This Is My Planet - Chapter 127 - Chapter 127 – Punishment
Xia Guixuan watched her silently, and Ling Moxue lowered her head even more.
“You…” Xia Guixuan suddenly smiled. “When you turned and left that day, your trials, your training, weren’t they about breaking free from confinement and understanding yourself? Why, with such a proud sword heart, did you kneel again?”
Ling Moxue whispered, “When I said ‘clueless men,’ did it anger Master?”
Xia Guixuan chuckled. “You knew I was here and were speaking indirectly, right?”
Ling Moxue repeated, “Is Master angry?”
Xia Guixuan still smiled. “It’s just teasing, why would I be angry?”
“I sensed Master’s displeasure… although you’re smiling…” Ling Moxue sighed. “Maybe it’s not because of that sentence, but I’ve felt Master’s displeasure earlier. This sentence was both criticizing and teasing, but it was also a test.”
Xia Guixuan began to frown.
He hadn’t noticed himself being unhappy…
But speaking of these things might not necessarily count, and the feelings that flashed past in that moment might not be clear. Ling Moxue, no longer an ordinary person, had a sword heart that could reflect even the smallest speck of dust—her perception could indeed serve as a reference.
Ling Moxue raised her head and looked at him seriously. “Even though you said you would be happy if I broke free from your constraints, you were being contradictory. You didn’t realize it yourself, but you would actually be unhappy.”
Xia Guixuan’s eyes were deep.
Was this feedback from her sword heart… true?
Would he really be unhappy?
Maybe… for a fleeting moment, did he feel something like that?
This shouldn’t be…
Shouldn’t he be pleased to see such a promising seedling grow, to celebrate that a life on this planet could break free from his framework?
Wouldn’t that be the demeanor of a god looking down from above?
He had thought so before, so why the displeasure?
Just because… she was Ling Moxue? Always calling him ‘Master,’ trying to please him, but suddenly one day not belonging to him anymore, that feeling of losing something?
An urge to control and possess—emotions unbecoming of the immortal path, yet increasingly demonic.
No, this wasn’t becoming demonic.
It was about no longer looking down from above, but being part of the story.
Not the reader, but now a character within the book…
“So…” he slowly began, “You felt that you had angered me and feared my punishment, so you knelt and bowed?”
Ling Moxue was silent for a moment, then softly said, “Even just now, you were still helping me… Moxue… has a conscience. If I sensed that Master would truly be upset by this, then…”
She paused for a while, finally saying, “Then I won’t resist.”
After saying this, she seemed to feel much lighter. Her gaze finally met Xia Guixuan’s, without any more evasion.
Xia Guixuan said lightly, “I wasn’t helping you, I was just watching you… You relied on yourself.”
Ling Moxue smiled faintly. “Master’s presence was already helping me. I felt uplifted and confident. I knew that even if my plan to lure the enemy failed, I would be safe because Master was here… And that’s how I understood my heart.”
Xia Guixuan fell silent.
Of course, if Ling Moxue had failed, he certainly would have intervened… That’s what it meant to be part of the story.
The feeling of always having someone to catch you when you fall—that, too, could be considered a form of help.
To be honest, Ling Moxue’s plan to lure the enemy was very dangerous because she had little experience dealing with time-based attacks, whereas her opponent had some expertise. It was a gamble, the most effective and quickest way to identify a traitor—otherwise she might be suspicious for the rest of her life.
But it was also the sword heart, pushing forward without hesitation.
She bet right.
In fact, Xia Guixuan’s help extended far beyond that… One could say that everything was due to his help.
Because Ling Moxue bore Xia Guixuan’s bloodline, her resistance to ordinary spells was beyond anyone’s comprehension or imagination. Even Shang Zhaoye struggled to control her by activating the Sovereign Sword hilt, and this natural, ethereal change in time had little chance of completely controlling her. She would inevitably maintain her clarity and make her own choices.
And then, she chose to wield the Xuanyuan Sword.
The aura of the Xuanyuan Sword, the will of the emperor, the heroic spirit of overcoming the heavens, poked a hole in that reverence for the Heavenly Dao, thus breaking through. But where did the Xuanyuan Sword come from?
It was still his.
