"St... Strip?!"
Xue Ziqi could scarcely believe his own ears. He stared wide-eyed at Lin Feng, his gaze filled with sheer horror and panic.
—Could it be... Lin Feng actually has... 'that kind' of preference?!
A chill ran down Xue Ziqi's spine. Instinctively, he shrank back, pressing himself against the doorframe, his face turning a sickly shade of green.
Lin Feng saw Xue Ziqi's expression and snorted derisively. "Relax. I don't have those tastes. Stop dawdling! When I say strip, you strip! Unless you'd rather I knock you out first and rip them off myself?!"
"W-What... what do you actually want?" Xue Ziqi whimpered, clutching at his robes like a woman being harassed by a ruffian. Tears welled in his eyes. "Lin Feng, I truly know I was wrong! Please, just let me go..."
"Oh, I'll let you go," Lin Feng said, giving him a sharp, toothy grin. "...after I've taken a few things off you." He withdrew the Crimson Soul Flying Sword from Xue Ziqi's neck. Then, in a flash, his left arm shot out, driving a hard fist straight into Xue Ziqi's stomach.
THWACK!
Xue Ziqi's face instantly flushed crimson. He doubled over with a choked gasp, agony robbing him of breath. Lin Feng seized him by the collar, yanking him upright.
WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!*
Lin Feng delivered a series of sharp, stinging slaps across Xue Ziqi's face before the other could react. A surge of potent true essence flooded into Xue Ziqi's body, instantly suppressing his own energy. Lin Feng then flung the now bruised and swollen Xue Ziqi unceremoniously onto the floor beside his two unconscious comrades.
"Don't test my patience. Strip! Now!" Lin Feng commanded, his voice icy.
"St-Still strip?!" Xue Ziqi wailed, feeling utterly broken. He thought the beating was the punishment! Why strip after getting hit? What perverse game was this?!
"Final chance!" Lin Feng hissed. His right hand flicked, and a smooth, white crystal, about the size of a goose egg, appeared in his palm. He began tossing it casually.
"An... an Imaging Crystal!!"
Xue Ziqi stared at the crystal for a stunned moment before recognition dawned. Comprehension hit him like a physical blow. His face lost what little color it had left, terror filling his eyes completely. He understood Lin Feng's horrifying plan.
"Ha! Good, you recognize it," Lin Feng chuckled darkly, a predatory glint in his eye. "These things aren't cheap. Consider tonight your premiere. Play along nicely, let me get my recording, and then... you're free to go. So... hurry up."
Xue Ziqi's lip trembled violently. Words of plea died on his tongue as he met Lin Feng's utterly merciless gaze. Shuddering, waves of fury and utter humiliation warred within him. But the crushing weight of his helplessness was undeniable. Defeated, his shoulders slumped. With a look of profound wretchedness, Xue Ziqi began slowly, reluctantly, untying his robes.
Lin Feng raised the Imaging Crystal. True essence flowed into it. Instantly, a soft, white luminescence bloomed from the crystal, spreading outwards like a beam of misty light, bathing Xue Ziqi and his immediate surroundings in its glow. The recording had begun.
Xue Ziqi fumbled, taking agonizingly long to remove each layer of clothing. Finally, stripped down to only his underpants, he paused, trembling.
"Alright," Lin Feng said abruptly, stopping him. "Seeing how utterly pathetic you look... I'll let you keep those. For now." Relief, pure and sweet, washed over Xue Ziqi for a fleeting second. Lin Feng's next words shattered it instantly. "Now strip the other two!! And take off all your Storage Rings!"
...
Under Xue Ziqi's trembling hands, the scene was soon set. Three nearly naked bodies – one standing awkwardly, two still slumped unconscious – appeared before Lin Feng, clad only in thin undergarments.
Even Lin Feng felt a slight wave of revulsion looking at it. Yet, simultaneously, a darkly mischievous impulse stirred within him. He pointed at the unconscious man on the left. "Sit down. On top of him."
"What?!" Xue Ziqi froze, his face bleaching white again, horror contorting his features.
"Less talking! More moving!" Lin Feng snapped, his voice cracking like a whip. "Do it! Or I'll knock you out cold and arrange both of you myself! And trust me, you won't even keep those underpants!"
"I..." Tears finally spilled over. Xue Ziqi bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, stifling a sob. Trembling violently, he lowered himself onto the prone form of his unconscious fellow disciple, his skin crawling with disgust.
Lin Feng found the optimal angle, directing the Imaging Crystal's beam. "Mm, good position," he commented clinically. "Now grab his arm. Pull it up. Put it around your waist. Move!"
"Lift him a bit... make it look like he's hugging you..." "Now flip him over onto his side..." Lin Feng surprised even himself with the depths of his own wickedness. He kept issuing commands, forcing Xue Ziqi into increasingly grotesque and degrading poses. Xue Ziqi, after the initial horror, seemed to sink into a state of numb resignation. Like a broken puppet, he mechanically obeyed Lin Feng's every instruction.
Hssss...
Just then, the man on the right – the one Lin Feng had earlier punched into unconsciousness, his face a bloody mess – groaned. Whether awakened by the throbbing pain in his shattered nose or the chill on his exposed skin, he stirred. His bleary eyes fluttered open.
