Three Sins Against Heaven

Roy Li watched as Carol Yan was punished, his hand holding the hammer suspended in mid-air, forgetting to strike. It wasn't until Mark Ye turned his gaze towards him that he hurriedly brought the hammer down with a heavy thud, silently sympathizing with Carol in his heart.

Coincidentally, Ryan Ji and Ralph Zhao, who had gone out to feed the tiger cubs, returned just in time.

Ralph Zhao, seeing the scene, immediately stood far away, avoiding eye contact, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

Ryan Ji tossed the tiger cub in his arms to Ralph Zhao and stepped forward to shield Carol Yan. In a deep voice, he said, "It's her first time planting medicinal herbs; it's already impressive she managed this much. How can you treat her like this?"

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"Hmph!" Mark Ye's spiritual sense spread out, and Ryan Ji immediately fell to the ground, writhing in pain just like Carol Yan. "It's you again. Last time when I was away, you all talked behind my back, and you were the one who cursed me the most. I wanted her to serve me, but you ruined her. You've challenged me time and again; do you really think I don't dare to kill you? If you want to stand up for her, then bear the consequences for her!"

Ryan Ji's face twisted in pain, cold sweat streaming down. Yet, he remained as stubborn as ever, gritting his teeth and refusing to make a sound, unwilling to show weakness in front of Mark Ye.

"Interesting." Mark Ye sneered, intensifying his spiritual sense. "If you won't submit, then die."

"Ah!" Ryan Ji screamed, veins bulging on his forehead, his face contorted in agony.

Roy Li and Ralph Zhao could feel his life force rapidly weakening, but they dared not step forward to intervene.

Carol Yan, also suffering from the effects of the blood-red pills in her body, was in too much pain to get up. She could only look at Ryan Ji with concern, tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't want to see Ryan Ji die in front of her.

With a creak, the door slid open.

Though the sound was not loud, it was abrupt enough to draw everyone's attention. They turned to see Dylan Chen stepping out of the house, their expressions growing complex.

"What, you want to stand up for them too?" Mark Ye frowned, his voice cold. "Don't think that just because you can refine pills, I won't deal with you."

Dylan Chen shook his head calmly. "I just want to see if the herbs can be saved. If they can, I can refine a few more pills."

Mark Ye's frown slowly eased. He retracted his spiritual sense and performed a hand seal to open the light screen covering the courtyard, taking the lead to step out.

"Everyone, come out."

Dylan Chen immediately followed, giving Carol Yan a slight nod. Carol quickly helped Ryan Ji up and followed.

Outside the courtyard, Dylan Chen didn't have time to savor the joy of stepping out. He quickly walked into the herb garden, squatting down in front of a withered purple flower, focusing his spiritual sense on it.

After a moment, Dylan Chen released spiritual energy into the soil, drawing out a significant amount of moisture from around the purple flower.

"Too much water."

Although he had never planted medicinal herbs, his long experience in pill refining gave him some understanding of them. Moreover, his Wood Spirit Root made him naturally attuned to plants. Even with only half a Wood Spirit Root, he could understand the condition of the herbs with careful sensing.

Dylan Chen channeled spiritual energy into the purple flower, and it gradually regained its vitality.

"This one is planted too deep."

"This one has too little water and is planted too shallow."

"This one has too much spiritual energy, damaging the roots."

...

Mark Ye watched as Dylan Chen moved around the herb garden, reviving most of the damaged herbs. His expression gradually showed satisfaction.

"That's enough." Mark Ye called out to Dylan Chen. "Just tell them what to do. Come inside with me."

"Yes." Dylan Chen walked over to Carol Yan, carefully instructing her on how to handle each damaged herb.

Carol Yan looked at Dylan Chen gratefully and said softly, "Dylan, thank you."

Dylan Chen replied coldly, "If you can't even handle such a small task, instead of thanking me, you should put in more effort."

Carol Yan was taken aback, tears welling up again.

Roy Li and Ralph Zhao were also stunned. Dylan Chen was not usually harsh; why was he speaking so harshly this time?

Ryan Ji angrily said, "Dylan, what do you mean by this? How can you talk to her like that?"

Dylan Chen responded indifferently, "If she did something wrong, shouldn't she be told?"

"You!" Ryan Ji grabbed Dylan Chen by the collar, glaring at him. "How did you become like this?"

Dylan Chen remained calm. "I've always been like this. Did you just realize it today? I'll do anything to survive."

"No, you weren't like this before." Ryan Ji muttered, his eyes filled with disappointment.

Dylan Chen sneered, "You shouldn't be concerned about what I'm like. Just make sure your wife doesn't cause us any more trouble. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be suffering so much."

Ryan Ji was stunned, then punched Dylan Chen in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"You bastard!"

