Chapter 5: Judgment

Failing to escape and being cornered at the door by Olivia and her Master Isabella, Harrison knew he was doomed.
Therefore, he shamelessly fell to his knees, begging his master, through sobs and tears, for another chance to start anew.
Although Jeremy knew about Harrison's background, he had raised him after all, and their master-disciple relationship was genuine.
Master Isabella was notoriously protective and aloof in the Azure Cloud Sect. This time, his own disciple had provoked Olivia, Master Isabella's most cherished disciple, and he was afraid that severe punishment was inevitable.
He kicked away the weeping Harrison clinging to his thigh, turned to look at Master Isabella, and said, "Isabella, this disciple of mine is mischievous. Over the years in Azure Cloud, he has often caused trouble. This time, he was audacious enough to provoke Olivia. However, he's still young. I hope Isabella can let him off the hook."
Master Isabella squinted at Harrison and said, "Senior Brother Jeremy, this good disciple of yours has caused you quite a bit of trouble over the years. Small thefts for some wine money are one thing, but as far as I know, he often sneaks into the rooms of female disciples to steal their personal ornaments. Senior Brother Jeremy, you should know that among us righteous people, this kind of thing is most taboo. He's still young and dares to sneak into the boudoirs of women. In a few years, he might even resort to nefarious deeds like stealing yin to supplement yang. If we don't teach him a lesson this time, he will definitely go astray in the future."
Jeremy's face subtly changed as he said, "Calm down, Isabella. You're being too harsh."
After speaking, he glared at Harrison and demanded, "Outcast, did you sneak into your senior Olivia's room last night?"
Caught red-handed by Olivia in the morning, with two punches to his eyes as proof, Harrison couldn't deny it and had no choice but to confess.
But he still had his loyalty, and didn't sell out the senior brother Zhu who had hired him.
Master Isabella said, "Since he has admitted his guilt, hand him over to the Disciplinary Court. Let the enforcement elders punish him according to the sect rules."
Olivia said, "Master, handing him over to the Disciplinary Court is too lenient on him!"
Master Isabella waved her hand to signal her not to speak, and then glanced at Jeremy, asking, "Senior brother Jeremy, what do you think?"
Jeremy knew that if Harrison fell into Master Isabella's hands, the incident would definitely escalate, possibly even reaching the sect leader. That would make it difficult to resolve.
Handing him over to the Disciplinary Court, according to the rules of the Azure Cloud Sect, he would probably suffer some physical punishment and be confined in meditation for a few months.
He nodded and said, "I have no objections."
So, Harrison was bound and sent off to the Disciplinary Court. Many young disciples followed to watch the commotion. Some disciples who had been robbed by Harrison before were delighted to see him caught, exclaiming that justice had been served.
At the Disciplinary Court, Harrison was kneeling on the ground. Enforcement elder Master Patrick, upon seeing Harrison kneeling below, immediately felt a headache coming on.
Over the past few years, Harrison had been sent to the Disciplinary Court for discipline several times, as if this Disciplinary Court was specifically opened for him.
This time, besides Harrison, there were also Jeremy and Master Isabella, both of whom were prestigious elders in the Azure Cloud Sect.
Master Patrick had a good relationship with Jeremy privately. In the past when dealing with Harrison, he always showed some favoritism, giving Harrison a break.
But this time, it seemed the situation was not good. Master Isabella had also come, and she was notoriously strict and had a high level of cultivation. She was almost in the top ten of the Azure Cloud Sect, and he couldn't afford to offend her.
He stood up and asked, "Isabella, why did you come to the Disciplinary Court today? Is there anything wrong?"
Master Isabella glanced at Harrison kneeling on the ground and said, "One of the disciples sneaked into my disciple's room and broke the sect rules. Senior brother Patrick Yun, you are in charge of the sect discipline, so I brought him here for you to handle."
Master Patrick's gaze moved from Master Isabella to Harrison, then to the angry look on Olivia's face standing next to Master Isabella. He understood what was going on.
He had a close private relationship with Jeremy. If Harrison offended other disciples, he could handle it easily. But this time, Harrison had offended the disciple of Master Isabella. If he did not handle this impartially, given Master Isabella's character, she could escalate this matter to the sect leader.
Jeremy saw Master Patrick's concern and stepped forward, saying, "Master Patrick, this outcast is stubborn and repeatedly violates the sect rules. This time, Isabella is personally involved. You don't need to consider our relationship as fellow disciples. Punish this outcast as you see fit."
Master Patrick, helpless, turned to Harrison and asked, "Harrison, tell me, did you sneak into Olivia's room last night?"
When Harrison escaped in the morning, his eyes were black and blue from being beaten by Olivia. Many people had seen it.
He confessed, "Yes, I'm guilty."
Master Patrick asked, "Why did you sneak into her room? Don't you know that it violates the rules of Azure Cloud Sect and is taboo..."
At this moment, there were dozens of young disciples gathered outside the Disciplinary Court, discussing animatedly.
Among them was the mastermind behind this operation, Senior Justin Zhu.
Hearing Master Patrick's question, Justin, standing outside the door, was sweating profusely, fearing that Harrison would sell him out to save himself.
Fortunately, although Harrison was frivolous, greedy, and lustful, he was still very loyal.
He knelt on the ground and said quietly, "I know I was wrong. I will never do it again."
Master Patrick looked at Olivia and asked, "Olivia, did Harrison do anything inappropriate when he snuck into your room?"
Olivia, full of anger, said, "As soon as he appeared, I detected him. After I punched him twice, he ran away. Later, when I checked the items in my room, I found a shoe missing."
The disciples outside the door were in an uproar!
This was outrageous!
Olivia was beautiful and outstanding among the younger generation of disciples in the Azure Cloud Sect. Along with Master Zoey's female disciple Harper, they were known as the unmatched pair and were called the Smokesear Fairies. Olivia was greatly admired among the male disciples of Azure Cloud Sect, and there were hundreds, if not thousands, of disciples secretly in love with Olivia.
Hearing that Harrison, the notorious rat of the Azure Cloud Sect, had sneaked into their goddess's room in the middle of the night was already unforgivable. Now, he had even stolen one of her scented shoes, which was simply heinous. There was a growing sentiment that his death was the only way to appease the public.
Seeing the uproar among the disciples outside, and many disciples started to curse Harrison.
He shouted, "Quiet! This is the solemn Disciplinary Court, stop the noise!"
Then he looked at Harrison and asked, "Is what Olivia said true?"
Harrison openly admitted, "Yes, I stole it."
Master Patrick asked, "Stealing and misconduct are violations of the sect rules. You were quiet for a while after being punished by the Disciplinary Court a few months ago. Why have you returned to your old ways? Tell me, what's the reason this time? Was someone bribing or instigating you? As long as you confess the real culprit, it would be considered a merit."
Justin outside the door was extremely nervous, he shrank back, wanting to escape.
Unexpectedly, Harrison said, "Master Patrick Yun, don't try to cover for me. No one bribed me, and no one instigated me. I stole it myself. Despite my young age of fifteen, I am a man. I have been secretly in love with senior Olivia for a long time, thinking of her day and night, sleepless at night. So, I wanted to steal a personal item from her to ease my lovesickness!"
At these words, there was a commotion both inside and outside the room. Olivia was so angry that her face turned pale. If it wasn't for her mentor, Master Isabella, holding her back, she might have beheaded this profligate son with her Smokesear Sword!