The Cool and Aloof Senior Sister Always Flirts with Me

Chapter 165: Extra 2

The cellar was perpetually dark. The damp straw beneath her was coarse and uncomfortable, and rats occasionally scurried by.

Twice a day, monsters brought food—lavish meals, accompanied by two bowls of bitter medicine she was forced to drink.

Qi Xianqing counted the days she'd been confined here by tracking the meals brought to her. She lay on the ground, wrists bound tightly, her body aching all over.

As she drifted in and out of consciousness, the cellar door suddenly creaked open.

A flood of light poured in, filling the space with the distinctive, fresh scent of wild forests.

Qi Xianqing squinted against the bright light, her eyes struggling to adjust.

A figure dressed in a simple blue robe, holding a fly whisk, slowly descended into the cellar. Dust floated through the illuminated air as the figure spoke.

"There's a child here."

Mu Zhongzi, the man in blue, knelt down and swept his whisk gently over her wrists, loosening the rope.

Her skin, already delicate, bore deep red marks where the rope had chafed her wrists for days on end.

Mu Zhongzi looked at her with a soft smile. "Child, how long have you been here?"

Qi Xianqing sat up slowly, her expression guarded as she stared back at the man, saying nothing.

Xingye Daoren, standing nearby, exchanged a knowing glance with Mu Zhongzi. Mu Zhongzi put away his whisk, raised his hand, and, without warning, struck out at her.

Qi Xianqing, with no strength left and no martial skills, instinctively raised her arms to shield herself but was thrown back by his powerful palm strike.

Her back slammed into the grimy cellar wall, dislodging clouds of dust.

Mu Zhongzi looked over at Youlong Elder, who wore a full beard, and remarked, "This child has no martial arts skill. Why not bring her to the mountain, teach her, and perhaps gain a little good karma along the way?"

Youlong Elder snorted dismissively. "Five Dragons Sect has strict rules. No one who's trained in outside techniques is permitted on the mountain. The girl's already old enough that, if she's learned any skills from another sect, we might not be able to tell."

He stepped forward, his hand surging with energy, and aimed a powerful strike at her vulnerable life gate.

Qi Xianqing, kneeling on the ground, watched the oncoming attack in terror and reflexively shielded her head with her arms.

Suddenly, a woman in crimson robes appeared in front of her.

With a graceful movement, the woman raised two delicate fingers and deflected Youlong's blow with a simple wave.

Qi Xianqing stumbled, falling into a soft embrace.

Years of captivity had left her frail, her legs unable to bear her weight. The woman easily lifted her.

"Let's heal the child first," Yun Zhen said coolly.

The woman's face was stunning, her tone calm and steady. Looking up at her, Qi Xianqing felt a strange sense of familiarity, as though she resembled her own mother.

For the first time, she felt a sliver of safety and unconsciously grasped the woman's robe.

The woman carried Qi Xianqing out of the cellar. The elders of Five Dragons Sect gathered around her, each taking turns to heal her wounds.