Chapter 71: Teaching Tuan Tuan a Lesson

Tuantuan, watching Kong Zhe approach her step by step, finally grew frightened. She threatened him in a flustered voice while shrinking further into the corner. Her hand brushed against a box—she didn’t care what it was, she hurled it at Kong Zhe.

“Suppressive fire… Eternal Spear… Eight-foot Magatama…”

Tuantuan kept grabbing whatever was within reach and tossing it at Kong Zhe, trying to slow him down even a little.

But Kong Zhe merely tilted his head or waved his hand and easily dodged these imaginary attacks. He reached out, seized Tuantuan from the bed, and pinned her down by the bedside.

With his other hand, he raised it and brought it down hard on her bottom!

“Ah!”

This finally made Tuantuan cry out in pain. She couldn’t help but turn her head, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, and shouted angrily, “You big bully! That’s too much!”

“Hmph, if I’m not harsh, will you ever learn your lesson?” Kong Zhe sneered coldly, showing no mercy as he brought his hand down on her again and again.

He truly believed the girl needed a serious lesson. She’d been unruly since childhood, never properly disciplined, wild as could be. They were about to set out on a journey—if he didn’t put her in her place now, who knew what chaos she’d cause in the future.

“Ah…” The pain grew sharper with each strike, and now Tuantuan was truly frightened. After all, she was still just a little girl; no one had ever hit her before. Terrified, she finally couldn’t hold back and burst into tears. “Waaah, you bully! I hate you so much…”

“Hate me if you want!” Kong Zhe snorted, smacking her harder as he scolded, “That’s for being disobedient! And for making trouble!”

“Aaah!” Tuantuan struggled but couldn’t break free, nor could she endure the pain. She began to scream loudly.

Kong Zhe simply reached out and covered her mouth.

“Mmm! Mmm…” Now Tuantuan could make no sound, glaring fiercely at him instead.

After a while, Kong Zhe paused and loosened his grip a little, asking coldly, “Will you keep making trouble?”

As soon as she broke free, Tuantuan shouted, “You bully! I’ll keep making trouble—I hope the monsters bite you to death—mmph!”

Kong Zhe sneered; clearly, he hadn’t been harsh enough. He covered her mouth again and landed another heavy smack on her bottom.

…

“Will you stop now?”

“You big bully, go to hell…” Tuantuan yelled stubbornly, but as soon as she finished, another blow landed. Her lower body was burning with pain now—even as an Awakened, she couldn’t bear such agony. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Kong Zhe paid no heed—since she refused to yield, he’d just keep going.

…

“Will you stop now…”

“Go to hell… mmm…”

…

“Will you stop now…”

“I’ll bite you to death…”

…

Truth be told, Tuantuan might be mischievous, but she was certainly stubborn. Despite Kong Zhe’s relentless discipline, she simply wouldn’t give in.

Anyone else might have given up by now, but Kong Zhe was not one to back down. If she wouldn’t submit, he’d keep going until she did!

Smack—smack—smack—the harsh sound echoed through the quiet little room.

Only after quite some time, when Kong Zhe’s arm began to ache, did he finally stop and glance at her. By then, Tuantuan had lost all strength to struggle, her face etched with fear, gazing at him pitifully.

He sighed. Even if he wanted to continue, he couldn’t bring himself to. He loosened his hand from her mouth.

“Mmm… I—I won’t do it again. Please, don’t hit me anymore… waaah…”

No matter how stubborn she’d been, she was just an immature child. Now that she’d been thoroughly punished, she completely broke down. She hurriedly shrank into the corner, fear plain on her face as she looked at Kong Zhe. The memory of what just happened filled her with grievance, and she couldn’t help but sob in hiccups.

“If you’d behaved like this from the start, you wouldn’t have had to suffer.”

Seeing her cry so miserably, Kong Zhe felt a trace of regret as he sighed and stepped closer.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tuantuan saw Kong Zhe reaching out again; she panicked, thinking he was about to hit her once more, and cried, “I really won’t do it again! I swear I’ll listen to you from now on! Please, please don’t hit me anymore, please…”

“Enough, I’m not going to hit you. Come here.”

Kong Zhe shook his head with a wry smile. Her pitiful look made it clear she’d truly been frightened this time.

“Really?” Tuantuan asked timidly, not daring to approach.

“Yes, really. Come here, or I’ll spank you again!”

He threatened lightly.

