Chapter 234

Then, Gyeongdamgan let out this weird laughter that sounded kind of like a whimper.

“But do you understand? I heard your strange sound. You used the Master of Dark Demon Arts, right? A Zhengpai gal has learned one of the Ten Great Martial Arts of the World? Do those Zhengpai guys know about this?”

“Whoops, I’ve been found out. Once your hands turn black, you can’t hide it, can you? Look, this is the dark blood from the Master of Dark Demon Arts.”

Qing stretched out her beautiful, long, white hands.

When you master the Master of Dark Demon Arts, your flesh turns black with a rough, bark-like texture—it’s gross, really.

So there she was, showing off her pretty fingers like it was something to flaunt, as if to say, “Do you see this? How can this be black?”

“Cough. What’s up with the younger generation these days? I’d rather you say you’ve learned the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat.”

Even Gyeongdamgan thought it was nonsense.

The mere idea that a Zhengpai lady could learn the infamous martial art, known across the Martial World, was total nonsense.

But with so many subordinates corroborating it, he couldn’t just disregard it, so he tried probing, only to end up feeling embarrassed.

“Ugh. The Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat, though…”

Qing flinched slightly.

But Gyeongdamgan had no doubt about the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat.

Well, the Supreme Hand Sect was part of the Blood Sect, and if they had a disciple, Gyeongdamgan would know, right?

“Anyway, let’s wait and see. You’re gonna pay for your reckless behavior.”

Always with the “let’s wait and see.”

Qing snorted and readied her act.

But Gyeongdamgan just chuckled and left.

What a damp squib.

With nothing else to do, Qing sat in a cross-legged position, circulating her inner strength. At least she was finally looking like a martial world individual instead of just lying around bored.

Hmm.

Her training progress had really barely budged.

After barely half a day of focusing on her inner strength, her ambition was way off the mark.

In reality, Qing had her reasons for slacking off on her Inner Strength Meditation Technique training.

Thanks to the combined efforts of the Joy of Young Girls Technique and the Ice and Heavenly Demon Art, Qing was automatically in a state of training 24/7, whether she was asleep, awake, eating, or… you know.

Now that she thought about it, both the Joy of Young Girls Technique and the Ice and Heavenly Demon Art were close to reaching the twelfth level, just a bit more to go before they could receive the special abilities of the twelfth level.

It seemed like the Ice and Heavenly Demon was being extra diligent compared to the giddy Hwanhee Jin-gi—probably due to the difference in training point requirements for the gold and red.

Even the Blood Demon King Technique and the Master of Thunder Arts had risen by two levels, so aside from any side effects, the Joy of Young Girls Technique had really done a tremendous job.

Meanwhile, the Blood Sect warrior on guard duty couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched Qing sitting pretty in the Thunder Prison, practicing her inner strength.

After all, focusing on inner strength training usually left a martial artist vulnerable. A Zhengpai martial artist locked up in the Blood Sect’s secret prison was supposed to be absurd.

How bold, or rather, how foolish, or maybe just completely ignoring reality could she be, considering all of the above.

It was both ridiculous and incredible, and as a member of the Blood Sect, his pride took a hit.

Truth is, the role of the guard in the Thunder Prison was pretty much reserved for the higher-ups.

Because as long as you didn’t lay a finger on the prisoners, you could torment them to your heart’s content.

The reason the morning guard stomped on Qing’s rice ball wasn’t just because he was a jerk.

It was because he could, and he did.

As for other methods, everyone had their own way of tormenting the prisoners—some would mock them, while others might throw a bucket of water at them while they slept.

All of those were different preferences to chip away at a prisoner’s sanity, which was Gyeongdamgan’s intention.

But when he saw the morning scene, it was so shocking that he didn’t want to mess with it.

Plus, just looking at a pretty girl with her eyes closed was a good way to pass the time.

Damn, she’s really, really cute. Just waiting for the day she gets tossed out, I kept swallowing my saliva while my stomach began to growl.

It was just then that the guard took out his lunch—rice balls wrapped in bamboo leaves.

Qing’s eyes lit up.

The shiny, diamond-shaped rice ball glinted in her eyes, and she shot a fierce glance at it.

“Excuse me, Warrior? What’s the plan for my meal?”

The guard, who was just about to take a big bite out of the rice ball, frowned.

Did she think this was some tavern?

“Lunch? What are you talking about?”

“Huh? What do you mean? Even if you hate me, shouldn’t you give me some food?”

“You dimwit. Do you really think we’d give any meals to those Zhengpai scum? From now on, meals are forever off the table, so cut the nonsense.”

“No meals? What do you mean? I swear I had—”

“That was prepared by your senior, er, that guard. If you’re hungry, you better beg for our mercy. Flirt a little, heehee.”

Food was always at the guard’s mercy.

Qing quickly grasped the malicious system at play.

The guard scoffed, continuing with his taunts.

