Does Master Know How to Sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”?

—

The Mu Residence, Mu Man’er’s family home, was far more dilapidated than Qin Gou had imagined. There were no servants or attendants in sight.

From Mu Man’er’s well-mannered personality and the attire her family wore when they sent her to the mountain years ago, Qin Gou had assumed she came from a wealthy, scholarly family. Yet, it seemed that time had not been kind to them.

By all rights, Mu Man’er’s parents, both Weapon Refining Realm cultivators, should have been pillars of the small city of Gu Yue. It didn’t make sense for them to have fallen to such a state.

In the courtyard, a spirit boat-shaped flying artifact was covered with a black cloth. Upon closer inspection, Qin Gou could sense the dense spiritual energy and medicinal fragrance leaking from it, likely filled with high-quality spirit stones and pills. The area was protected by the unique restrictions of the Heavenly Master Pavilion from Arc Moon Mountain, presumably set up by Mu Man’er.

“So, this is the ‘fruit’ of your labor over the past month?” Qin Gou glanced at Mu Man’er.

Knowing her master was angry, the silly girl nervously stared at her toes, too scared to speak.

Mu Man’er’s parents seemed to be away, and the large residence was empty. Qin Gou had Mu Man’er lead him to her room. As soon as he stepped inside, a refreshing fragrance filled the air, making him feel at ease.

The little girl obediently brought over a grand chair for Qin Gou, then tilted her head up and flashed him a sweet smile, looking just like a cute little animal.

Qin Gou sat in the chair, patted his thigh, and smiled, “You know what to do, right? Lie down.”

Mu Man’er immediately pouted, her slender body twisting slightly as she cried, “Master! Why are you spanking me again? I’m already a grown woman!”

“Do you think you’ll learn your lesson any other way?”

Under the weight of Qin Gou’s authority, Mu Man’er blinked her teary eyes and reluctantly lay across his lap, biting her lip like a delicate little flower, evoking pity.

Smack.

Qin Gou’s hand came down hard. He didn’t hold back, knowing that with his current cultivation, if he went easy on her, it would feel no worse than a mosquito bite to Mu Man’er.

Smack., Smack., Smack.…

After a few more strikes, the clever girl began to wail dramatically. Her big, innocent eyes filled with tears as she shook her head, looking pitiful.

“Master, I know I was wrong! It’s all my fault! I was naughty and made you angry. Please forgive me, Master. I’ll be good from now on…” Mu Man’er kicked her feet in the air, her sweet voice trembling with sobs. If Qin Gou hadn’t raised her himself and known all her tricks, he might have fallen for her act.

But Qin Gou remained calm, saying nothing as he quickened his pace, fully focused on disciplining his mischievous disciple.

What made the situation even more amusing was that as Qin Gou continued his relentless “education,” Mu Man’er’s mature, alluring body gradually shrank. In no time, she had reverted to her true form—the mischievous little girl she had been on Arc Moon Mountain.

Smack., Smack., Smack.…

“Ow! It hurts, Master! I already know I was wrong. Please calm down!” Mu Man’er’s face turned bright red. The pain wasn’t unbearable, but the humiliation was. She was now sixteen or seventeen years old, infamous as the “Evil Sword Fairy” on the Blacklist, feared by many. Yet here she was, in her bedroom, getting spanked by her master like a child. It was mortifying.

“No. You’re getting all one hundred strikes.” Qin Gou chuckled at the sight of her tear-filled eyes.

“What? But my butt’s already swollen! Please, Master, have mercy.”

“Nope. One hundred.”

“Why?”

“That’s a secret.”

“Master, do you know how to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are…” The cheeky girl started singing the nursery rhyme Qin Gou had once taught her, hoping to win his sympathy. Her shameless tactic was truly something else.

Qin Gou: …

“Master, I can’t take it anymore! I need to use the bathroom. Please let me go!”

“In your dreams!”

***

As Mu Man’er hopped around the room, clutching her sore bottom, the system’s cold, emotionless voice echoed in Qin Gou’s ears.

“Congratulations, Host. You have found Mu Man’er and spanked her over one hundred times. Task ‘Discipline the Evildoer’ completed. Reward: Special Physique ‘Enlightened Dao Body,’ 1000 merit points, and one lottery spin.”

Without hesitation, Qin Gou used the lottery spin. The tempting wheel appeared before him, and he lightly flicked the pointer. The wheel began to spin rapidly.

If he ended up winning another weird item like someone’s undergarments, this Heavenly Master would surely cough up blood and die on the spot, scaring his youngest disciple into fainting.

The wheel gradually slowed down, and the pointer landed squarely on the “Life-Bound Spiritual Tool” section.

A glint of excitement flashed in Qin Gou’s eyes. A life-bound spiritual tool! He was only at the early stage of the Weapon Refining Realm and hadn’t even formed the prototype of a spiritual tool yet. But now, he was about to obtain a life-bound spiritual tool. Typically, cultivators could only form their life-bound spiritual tools once they reached the Hidden Artifact Realm, like Mu Man’er.

“Congratulations, Host. You have drawn the special life-bound spiritual tool, Dreamwalker.”

A brilliant light flashed, and a long-handled paper lantern appeared in Qin Gou’s hand, its paper shade glowing with an eerie blue flame that made anyone who looked at it feel uneasy.

“What’s this? A life-bound spiritual tool? Isn’t Master’s life-bound tool supposed to be the Kunpeng Fan that evolves into the Divine Feather Avatar? I didn’t know Master had the legendary Multitool Sacred Physique that allows him to possess multiple spiritual tools!” Mu Man’er, still rubbing her sore bottom, stared curiously at the Dreamwalker in Qin Gou’s hand.

Qin Gou smiled at her but didn’t explain further. He carefully examined the system’s description of the Dreamwalker.

Life-Bound Spiritual Tool: Dreamwalker (Yellow Rank, Growth Type)

– Effect 1: Dreamfire Devourer – The lantern’s flame transforms into a dragon that attacks the target, dealing more than double the damage of ordinary fire spells. It burns your dreams.
– Effect 2: Dream Infiltration – By taking a drop of someone’s blood (as long as their cultivation is no more than two major realms above the Host), the lantern can pull them into a dream whenever they fall asleep. In the dream, the Host has complete control.

“Man’er,” Qin Gou suddenly said, smiling kindly at her. “Give me your blood.”

“W-What blood?” Mu Man’er stammered, hiding her hands behind her back, standing straight like a child being punished.

“One drop of blood.”

“My First kind of blood?” Mu Man’er’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth slightly open.

“Shut up!”