Dylan Chen got up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at Ryan Ji expressionlessly before turning and walking back into the courtyard, sighing inwardly.

He didn't want to say such harsh words, but if he didn't, stepping in would be meaningless.

The same result, but with different motivations, would make a big difference.

If it was for the herbs, Mark Ye would think he was loyal. But if it was for standing up for Carol and Ryan, Mark Ye would be displeased.

A united front among the Spirit Slaves was something Mark Ye would not want to see.

As Dylan Chen entered the courtyard, Roy Li handed a palm-sized piece of silver essence to Mark Ye, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and pointed to the various sizes of silver scraps on the ground.

"Master, these scraps can't be refined again. How should we dispose of them?"

"Keep them as your reward." Mark Ye turned slightly, seeing Dylan Chen follow him in, and continued walking.

In the attic, Mark Ye waved his hand, and the entire top floor was immediately covered with medicinal herbs.

"A hundred sets. If you can produce twenty Spirit Gathering Pills, you'll pass. Hurry up; if you run out of spiritual energy, recover here."

"Yes." Dylan Chen sat in front of the pill furnace, grabbing herbs and throwing them into the furnace. Flames ignited, and everything seemed so practiced.

When his spiritual energy was exhausted, Dylan Chen handed the two freshly refined Spirit Gathering Pills to Mark Ye, his expression complex.

It was laughable; he had been refining pills for so long but had never tasted one himself. Even when his spiritual energy was depleted, he could only meditate to slowly recover.

All because he was a Spirit Slave, unworthy!

Mark Ye noticed Dylan Chen's strange expression and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just a bit dazed from the mental exhaustion." Dylan Chen quickly averted his gaze and grabbed another set of herbs to throw into the furnace.@@novelbin@@

Five days later, the furnace fire extinguished, and the herbs on the ground had disappeared, replaced by twenty-four bottles of pills. This result far exceeded Mark Ye's expectations.

Mark Ye looked at the porcelain bottles filled with pills and nodded in satisfaction. "You've performed well these days, no longer resisting like before."

Dylan Chen replied respectfully, "As a Spirit Slave, I dare not resist."

"Good, I'm glad you have this awareness." Mark Ye picked up a porcelain bottle, poured a Spirit Gathering Pill into his palm, glanced at it, and then casually tossed it to the ground. "It's your reward."

Dylan Chen lowered his head and said softly, "Such a precious item, I dare not accept. Besides, my Qi Sea is broken; it's useless to me. As for the spiritual energy consumed, I'll recover it slowly."

Mark Ye said indifferently, "What I reward you with, you can't refuse."

Dylan Chen whispered, "I dare not."

To be honest, he did want to try the Spirit Gathering Pill he had refined.

But Mark Ye had thrown it to the ground, such an obvious humiliation he couldn't accept. His mother had taught him that one could be poor, but one must live with dignity.

Mark Ye squinted, his spiritual sense spreading out, causing the blood-red pill in Dylan Chen's body to act up again.

"Who do you think you are? Just because you refined a few pills, you think you can defy my will? You are my Spirit Slave, for life. Your life and death are in my hands; this is your fate, and you can never escape it. Now, pick it up and eat it!"

If Dylan Chen's Qi Sea wasn't broken, Mark Ye wouldn't treat him like this. He would have cultivated him as a dedicated pill refiner.

But with his Qi Sea broken, the thin spiritual energy in Dylan Chen's body couldn't support long periods of pill refining. This meant he couldn't become a high-level pill refiner, not even capable of refining high-quality first-grade pills.

As Mark Ye's cultivation deepened, Dylan Chen's usefulness to him would diminish, which was why Mark Ye didn't value him.

No matter how high his pill refining talent was, with a broken Qi Sea, he was still a waste!

Dylan Chen struggled to reach out, grabbing the pill and stuffing it into his mouth, the intense pain in his body finally subsiding.

Seeing Dylan Chen submit, Mark Ye's lips curled into a smile. He waved his hand dismissively, "Remember your place in the future. Get out."

"Yes, I take my leave." Dylan Chen quickly got up, not bothering to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He bowed respectfully before enduring the pain and stumbling away.

After leaving the attic, Dylan Chen hurried to his room, for the first time ignoring the gazes from the window.

He sat on his bed, gritting his teeth, his body trembling with anger. He knew that minor patience was necessary for the greater plan, but no matter how much he could endure, he couldn't ignore such humiliation!

He might face more such insults in the future, even worse ones. But to live and see his mother again, he had to endure!

The bright moonlight shone through the window, casting a glow on the floor. Dylan Chen looked up at the brightly lit attic, a fierce fire of anger burning in his eyes.

He had been hesitant before, but now, he was determined!