He blinked.
He blinked again.
Then his gaze focused on the spectacle beside him: Xue Ziqi, perched atop the other unconscious disciple, their scantily clad bodies positioned in an unmistakably... intimate... tableau.
His eyes bulged, wider than saucers. He gaped, utterly stupefied, convinced his addled brain was conjuring the most horrifying hallucination possible. He lay frozen, slack-jawed.
Lin Feng noticed the movement and turned. A chillingly pleasant 'smile' spread across his face. "Oh? You're awake? Excellent timing. Join the party."
...
After a few moments of stunned horror, comprehension dawned on the newly awakened disciple. Recognizing the absolute futility of resistance under Lin Feng's cold gaze and the Crimson Soul Sword resting casually against Lin Feng's leg, he surrendered to the same tide of shame and humiliation as Xue Ziqi. Silently, miserably, he too joined the degrading 'performance'.
The first man knocked out, the one struck in the neck, remained blissfully unaware throughout the entire ordeal. Whether he was fortunate or unfortunate remained debatable.
A full, agonizing half-hour later, Lin Feng finally lowered the Imaging Crystal with an air of 'satisfaction'. "Alright. Enough. You can separate now."
The words were like heavenly pardon to Xue Ziqi and the other conscious disciple. They practically leaped off the unconscious body they'd been manipulating, scrambling away from each other as if burned. Both faces were ashen, their expressions twisted with nausea and utter revulsion. Goosebumps covered their exposed skin.
Perhaps the jolt of being shoved aside finally roused the third disciple. He groaned, his eyes fluttering open. Confusion clouded his mind for a second, then cold dread gripped him as he realized his near-nakedness. His gaze shot up, taking in his equally scantily clad 'companions' and Lin Feng, who stood watching them with arms crossed, a picture of icy indifference.
Disoriented and enraged, the man instinctively surged up, ready to fight. His movement halted abruptly as he discovered not only his missing clothes but the absence of the Storage Ring from his finger.
Lin Feng had zero interest in explaining the situation to the newly conscious man. He fixed his gaze on Xue Ziqi. "Consider this a... minor lesson today. If you ever dare cross me again..."
Lin Feng paused, letting the threat hang heavy in the air. He tapped the Imaging Crystal meaningfully. "...I guarantee I'll treat the entire Lingyue Sect to a grand premiere of tonight's... performance."
The newly awakened man looked utterly bewildered, but Xue Ziqi and the other conscious disciple paled further, pure terror flashing in their eyes. They knew exactly what horrors resided inside that crystal.
"Of course," Lin Feng continued, his tone shifting to mock reassurance, "if you behave yourselves impeccably from now on, I have no desire to air such... distasteful material. Who knows? Maybe one day when I'm feeling particularly generous, I might even erase it." He waved a dismissive hand, shooing them away like troublesome insects. "Now... get out of my sight!"
The promise of escape flooded Xue Ziqi with desperate relief. It was immediately followed by a wave of crushing shame as he remembered his state of undress. His eyes darted involuntarily towards the pile of clothes and Storage Rings resting nearby on the floor.
Lin Feng caught the look. His eyes turned glacial. "Three breaths." His voice was dangerously soft. "If you're still within my sight when I finish counting... I'll knock you out cold and deposit your naked bodies personally on the Sect's Central Plaza. One..."
Xue Ziqi and his two companions flinched as if electrocuted. Hope of retrieving their belongings vanished, replaced by utter despair. They exchanged one final, agonized look. Xue Ziqi gritted his teeth, gave a curt, defeated nod, and turned. Without another word, he bolted out the open doorway and into the night. The other two scrambled after him, desperate to escape.
Lin Feng watched the trio vanish into the darkness. He calmly shut his battered door. Scooping up the pile of discarded robes and the three Storage Rings without ceremony, he tossed them into his own storage space. Then, he walked back into his bedroom.
"Hopefully... that should buy me some peace and quiet..." he murmured to himself, the adrenaline fading. He had no desire to resume pill refining now. Instead, he pulled out a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, settled onto his meditation mat, closed his eyes, and began channeling his cultivation technique.
...
The night outside was exceptionally clear. The moon hung high and bright, surrounded by a sea of glittering stars, bathing the mountain paths in a soft, silvery luminescence.
Along one such path, two Southern Courtyard disciples tasked with the night patrol walked their route, their boredom evident as they chatted idly.
"I heard Senior Sister Jie Feiyuan from the Western Courtyard came to our Southern Courtyard today," one remarked. "No idea what she was doing here though."
"I heard that too," the other replied. "Went towards the back mountains, didn't she? I thought maybe she was looking for Senior Brother Di... you know how he feels about her."
"Hah! Everyone knows Senior Brother Di's got eyes for her," the first disciple chuckled knowingly. "But Senior Sister Jie has never given him any clear sign. Who knows if she even... huh?! What the hell?!"
"Eh? What is it?"
"There! Look over there..." The disciple pointed frantically down the slope towards a lower path winding near the courtyard residences. His voice rose in shocked disbelief. "...someone's... someone's running naked!!"
He strained his eyes, peering into the moonlit shadows. "Wait... no! Three people!" he corrected, his voice cracking slightly. "Three people... running naked!"