"Fssshhh!—Crack! Fssshhh!—Crack! Fssshhh!—Crack!" Air rushing as the whip moved fast, lashing across his back, leaving a red welt. "Do you know where you went wrong?" he asked, his voice echoing with anger and disappointment. "This discipline knows where he went wrong so he accepts whatever punishment the grand-master bestow upon me." he said, clenching his robes in pain as he bowed his head, accepting whatever was to happen next. "Fssshhh!" The fourth whip strike was about to lash him when it was suddenly pushed back by an unknown force coming from Luò Wěi. When everyone was shocked by what had just happened, the same force threw the grand-master across the open area. Luò Wěi was about to rush to help the grand-master when Luò Ruì suddenly blocked him. "Don't go close to him or the force might attack him again." he said, blocking him with his right hand then walked towards the grand-master to help him up, but the damage was very severe that he had fallen unconscious. Luò Wěi just stood there in despair watching them carried the unconscious grand-master to his room.
He was in his room, anxiously pacing up and down as dread consumed him. "Shhhh!" He stopped at his tracks at the sound of the door opening. He rushed to him, his eyes full of fear. "How is grandpa? Is he going to be alright? I don't know what happened, I would never attack grandpa." he said, his eyelids trembling with fear as he tried to explain what had just happened. "Luò Wěi! Wěi! Calm down! I know you would never grandpa. Don't worry, he is going to be fine. He was able to avoid severe damage thanks to his years of cultivation or else if he was a beginner, he would have died on the spot. Now that you mention it, I recall a strong scent of mint lingering in the air earlier." he said, frowning his eyebrows, trying to make sense of what had just happened. "I don't think it was your spiritual powers. Whenever you use your spiritual power, a metallic tang lingers in the cold wind, carrying the silent weight of ice, but this time around it was different. There was a sharp, refreshing scent of mint filling the air, just like the one that is on you." he said, pointing at Luò Wěi as he furrowed his brows,
eyes narrowing as he tried to make sense of the puzzle. "Do you mean to say the mark she left is also meant to protect me against harm?" he said, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to understand where he was going. "That is just my theory but starting from now on you have to avoid leaving the manor to avoid hurting innocent people, until we figure out what exactly can the mark do. One thing for sure, she marked you as hers and doesn't want anyone doing something to you. I heard she is the daughter of the General Lǐ, but it is also said she cut ties with her family on the day she got married into the Earl's manor so it might be of no use to ask them about her spiritual power." he said, shaking his head in disappointment as he realized that their only lead was of no use anymore. "But brother, isn't she married? Why would she mark me?" he said, puzzled by my intentions of marking him. "That is the most puzzling part of it all." he said, slowing walking towards the and looked at the cloudy sky that showed signs of thunderstorm. He withdrew his hands from behind, made few hand gestures then pointed the index and middle finger to the sky.
The sky became less angry, the dark clouds slowly dissipating, leaving only the pure white clouds to cover the sky. "Liú Zāinán, who are you really?" he said to himself as he looked up the sky that was now covered by puffy, fair-weather clouds that can grow into towering thunderstorm clouds with a dark, flat base and a distinctive anvil-shaped top. "Atchoo! I guess someone has a wish to die early." I said, sneezing then stretched my hand out to reach out for my handkerchief and wiped my dripping nose. After I was done, I stood up and went to the garden to take a walk.