Defeated

Chen Wentian thought everything was going well with the experiment, until…

"Stop… Nooooo!"

Lin Qingcheng gave a shrill scream and leaped to her feet. He was stunned from her completely unexpected reaction and stumbled backward. Everything had been going well, what happened?

She didn't even look at him as she gathered her clothes.

"Chengcheng, wait!"

"Get away from me!" She cried and dashed out.

She was sobbing loudly as tears streamed down her face, she looked completely miserable. 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. He felt the stinging pain in his heart, the first mark of defeat in his brief time an immortal. What did he do wrong?

Chen Wentian thought back to the previous events. He started with just his hand to ease her into it and she enjoyed it immensely. He could tell from the sounds she was making and the way she squirmed on his lap. When he finally tried to use the wooden paddle, after only three 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 hurt and 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. The book wasn't even a cultivation manual in the first place! He kicked himself for being too eager and trusting it.

He gave up on the book and tried to talk to Lin Qingcheng but she hid in her room and flat out refused to see him. He 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 said in a serious tone. "Open up!"

There was no reply, only silence. Why he thought raising his voice 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 headed back to the sect.

---

"Chen Wentian!"

Chen Wentian was stunned by Zhou Ziyun's equally furious reaction.

"What?" He complained.

Zhou Ziyun didn't even want to look at him. He tried to but she refused and kept turning away from him.

"Come on… what did I do?" He pleaded.

She glared at him. "If I was her, I would have reacted exactly the same way! You still don't know why?"

"No!"

She finally gave long, frustrated sigh. "Fine... sit, I'll explain. Only if you listen and take everything I say to heart."

"I will, I promise!"

Zhou Ziyun sat down on the sofa while Chen Wentian pulled a chair over. She looked at his clueless face and shook her head.

"You're really bad at interacting with women, you know." Zhou Ziyun said.

"Huh?" He was shocked at first but then he thought about his past. "Yeah... I guess?"

She purposefully crossed her legs, revealing a bit of skin and drawing his eyes.

"Hey! Eyes up here," Sje snapped at him, "Can you stop thinking about sex every single moment?"

He blushed and rubbed his head, "Haha, well it's 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 sex before us?"

"No." He reluctantly answered.

"Have any women liked you romantically, even a hint?"

"Maybe?... no..."

"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 thought himself 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 sex 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 sex." 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 relationships were completely skewed. A relationship was not built solely on sex. If he wanted to have more than a master and disciple relationship with any of the girls, he had to 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 understanding 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. Their master and disciple moments were built on physical intimacy, the same way feelings between a man and a woman were similarly built. She naive mind had been drawn into an illusion where Chen Wentian was more than her master, that he was her lover.

But that illusion was shattered by the full-bodied pain of the wooden paddle. Slapping with the hands was fine, it was intimate and even slightly romantic. The paddle was a foreign object, it was too painful and too harsh. It was like punishment, like a master punishing a disciple...

She wanted to stop but she didn't know if she could say no. She realized that Chen Wentian was not her lover but her master. How could she talk back to her master, who's every word was absolute? How could she say no? She finally broke down when 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 emotions 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."