Chapter 297 - 169: The Entertainer, Shi Lezhi_2

Shi Lezhi shouted at Liu Yiming, "Where is he now? Bring him to see me!"

Liu Yiming was bleeding profusely, and seeing the anger on Shi Lezhi’s face, he was too scared to speak further. Enduring the pain, he went to find Gu Sheng.

At that time, Gu Sheng had locked his door and was immersed in cultivation in his room.

Liu Yiming knocked for a while, and when there was no response, he knocked harder and called out, "Senior Brother Gu, are you there? Senior Brother Gu?"

Hearing Liu Yiming’s voice, Gu Sheng quickly ended his cultivation and opened the door.

Upon seeing Liu Yiming in such a miserable state, Gu Sheng was a little shocked. "What happened to you? Were you beaten up by someone?"

Among the servant disciples, Liu Yiming’s cultivation was in the top tier. Logically, no one should have been able to beat him into such a condition.

"Come in quickly and clean yourself up. Tell me, why were you beaten up?"

Thinking Liu Yiming was looking for his help, Gu Sheng pulled him inside, intending to understand the incident.

Liu Yiming clutched his nose and didn’t enter the room. Instead, he urgently said, "Senior Brother Gu, the person in charge of overseeing the servant disciples is here to inspect. He noticed you were absent and used it as an excuse to cause trouble. He’s asking for you. That guy is just a money-grubber—just give him something, and it’ll be over."

Gu Sheng frowned slightly. "You got beaten up because of this?"

Liu Yiming nodded in acknowledgment. A flash of anger ignited in Gu Sheng’s heart.

"By the way, Senior Brother Gu, when you go, act sick. Don’t let him find out I’ve been working for you because you paid me; otherwise, he’ll bleed both of us dry!"

Gu Sheng’s expression turned cold. He snorted lightly before grabbing Liu Yiming and walking out of the wooden house. "Let’s go. Take me to him!"

Soon, the two arrived at the edge of the Fire Bamboo Forest.

Seeing Gu Sheng approach, Shi Lezhi sneered. "Well, don’t you actually look quite healthy? You’ve got some nerve, pretending to be sick! Don’t you know today’s the day I’m inspecting? A newbie dares to skip my summons—are you trying to say I don’t matter to you?"

Gu Sheng stared at him coldly and replied, "Meet you? I finished the duties assigned by the sect. Why would I need to meet you?"

A mischievous smile appeared on Shi Lezhi’s face. "Did you do that work? No, he did it for you! What’s this—didn’t expect you to be rich enough to hire someone to do your job? Let me tell you, that doesn’t work with me. Unless..."

As he spoke, Shi Lezhi patted the money pouch at his waist, and the sound of jangling silver could be heard. His meaning was obvious—he wanted Gu Sheng to hand over some money.

Though Gu Sheng didn’t care about dozens or even hundreds of taels, he absolutely despised the feeling of being extorted! On top of that, this man had beaten up Liu Yiming, which enraged him even further!

On his way back with Mo Buwen yesterday, Gu Sheng had a long conversation with him. Mo Buwen had told him that sect rules didn’t forbid internal conflicts, as long as no one died.

Although Lu Junyi had him start from the servant disciple rank, judging by Lu Junyi’s reaction when seeing Ge Qing’s token, Gu Sheng was confident that if he broke any rules, Lu Junyi would definitely stand by him!

Thus, he didn’t take Shi Lezhi seriously in the slightest!

Gu Sheng took out a silver note worth one hundred taels and waved it in front of Shi Lezhi. "You want this?"

Shi Lezhi’s expression softened at the sight of the silver note, and he even offered a faint smile. "If you’re sensible, this can all be resolved easily."

But just as he reached out to take it, Gu Sheng shoved the silver note into Liu Yiming’s hand. "This is compensation from Lord Shi for your medical expenses. Hurry up and thank Lord Shi!"

Both Liu Yiming and Shi Lezhi were completely stunned by Gu Sheng’s move.

When Shi Lezhi finally reacted, his face flushed red with anger. "Are you mocking me?!"

Gu Sheng sneered. "Mock you? Do you deserve it?"

For years, servant disciples who encountered Shi Lezhi were all overly deferential to him. He had grown accustomed to throwing his weight around. Seeing Gu Sheng humiliate him like this, he became furious and swung a slap towards Gu Sheng. "How dare you! Today, if I don’t put you in your place, you won’t know the pecking order!"

