with their young age.

...