“No, no! I’ll come!” Tuantuan didn’t dare delay, scrambling up and running toward Kong Zhe, terrified of being punished again. But as soon as she took a step, a searing pain shot through her lower body, making her cry out and collapse onto the bed.

Kong Zhe glanced at her and asked, “What’s the matter? Does it hurt a lot?”

Tears welled up in Tuantuan’s eyes as she nodded vigorously—the pain was clearly intense.

Seeing she wasn’t faking it, Kong Zhe figured she genuinely couldn’t stand up. He got up, called the little dog in from outside, and had it cast a few healing spells on her. Unfortunately, the spells were meant to restore health and had little effect on such external injuries. Tuantuan was still in severe pain.

Kong Zhe frowned—perhaps he’d been too harsh. In her state, she probably wouldn’t be able to walk tomorrow.

He shook his head, feeling a pang of guilt. He hadn’t expected himself to be so hard on a young girl. But it was too late for regrets. He sat down beside her.

“Don’t move, I’ll put some ointment on you.”

“Ah… oh…” Tuantuan blushed when she realized Kong Zhe was taking off her pants. She wanted to protest but didn’t dare. She knew he was only trying to help, and he’d already seen her stats panel before—if he wanted to apply medicine, she’d let him.

Kong Zhe had no idea what was going through her mind. To him, Tuantuan was just a child—he had no ulterior motives. He gently pulled down her pants, and when he saw the state she was in, his brow furrowed deeply. Both sides of her bottom were swollen and red, with some areas bruised and turning purple—the blood had pooled beneath the skin.

For such severe injuries, it was remarkable how she’d endured it.

Kong Zhe sighed, blaming himself again for his earlier severity. Opening his ring, he searched through the medicines he’d found at the clinic that day, took out herbal liniment, safflower oil, and some ointment.

Choosing the ones with the fastest effect, he began to treat her wounds.

“Ah!” As soon as the medicine touched her skin, Tuantuan cried out in pain.

“Bear with it for a bit. It won’t hurt for long.” Kong Zhe dabbed the medicine on as gently as he could with a cotton swab. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tuantuan biting her lip and clenching her teeth, clearly forcing herself to endure.

There was little else he could do. He thought perhaps talking to her would distract her from the pain.

“Do you really understand our situation?” Kong Zhe’s tone softened as he sighed. “This is the apocalypse. You’ve seen how dangerous it is out there. Everyone else is just trying to survive, yet all you think about is playing around.”

Tuantuan’s cheeks flushed. She glanced at him secretly, saw how serious he looked, and pouted, mumbling, “I know… I was just saying things, I wouldn’t really hurt you… Hmph, who knew you’d be so heartless.”

She glared at him in grievance.

Kong Zhe shot her a warning look, making Tuantuan flinch and quickly avert her eyes, not daring to speak further.

He sighed again and continued, “I already feel overwhelmed having to take care of the three of you alone. If you keep causing trouble, you really might get me killed. Then what will you do? What will Xiaolei do? What about your sister? Do you think you three women could survive in this apocalypse without someone to lead you? Have you ever thought about their feelings?”

While he spoke, Kong Zhe suddenly paused, then asked, “By the way, what’s going on between you and your sister? Weren’t you two always close? Why are you always at odds?”

“Close? How could that be?” Tuantuan said incredulously. “She’s the Angelic Saint, the church’s representative—a sworn enemy of our Blood Clan… Ouch!”

Kong Zhe rapped her lightly on the head.

“Don’t talk about your sister like that. If she heard you, she’d be heartbroken.”

“She’s not my sister, just an impostor…” Tuantuan retorted stubbornly.

Kong Zhe was taken aback—could it be he’d uncovered a secret, that the two weren’t actually sisters?

After shouting that, Tuantuan lowered her head, her expression turning sad. After a long pause, she murmured, “…My sister was gentle and kind, and she loved me most. Every night, she’d tell me stories and lull me to sleep. She was the dearest person to me in this world… But one day—I don’t even remember when—she disappeared, replaced by the Angelic Saint. They may look the same, but I know she isn’t my sister. She never smiles at me, spends all day obsessed with studying the magic of light… She ignores me, always scolding me for causing trouble…”

A mist of tears clouded Tuantuan’s large eyes, wiping away all traces of her earlier mischievousness. “My sister would never treat me like this. So she’s not my sister…”

Kong Zhe fell silent after listening. The girl’s account was vague, but he understood the gist. The two were once close as sisters, but later Xue Feifei became absorbed in her scientific research and gradually neglected Tuantuan, leading to her rebellion.