Chapter 284 Asking Elder Wei to Come Out of Retirement!
A line of people came to the ancestral hall in a dense crowd, where Bai Weiguo shouted to the small house beside the hall, "Today we open the ancestral hall to enforce the family law, please Old Wei come out of retirement!"
"Please Old Wei come out of retirement!"
The Bai family members shouted in unison.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the wooden door of the small house creaked open, revealing an old man with a hunched figure and silvery hair, who appeared before them all.
This old man had droopy eyelids, and his murky eyes showed not a hint of life, as if he were a walking corpse.
He walked slowly towards the crowd, some of the younger people, who had been fed nightmares of the old man since childhood, took several steps back in fear.
Song Yun was also curious about this, the old man looked like he was gravely ill, his breath extremely faint. Had his perception not been enhanced by the system, he might have mistaken the old man for a zombie.
"Who is the one to be punished?"
Old Wei approached Bai Weiguo and asked with slightly lifted eyelids.
Bai Weiguo pointed at Song Bu, then personally retrieved a whip from the ancestral hall. It was densely covered with barbs, giving onlookers a tingling sensation at a glance.
"I seem to have seen you before."
Old Wei took the whip and walked over to Song Bu, saying doubtfully.
"It was him who abducted the little sister!" Bai Weiguo said through gritted teeth.
Realizing the context, Old Wei nodded to himself, and asked, "Are you prepared?"
"I am prepared!"
Song Bu took off his jacket and stepped up to the platform where family law was enforced. At the very front of the platform was a wooden stump, stained with the blood of countless family members who had been punished there before.
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He sat on the ground, hugging the wooden stump, then waited silently.
Old Wei lifted the whip and lashed it fiercely against the floor beside him. The whip cracked in the air, producing explosive sounds, and hit the ground with a crisp thud that carried a hint of dullness.
"How many strokes?"
"Fifty!"
Old Wei slightly raised his head and gave Bai Weiguo a deep look upon hearing the number.
Bai Weiguo, even though he had held a high position for many years, still did not dare to meet Old Wei's gaze and could only embarrassingly lower his head.
In the Bai Family's history, a total of thirteen people had been subjected to whipping. The most severe case was for the violation of a virtuous woman, receiving twenty lashes. That young man had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment right after the punishment, barely making it off the operating table.
To envisage giving Song Bu fifty lashes now, wasn't that tantamount to taking his life?
Bai Qiu wanted to step forward to stop it, but was held back firmly by her second brother.
At this moment, Old Wei was an unfeeling execution machine; anyone who dared to intervene during the process would receive indiscriminate whipping as well!
"Kid, take this cloth to bite on, so you don't bite your tongue off later."
Old Wei took out a rag from his pocket and casually threw it in front of Song Bu.
Song Bu thanked him for the kindness, but did not stuff it into his mouth, thinking to himself that fifty lashes were bearable with his constitution…
"Hm!"
Before Song Bu's thoughts could unfold, the first lash from Old Wei had already struck his back.
Initially, he had thought that Old Wei's enforcement of family law would feel like a mere tickling, but after that first strike, he realized he had greatly underestimated the situation!
Being known as the most severe test of resilience in the Bai Family law was not easy to withstand!
The lash seemed not to be forceful, but it broke through all of Song Bu's defenses, causing his entire body to shudder involuntarily. It was a pain that originated from deep within the soul, conjuring up boundless malice in people's hearts in an instant.
Gasping for breath, Song Bu tensed all the muscles on his back. This time, obediently, he picked up the slightly foul-smelling rag off the ground and stuffed it into his mouth.
"There are forty-nine more, hold on," said Old Wei, in a nonchalant tone.
"Snap!"
Song Bu felt his muscles completely unresponsive, all his preparations were useless in front of this whip.
He only felt intense burning pain across his back, completely unable to sense any strength from the muscles there.
"The third hit!"
"Crack!"
Just three strikes in, Song Bu's back was ripped open, the crimson muscle exposed before everyone.
Song Yun furrowed his brows, wanting to step forward to intervene, but then he saw his weak father give him a slight shake of the head.
He could only clench his fists and stand still, powerless to do anything.
Indeed, this was the Bai Family's territory, and the punishment was chosen by his own father, both morally and emotionally, he couldn't argue.
Bai Qiu wept and pleaded, "I shouldn't have come back! I shouldn't have come back! I beg you, big brother, make Old Wei stop! I know I was wrong, I won't step into the Bai Family's threshold ever again!"
Bai Weiguo was caught in a dilemma, it had been over a decade since the last execution of family law, he hadn't expected that after such a long time, Old Wei's strength had not only failed to diminish but had damnably increased!
He truly felt the pain for his foolish sister, he originally intended to use this severe whipping to shut the mouths of the Bai Family's people, but it had backfired.
"Old Wei..."
"Crack!"
The whip lashed fiercely onto the ground by Bai Weiguo's feet, Old Wei said emotionlessly, "Once started, there is no reason to stop!"
"Crack!"
The fourth hit!
Song Bu's eyes rolled back violently, but with sheer willpower, he rebooted his brain once again.
"Good, bear the first ten hits and the rest won't hurt as much."
Why?
Because the first ten will overwhelm your pain receptors, rendering them temporarily unable to function.
The number of hits you can withstand after that depends entirely on your physical condition.
"The fifth hit!"
After this whip, Song Bu's back was covered with countless fine cuts, looking like the cracks on a shattered porcelain vase!
Before the crowd could think that Old Wei had held back with this strike, they saw the dense cuts on Song Bu's back suddenly burst open, and countless sprays of blood shot out.
Song Bu's back had become a "man-made fountain"!
He couldn't take it anymore!
If this continued, forget fifty strikes, a few more and Song Bu might be sent to the netherworld!
Song Yun stepped forward and yelled towards the high platform, "Elder! A son should carry the father's debts! I am willing to take the remaining lashes for my father!"
"What ability are you showing off!"
Bai Jingbing pulled Song Yun aside and scolded in a low voice, "We all know your father's strength. You with your delicate skin, one lash and you'd be in the ICU!"
But Song Yun could no longer care about that, his eyes red with rage, he shouted again, "Please, Elder, allow it!"
Old Wei's eyes swiveled, staring like an ancient well at the young man who was persistently making a racket before him.
"Old Wei, maybe just... let it be..."
Before Bai Weiguo could finish speaking, a whip lashed onto his arm.
Old Wei's hoarse voice rang out, "I gave you authority to use it wisely, not to abuse it! Fifty lashes, not one less will do, one more, and I will feel tired!"
"As for what this young man said, I might consider it."
Old Wei paused his whipping and asked Song Yun, "If you take your father's punishment, everything will start anew, would you be willing?"