Chapter 76: Defeated
Slap!
A slender hand connected with Chen Wentian's right cheek. He was stunned from the completely unexpected assault. His mind was a jumble as he felt the stinging pain so he couldn't stop the sobbing figure that rushed past him and bolted out of the room.
"Chengcheng, wait!" He yelled.
"Get away from me!" Lin Qingcheng screamed and disappeared up the stairs.
He wanted to chase after her but his feet seemed glued to the floor and refused to move. This was the first time he felt like he had done something wrong with one of his disciples. His hand moved up to feel his cheek, there was no more pain and there was no leftover mark. But he felt the stinging pain linger on his psyche, the first mark of defeat as an immortal.
Where did it all go wrong?
Chen Wentian thought back to the previous events. At first, Lin Qingcheng was enjoying the spanking experiment. He could tell from the sounds she was making and the way she squirmed on his lap. He started with just his hand and she enjoyed it immensely. When he finally tried to use the wooden paddle, after only two slaps she ran away like a scalded cat.
The offending paddle laid sadly on the ground, an innocent tool to a guilty owner. Maybe the paddle was too painful? Maybe he used too much force? Wasn't she able to convert pain into pleasure or was he totally wrong with this assumption? But those tears didn't lie. She was really angry this time.
He pulled out the 'Pleasure and Pain' book and reread it over and over again. He went over every detail, trying to expose any secrets he could have missed. Yet it there was nothing else there. He gave up and tried to talk to Lin Qingcheng but she hid in her room and flat out refused to see him. He also tried to sneak in but she met him with punches and kicks, forcing him to leave before she destroyed the room.
"Come on! Chengcheng! I'm sorry about that!" Chen Wentian yelled, knowing she could hear him. "It won't happen again! Hey!""Qingcheng! You can't stay in there forever! We still need to train!" He started using his 'I'm your master' tone. "Open up!"
There was no reply, only silence. Why he thought it would help the situation, only the heavens knew.
It was only when customers and employees of the House of Paradise started noticing a crazy man harassing the madam that Chen Wentian had to retreat and reevaluate. He thought of another girl that could help and he immediately flew back to the sect.
---
Slap!
Chen Wentian was stunned as he felt his other cheek sting from yet another completely unexpected assault.
"Hey!" He yelled, "What was that for!"
Zhou Ziyun seemed like she wanted to slap him again. He hurriedly grabbed her hands to disarm her. He looked at her in total confusion and bit of sadness. Did she have to hit him when he was down?
Zhou Ziyun scoffed and gave him a hard look. "If I was Qingcheng, I would also slap you! You still don't know why?"
"No!"
"Fine... let me go, I'll explain."
"No more slapping!" Chen Wentian said seriously before letting her go.
Zhou Ziyun sat down on the sofa while Chen Wentian kept his distance and pulled a chair over. She looked at his clueless face and felt angry.
"You're really bad at interacting with women, you know." Zhou Ziyun said the obvious.
"Huh?" Chen Wentian was shocked at first but then he thought about his past. "Yeah...I guess."
Zhou Ziyun crossed her legs, revealing a bit of skin and drawing his eyes. "Hey! Eyes up here," Zhou Ziyun snapped at him, "Can you stop thinking about s.e.x every single moment?"
Chen Wentian blushed and rubbed his head, "Haha, well its kind of hard to when you do that."
She sighed in frustration, "Have you ever had a romantic relationship before us? A sweetheart or a girlfriend?"
"Oh... well... no." Chen Wentian answered, "But I have you now, and the others."
"Nope, doesn't count." Zhou Ziyun shook her head. "We're not your girlfriends. We're your disciples. Have you ever had s.e.x before us?"
"...no." He reluctantly answered.
"Has any women ever liked you romantically?"
"No, I stayed away from them."
"Why? You obviously aren't gay and you're not bad."
Not bad... Chen Wentian wanted to say he was an amazing immortal but her words were quite honest and blunt. He decided to just be straightforward with her about his past and his thoughts. He explained the situation during his youth; about how he felt he wasn't good enough for the pretty girls that he wanted but too good for the plain girls he wasn't attracted to.
Zhou Ziyun listened and thought for a little while. "Answer me this. Do masters usually have s.e.x with their disciples?"
"..." Chen Wentian opened and closed his mouth several times like a fish but couldn't find a good answer.
"Never mind..." Zhou Ziyun waved her hand in annoyance, "How about this. How would you describe your relationship with Qingcheng?"
"Well, she's my first disciple... obviously. We enjoy each other's company. We chat about a lot of stuff... like the weather, food, what she's been up to, what I've been up to..." He trailed off, trying to think of other things he did with her.
"And you two have s.e.x." Zhou Ziyun said flatly. "Anything else?"
"Not much else.. But I can't help it, it's for her cultivation!"
"..."
Zhou Ziyun had to spend a long time lecturing about how his viewpoint about relationsh.i.p.s were completely skewed. A relationship was not built solely on s.e.x. If he wanted to have more than a master and disciple relationship with any of the girls, he had understand a lot more about women and what they wanted.
In addition to physical intimacy, women need emotional intimacy. While the master and disciple relationship was good at building commitment and trust, it didn't do well in other aspects such kindness or respect. When one side held all the power, it was incredibly difficult for balance in the relationship. The master also wouldn't have much empathy towards their disciple and most if not all communication would be based on orders instead of a discussion.
It was not surprising that Lin Qingcheng threw a tantrum when faced with the first real conflict of her budding relationship with Chen Wentian. How could she talk back to her master, who's every word was absolute? How could she say no? She had been drawn into an illusion that Chen Wentian was more than her master, that he was like her lover. When that was shattered by the full bodied pain of the wooden paddle, she had no idea how to handle the situation.
"So... in the end it's still all my fault." Chen Wentian slumped in his chair in defeat. A complete defeat! Defeated by the raw emotion of Lin Qingcheng and the cool logic of Zhou Ziyun. If Wu Qianyu slapped him as well, he might as well dig himself a hole and jump in.
"Yeah... but, it's also not the worst thing in the world." Zhou Ziyun sounded more cheerful, "This fight with her can also be turned around into a positive relationship building moment... if it's handled well."
Chen Wentian excitedly jumped to his feet. "Really? How do I do that?"
Zhou Ziyun went over and shoved him back down on his butt. She prodded his chest like a teacher scolding a bad student.
"You, idiot man, aren't going to do anything. I'll talk to her first."