PDLP Chapter 19 Severe Punishment
Chapter 19 Severe Punishment
A moment later, Wu Shao arrived upon hearing the news.
His expression was grave: "Let me see just how bad things are."
The forest area he manages covers about 400 acres, and the sudden infestation of more than a dozen century-old trees with insects is no small matter.
He made hand gestures and chanted incantations before gently placing his palm on the rough trunk of the century-old camphor pine tree.
A surge of spiritual energy spread out.
"This tree can still be saved, it's a pity..."
Wu Shao shook his head and sighed. It was a pity that he couldn't save him with his own abilities; he would have to go to Spirit Plant Peak to ask a highly skilled inner sect senior brother or even a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
However, the forests outside the mountains are all ordinary trees, not spiritual plants, so the sect would not send a Foundation Establishment cultivator to handle such a trivial matter.
"You two said there are more than a dozen trees that have been infested by termites?"
"Brother Wu, we found nine trees in my forest area and four in Li Liangtian's forest area."
Liu He replied.
At this moment, Li Liangtian felt that he had failed in his duty and made a mistake. He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and stood aside, not daring to say a word.
"Take me to see it."
Wu Shao's face was very ugly.
Led by Liu He, he inspected the dozen or so trees that had been infested with termites one by one. His expression grew increasingly gloomy, and his brows furrowed as if they were clouds of worry that could not be dispelled.
There are thirteen trees in total, all of which are over a hundred years old and are the most valuable.
This does not include those that have not yet been discovered.
"Senior Brother Wu, will I be punished?"
Li Liangtian asked in a low voice, feeling guilty.
Wu Shaoxian remained silent for a few moments before speaking: "Yes. But you won't be the only one punished. Go and call Wang Yarong and Zhao Cai here first."
A total of four people are responsible for guarding the two forest areas.
After this incident, not only will these probationary training servants and disciples be punished, but Wu Shao will also be reprimanded.
"Senior Brother Wu, I don't know where Wang Yarong lives."
Liu He and Wang Yarong were not yet familiar enough to know each other's address.
"Then you two don't need to waste your time. Anyway, it's almost time for the shift change, so just wait for them to come. I'll go find Senior Brother Liang first."
Wu Shao wanted to go and explain the situation to Liang Jin, the senior disciple of the inner sect who was in charge of the entire outer mountain forest farm.
The loss of a dozen or so century-old trees is neither a huge nor a small matter. More importantly, termite infestation has appeared, requiring a thorough inspection and complete eradication of the termites from the entire outer mountain forest.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
As evening approached, darkness fell.
Wang Yarong and Zhao Cai, who were on the night shift, arrived at their posts on time.
"What happened?"
Wang Yarong saw Liu He and Li Liangtian standing together, their faces full of worries.
"Um, there's been a bit of a problem in our forest area..."
Liu He recounted the discovery of termites.
"termite?"
As Wang Yarong spoke, she took down a "wooden stick" that was hanging from her waist.
That thin wooden stick was a first-tier, low-grade wood-type spiritual weapon: the Golden Nanmu Staff.
She circulated her spiritual energy, chanted incantations, and gently tapped the golden camphor pine tree, which was infested with termites, with her golden camphor staff: "Tree Diagnosis Technique."
"Is it that serious?"
Her spiritual energy penetrated the tree bark and "saw" the tiny holes inside the trunk caused by termites.
She couldn't help but complain, "I've only been at the forest farm for a little over half a month. It looks like this termite infestation took at least two or three months to develop to this extent. I'm not really responsible, am I?"
Liu He could only admit, "It is indeed my fault. Let Senior Brother Wu punish me then."
Indeed, he bears more responsibility.
He was on duty during the day, while Wang Yarong was on duty at night.
Even if a Qi Refining cultivator has much better eyesight than an ordinary person, it would be difficult for them to spot the tiny holes caused by termites at night.
"Fine, I'll just accept my bad luck. I didn't even notice the pest infestation, so I should take responsibility."
This happened to Wang Yarong not long after she arrived, and she was unwilling to accept it and wanted to shirk responsibility.
Unexpectedly, Liu He readily admitted it, which made her feel embarrassed.
"What did Senior Brother Wu say?"
They could only pray that the punishment wouldn't be too severe.
"Senior Brother Wu told us to wait; he went to find Senior Brother Liang."
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Before long, Wu Shao arrived.
"Senior Brother Wu~"
"Senior Brother Wu, we..."
The four were filled with anxiety, like prisoners awaiting their fate.
Wu Shao's eyes held a hint of sympathy: "Senior Brother Liang said that you four will be punished with a month's salary."