Although Shi Lezhi was also in the Bronze Bone Realm, his cultivation was heavily reliant on medicinal pills, making it shallow. Coupled with his self-indulgent lifestyle, his body had long been weakened, and his combat strength was only marginally better than someone in the Blood Refining Realm Perfect stage.

Gu Sheng swiftly grabbed Shi Lezhi’s hand and delivered a solid kick to his stomach.

Shi Lezhi immediately doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach and groaning in agony. And this was with Gu Sheng intentionally holding back his strength—if he had gone all out, Shi Lezhi would be crippled, if not dead.

The other disciples who had been watching the commotion were stunned, their minds blank as they processed what had just happened.

Once they snapped out of it, though secretly pleased, they quickly dispersed in fear of being implicated. After all, Shi Lezhi’s father was a steward, someone far above the rank of humble servant disciples like them, so they didn’t dare stay any longer.

Liu Yiming was also pale with fright, silently cursing their downfall.

"You! You actually dare to hit me? You’re finished! I’ll make you wish you were dead!"

Shi Lezhi clutched his stomach, his face twisted in fury as he roared at Gu Sheng.

Liu Yiming, also panicking, tried to drag Gu Sheng away, urgently whispering, "Senior Brother Gu, you must flee! His father is an outer sect steward on Spirit Pill Peak. If you’re caught, he’ll definitely make your life miserable! Leave the mountain gate quickly—his father can’t spare much power over just something minor if you’re gone!"

Gu Sheng, though, didn’t budge. He calmly reassured Liu Yiming, "Don’t be so tense. The sect has its rules. Combat between those of the same cultivation level is permitted, as long as no lives are lost. He’s not as skilled—no matter what, I have the upper hand."

Liu Yiming, having been in the Holy Pill Sect for some time, knew this rule well. However, he also knew that they weren’t official disciples—there was a clear disparity in status.

"Well, well! Isn’t this Shi Lezhi? Rolling on the ground today—what’s this all about?"

At this moment of tension, a mocking voice rang out from the distance.

Looking towards the source of the voice, they saw a striking figure. It was someone Gu Sheng recognized—the senior sister of War God Peak’s outer disciples, Lin Miaomiao!

Shi Lezhi was somewhat infamous among the outer disciples of the Holy Pill Sect for being a troublemaker.

Seeing the scene unfold, Lin Miaomiao couldn’t resist poking fun at it.

Shi Lezhi, through his pain, was overjoyed upon seeing Lin Miaomiao and immediately shouted, "Senior Sister Lin, help me capture this scoundrel!"

Lin Miaomiao walked over, glancing between Gu Sheng and Shi Lezhi, before asking Gu Sheng, "What’s going on here?"

Gu Sheng shrugged. "Just normal sparring within the sect. He lost fair and square."

Shi Lezhi, outraged, bellowed, "Fair sparring, my ass! You’re just a servant disciple! Do you even know who my father is?!"

Then, turning back to Lin Miaomiao, he pleaded, "Senior Sister Lin, please help me subdue him! In return, next time you need pills from Spirit Pill Peak, I’ll make sure my father prioritizes you!"

Lin Miaomiao, however, wasn’t foolish. She knew Gu Sheng wasn’t ordinary. Although she wasn’t privy to why the Great Elder had him start as a servant disciple, that didn’t mean he was like the others.

Squatting down, Lin Miaomiao lowered her voice and whispered in Shi Lezhi’s ear with a chuckle, "Have you lost your mind, Shi Lezhi? Junior Brother Gu is only seventeen and already in the Bronze Bone Realm. Did you really think he was just an average servant disciple? By the way, don’t you often hang out with Core Disciple Chen Ke? Didn’t he tell you that Junior Brother Gu was personally arranged here by the Great Elder? Did you honestly believe your father, a mere outer sect steward, could act with impunity?"

Shi Lezhi was stunned by her words. Earlier, he had attributed his defeat to his own poor combat skills and weakened state from a life of indulgence. The last thing he expected was that Gu Sheng had already reached the Bronze Bone Realm. Of course, this misjudgment stemmed from Gu Sheng’s habit of concealing his aura using his breath-hiding technique.

Looking at Gu Sheng again, Shi Lezhi finally noticed just how young he was. Fear surged in his heart, and for the moment, he didn’t dare to ask Lin Miaomiao for help.

Lin Miaomiao stood up and shrugged. "Alright, let’s go. It’s over!"