"Don't come any closer..."

But Qi Li immediately suppressed the joy in her heart. She subtly gestured toward Elder Liu, shaking her head at Su Xuan.

Su Xuan understood the hint. Spotting a half-meter-tall water jug at the dungeon entrance, he quietly hid behind it. He was currently in his 'bone shrinkage' state, which made him extremely ill-suited for combat. Right now, anyone with even a little martial arts skill could pose a huge threat to him.

"Heh heh!" Just as Elder Liu was contemplating using Lu Dongshan's life to threaten Qi Li, he let out a strange laugh. Turning to Qi Li, he said, "His life is insignificant compared to your father's power as Sect Leader. Even if I, your uncle, were to kill him, you still wouldn't listen to me. I might as well just..."

As he spoke, Elder Liu began to approach Qi Li's cell, step by step.

"I might as well make an example of you." Elder Liu traced his own cheek with the edge of his sword, grinning sinisterly. "My dear niece, you're so beautiful. If I were to carve a few gashes into that lovely face, it would be quite hard for you to marry in the future, wouldn't it? I doubt those proud disciples from the great sects would want you then, right?"

The best way to make someone submit is to attack their weakness. Strike a snake where it's most vulnerable. Qi Li was beautiful, so he would destroy her beauty.

Hearing Elder Liu's words, Su Xuan, hidden behind the water jug, stirred.

When Qi Li saw Su Xuan move, her heart filled with terror. She was afraid he would suddenly rush out and fight Elder Liu to the death for her sake! Elder Liu had threatened her many times, but she had never been this frightened. She was afraid Su Xuan would die!

She didn't know when it had started. Perhaps it was from the moment he rescued her from the Spirit-Taming Sect. Since then, his image had been etched into her heart, and it certainly wasn't just because he was handsome.

"Fire!"

"Elder Liu, the Three Pure Ones Hall is on fire!"

Just then, a disciple ran over in a panic. "It looks like people from the Spirit-Taming Sect broke in and set a fire in the Three Pure Ones Hall! Elder Liu, you have to go take a look! Could this be a signal for war?"

"What are you all good for?!" he roared. "How could you let the Spirit-Taming Sect break in?!"

Elder Liu's expression soured. After shooting a fierce glare at Qi Li, he hurriedly left the third level of the dungeon. As he passed the water jug, he was completely oblivious to the person hiding behind it.

"Hey, Qi Li!" Once Elder Liu was gone, Su Xuan walked up to her cell with a charmingly guileless look. "I came specifically to get an explanation from you. Didn't you promise to treat me as an honored guest? So why was I put in the menial disciple section and made to chop wood? I'm a multi-billionaire! I've never suffered like this before."

Hearing Su Xuan's playful accusations, Qi Li wanted to laugh, but instead a large tear slid down her pale cheek. She parted her dry, chapped lips and said, "I'm sorry... I didn't realize there had been an upheaval in the sect..."

"I figured." Su Xuan's expression turned serious. He glanced over at Lu Dongshan, then said to Qi Li, "Wait a moment."

He slipped into Lu Dongshan's cell, fed him several medicinal pills, and gently shook Lu Dongshan's head. "Brother Lu, wake up!" he said in a low voice.

"You..." Lu Dongshan, who was on the verge of death, managed to open his eyes a crack. Seeing the penguin-like figure of Su Xuan, his mouth moved weakly. "Brother Su... am I dead? Why do you look like a child?"

"You're not dead. You've just been beaten badly again," Su Xuan said.

"My apologies. It seems every time we meet, I've just been beaten to a pulp," Lu Dongshan said ruefully.

"Want to do something exciting?" Su Xuan said abruptly. "I'll break you and Qi Li out of here!"

"Don't!" Qi Li and Lu Dongshan cried out at the same time.

Su Xuan looked from one to the other.

"Su Xuan, you can't rescue us. If you do, you'll be implicated!" Qi Li said quickly. "Didn't you hear Elder Liu? He wants to threaten me into tarnishing my father's name so he can righteously strip him of his position as Sect Leader and take over himself!"

"I heard," Su Xuan nodded, then added, "In that case, your father must have already escaped."

"Why?" Qi Li asked in surprise.

"It's simple," Su Xuan explained. "If Elder Liu had your father, he wouldn't need to go to such lengths threatening the two of you. This means your father isn't in the sect. He's escaped."

"I think so too," Qi Li nodded. "So please, don't try to rescue us. As long as my father is alive and I don't give in to Elder Liu, Senior Brother Lu and I won't be killed. Can you... can you go find my father instead? If you can find him, he'll definitely have a way to resolve this crisis in the Floating Cloud Sect!"

"The head of the Enforcement Hall also went looking for your father, but he disappeared too," Su Xuan said. "Do you have any idea where your father might be?"

"What?" Qi Li hadn't known that Dai Zhuyue's father had also disappeared. She was surprised for a moment, but it quickly made sense. Her father and Dai Zhuyue's father were sworn brothers; of course he would go searching if her father was in trouble. After a moment of thought, she beckoned to Su Xuan. "Come here."

"Alright." Su Xuan squeezed back into Qi Li's cell.

Qi Li pressed her lips to Su Xuan's ear and whispered, "My father might be at..."

"Got it," Su Xuan nodded. "I'll go find him now."

"Wait!" Qi Li suddenly grabbed Su Xuan's arm and pressed something into his hand. "Take this. When my father sees it, he'll know you're one of us. And remember to tell him this: 'As the setting sun and the solitary wild duck fly together, autumn water blends with the sky as one color.'"

"Alright." It was a jade bracelet. Su Xuan put it away and said to Qi Li, "You can let go of me now. In this state, the pain reaches my very marrow."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Qi Li quickly released his arm. But when she heard him mention his pain, a wave of maternal affection washed over her. She pulled the large, penguin-like Su Xuan into her arms. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Su Xuan was instantly pressed against two mounds of incredible warmth.

"Junior Sister!" Lu Dongshan called out from the opposite cell. Seeing Qi Li hugging Su Xuan, he grinned. "I'm in pain, too!"

Qi Li's cheeks flushed a deeper crimson, and she hastily released Su Xuan.

"Before I go find your father, I need to confirm one thing," Su Xuan said. "Is it possible that Elder Liu is part of that mysterious force?"

"It's hard to say," Qi Li replied with a frown. "If he is, then this trouble in the Floating Cloud Sect has probably been brewing for a long time. We won't know anything for certain until you see my father."

"Then I'm off. You two get some rest." Su Xuan stood up and walked out of the third level of the dungeon.

Qi Li watched him leave, murmuring to herself, "Su Xuan, do you know? That bracelet... it was left by my late mother for her future son-in-law..."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.