So many?
It was a treasure for Li Liangtian and Zhao Cai.
Liu He and Wang Yarong are three spirit stones.
"Considering that Wang Yarong has only been at the forest farm for more than half a month and her responsibility is less, I pleaded with Senior Brother Liang to impose a punishment of one spirit stone."
Indeed, as Wu Shao said, he pleaded with Liang Jin on his behalf.
The reason is not that Wang Yarong bears little responsibility, but rather her talent in having a medium-grade spiritual root.
Wu Shao didn't want Wang Yarong to harbor resentment towards him over such a trivial matter, so he spoke up for her, which would also do her a favor.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Wu, for speaking up for me."
Wang Yarong thanked her, saying she could afford the loss of a spirit stone.
Liu He, Li Liangtian, and Zhao Cai were heartbroken.
Liu He was desperately short of spirit stones; even a single spirit stone pained him, let alone losing three at once.
For Li Liangtian, this spirit stone might be the key to whether he can break through to the Qi Refining stage and stay in the sect.
Zhao Cai knew he couldn't break through to the Qi Refining stage, and a spirit stone could be sold for a thousand taels of silver.
"Senior Brother Wu, isn't this punishment a bit too harsh? A dozen or so century-old trees are nothing to the sect, but a few spirit stones are far too important to us."
Liu He was not trying to shirk responsibility; he was simply trying to get himself lenient treatment.
A century-old tree is worth about two or three hundred taels of silver in ordinary society.
The combined value of these dozen or so trees is far less than the few spirit stones confiscated from them.
"I know this punishment is a bit harsh, but it is a warning from Senior Brother Liang to all the disciples of the Outer Mountain Forest Farm."
Don't be lazy or careless just because the forests outside the mountains are all ordinary trees.
Wu Shao suggested to Liang Jin that he be fined one month's salary.
This is the way to manage subordinates; otherwise, how can you control them?
"I never slacked off; I was framed by someone else."
Li Liangtian couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"You were framed? Do you have any evidence? If you have evidence, the responsibility certainly won't fall on you."
Wu Shao also felt that something was amiss.
The dozen or so trees that were infested with termites were all century-old trees, and their conditions were similar, indicating that the infestation was not caused by termites from a single tree breeding and spreading.
Normally, termite colonies multiply and grow, then fly out to breed flying ants that land on other trees.
Breeding ants need to go through an initial dormant development process before they can rapidly reproduce and grow in number once the worker ants reach a certain size.
Therefore, Wu Shao judged that those termites had been developing for at least several months.
In reality, Feng Zhe directly released the termite queen and worker ants, skipping the initial dormancy and development period, which is why the termite colony developed so quickly.
"Uh...no."
Where does Li Liangtian have any evidence? This is just his and Liu He's speculation.
"Then you'll just have to accept your bad luck and take responsibility."
Wu Shao was not a righteous official investigating cases; he didn't care who Liu He, Li Liangtian, and others had offended.
He only looks at the evidence. If there is evidence, he will take action; if there is no evidence, he can only assume that Liu He and others failed to take proper care of the person.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
"Senior Brother Wu, why didn't you save those dozen or so trees? If you had, would your punishment have been reduced?"
Liu He raised a question.
If it were done by ordinary human methods, there would be no way to deal with termites.
Infested with termites, these trees are worthless and can only be burned to prevent the termites from spreading.
But cultivators possess magical abilities, so how could they possibly be unable to deal with mere termites?
"Save him?"
Wu Shao chuckled as if he had heard a joke, "Termites are numerous and tiny, and they can get into any crevice."
To completely eliminate and revive the trees, one needs precise control over spiritual energy, enough to kill all termites without harming the trees.
Such sophisticated techniques can only be achieved by a few inner disciples or those who have completed Foundation Establishment.
If you can bring in a Foundation Establishment level cultivator to revive these dozen or so trees, your punishment will be waived.
"this……"
Liu He understood that the value of a dozen or so ordinary trees was not worth the major repair work.
Compared to the Foundation Establishment stage, the three spirit stones the sect punished him with seemed insignificant.
Within the sect, inner disciples who have reached the late stage of Qi Refining already hold extremely high positions.
Foundation Establishment stage cultivator? They probably wouldn't even bother picking up three spirit stones if they fell on the ground.
"Everyone should assemble at the shift change tomorrow morning; this needs to be communicated to everyone."
After saying this, Wu Shao turned around, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and leaped away.
Liu He and the other three were in low spirits.
They not only lost spirit stones, but they'll also lose face tomorrow.