“From beginning to end… I said it was relying on my own heart, my own will… but in reality, it was all relying on you.” Ling Moxue’s eyes no longer held that firm determination and coldness, only gentle ripples remained. “I’ve long been unable to escape your influence. This body was molded because of you, this heart arose because of you, so why deceive myself?”
Xia Guixuan sighed, “Don’t underestimate yourself. If it were someone else in the same situation, the outcome wouldn’t be the same. Your abilities are your own; your innate sword heart isn’t just for show. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have placed such high hopes on you.”
Ling Moxue blinked. “So, Master was upset about my attempt to escape?”
Xia Guixuan fell silent again.
Ling Moxue’s eyes held a rare charm as she whispered, “I won’t escape anymore… if Master is angry about today’s offense, whatever punishment the slave deserves, I’ll accept.”
Shamefully, Xia Guixuan found that his heart skipped a beat.
The fierce woman with a sword who had just instilled fear among the elders was now kneeling before him, asking for her master’s punishment… this feeling was more moving than any other.
There had been a few times before when punishment was mentioned.
The first time, it was a mere passing remark without any real emotion behind it.
The second time, he considered it—punishing a female slave as a male master, no matter how you thought about it, seemed ambiguous. He had planned to scold her and leave it at that… but then the filming incident had conveniently presented itself, so he went with the flow.
That time, going with the flow—wasn’t that just a way to hide the malice in his heart?
Self-deception.
This was the third time.
Was he still deceiving himself?
Xia Guixuan wasn’t sure what kind of person these women would mold him into, but the words left his mouth unconsciously: “Come here.”
Still quite imposing.
Ling Moxue bit her lower lip and slowly crawled toward him on her knees, stopping before him and looking up at him.
Certain things were within reach.
Xia Guixuan bent down slightly and lifted her chin with his index finger. Ling Moxue’s cheeks were flushed red, as she too realized that her master’s mindset was gradually changing. This encounter would undoubtedly be completely different from all the previous ones.
Last time, he said, “I was teasing you.”
What about this time?
But this time… it seemed to be her who initiated it.
Xia Guixuan’s fingers trailed upwards, brushing past her cheek and gently stroking her long hair. His voice, distant and ethereal, as if coming from the heavens:
“You know what to do.”
“…Yes.”
Xia Guixuan snapped his fingers gently, and the hazy time spun around, like a light veil, like curtains, enveloping the two of them. Deep in the clouds, in the dreamy time, shimmered a dazzling beauty.
In the mist, the fairy gently lowered her head.
…Eight million words omitted here.
No one knew how much time had passed before the mist finally dissipated.
Xia Guixuan stood in the center with his hands behind his back, while Ling Moxue stood by his side, holding the sword. Both of them were dressed intact. It looked like the master and the sword servant, as if they had just arrived here to explore ruins, and nothing else had happened.
Only Ling Moxue’s flushed face and Xia Guixuan’s slightly unfocused gaze betrayed that something must have happened in the depths of time where mortals were unaware…
“This place is crucial to the Azure Dragon Star.” Xia Guixuan cleared his throat a few times and began speaking earnestly, “Do you know how many years the divine descendants had developed before humans arrived on this planet?”
“The divine descendants say it’s twenty-five thousand years.”
“In reality, it’s only two hundred and fifty years. Adding the two hundred and fifty years after humans arrived, in actuality, the civilization on this planet has only existed for five hundred years.”
Ling Moxue widened her eyes.
“In the first two hundred and fifty years, due to the influence of the spacetime array, this planet existed outside the dimensions of the universe, developing for twenty-five thousand years. Then the array was destroyed, returning to normal time, and another two hundred and fifty years have passed since then. So relative to Earth, only five hundred years have passed here, but for them, it’s been twenty-five thousand two hundred and fifty years.”
Ling Moxue took a deep breath. “I see… What kind of tremendously powerful figure could change the fabric of time like this?”
“…You just ate something from this powerful figure, but in reality, he’s not much different from an ordinary person.”
Ling Moxue wasn’t too surprised; she had already harbored some suspicions. She coughed lightly and turned her head away. “Not much different from an ordinary person, you say… but perhaps… maybe… it might be a little bigger.”