“Hungry, are you? Want to suck my balls? If you charm me, I might just throw you a rice ball.”

“Ah, men.”

Qing sighed deeply.

Men were just sad creatures, and in this system where they could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn’t lay a finger on a prisoner, she could only endure.

“Step aside, I’ve got something in mind,” she said.

“Well, I guess I have no other choice. Can you come over here?”

“What? Really? This easily?”

The guard jumped up in surprise, suddenly reaching for his waist, but then he spotted the red stains on the bars slicing through Qing like a knife.

In that moment, goosebumps crawled down his spine, and the excitement he’d felt evaporated in an instant.

“You, dirty girl, trying to pull me in close.”

“Oh my, what a perceptive fellow you are.”

Qing smiled brightly as she said this.

The guard slumped into a chair with trembling legs.

“So, when do you plan to give me my meal? Just so you know, I have quite a grudge regarding this meal? Let’s not create any unnecessary accidents and let’s be nice to each other?”

It was a threat for those who didn’t want to die.

The guard contemplated seriously for a moment.

Was it really wise to anger a girl who could wrap someone up in prison bars? Just to spite her over a meal? Maybe it was better just to give her what she wanted and let it slide.

But that thought didn’t last long.

What could a captive really do?

Her boldness would only last so long. No one had ever left without crying and begging for mercy under the Deputy Lord’s command.

Especially when the subject was a woman, all they had to do was wait for the right time to dispose of them.

“You silly girl, know your place. Dance naked, and if it pleases me, I might give you a rice ball.”

The guard lifted a rice ball and showed it to her, holding a piece only a finger’s worth.

Qing sighed deeply.

Why do all these bad guys have to be like this?

“Seriously, why can’t we just have a civilized conversation? It’d be so much easier if we could resolve things peacefully without all this hassle.”

“Heh, if you’re a bother, what do you think I’ll do? A girl in a cage making lots of noise…”

But the guard suddenly trailed off.

It was not a clever tactic to get a rise out of her; rather, he was astounded by the bars that were bending apart like willow branches.

Qing had wickedly pried the steel bars apart like they were curtains at some shop.

Originally, steel is strong against pulling and pressing forces, but not bending.

And Qing’s strength far exceeded what steel could handle.

She leaped straight through the gap in the bars.

The guard hurriedly reached for his sword, but how wide could the corridor be, anyway?

In an instant, he was seized by his throat and began gasping for air.

But this moment was brief.

Once the blood flow to his brain was cut off, the difference between the skilled and the unskilled was just how intensely they resisted before passing out.

The guard was only first-rate at best, so he couldn’t offer any real resistance to the one squeezing his neck like a vise.

Eventually, he went limp.

“Didn’t expect to get out this way, huh? You just had to rub me the wrong way. Well, you should’ve been nicer.”

Qing murmured as she packed some rice balls into one hand, dragging the guard’s limp body back into the prison.

Then she stripped him of his outer robe, tying his hands behind his back, and yanked down his pants tightly to shut his mouth before stepping up to the twisted steel bars.

Wow, bending them is easy, but straightening them takes a bit of effort.

After struggling for a while, Qing managed to restore the bars to an almost imperceptible state and nodded with satisfaction.

Then from the pouch strapped around her waist, she pulled out five more rice balls wrapped in bamboo leaves.

Well, I guess six rice balls for lunch isn’t something I’d want to share.

With that thought, she decided to enjoy her little lunch feast first.

But why was it just plain rice with salt? Is the Blood Sect struggling financially? Who lives off just salt on their rice?

Still, the glutinous rice, infused with a delightful bamboo fragrance, wrapped in the leaves, was actually pretty good.

After gobbling down one he’d pulled out and five more she’d stashed, totaling six rice balls worth of food, she finally finger-tapped the guard’s shoulder.

Then her elegant, long white fingers dove in without any resistance.

It was like sinking into the shoulder blade as if it were tofu—seamlessly smooth.

In an instant, Qing’s expression turned dreamy.

Wow… this feels amazing. Almost unreal.

However, the guard was obviously not feeling as good.

His eyes widened in shock, flailing about.

“Mmm, mmm!”

With his mouth tightly wrapped in a whole pair of pants, no screams could escape.

“Shh. Quiet now. See, if you’d just given me my meal nicely, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Why make this a hassle?”

“Mmm, ugh…”

“So, I’ll be freeing your mouth now, but if you scream, you’re a dead man. You really think someone is going to rush in to save you, or just watch you get crushed? Nod once if you understand.”

At that, the guard nodded vehemently.

Having been present during the morning’s scene, he knew full well that shouting for his companions would be of zero help.

After all, he was a part of that useless crew.

“Alright, since I’ve feasted, I’ll forget about the grudge for the food. However, there’s a price for inconveniencing me. Pick one of your arms or your neck—whichever is most precious to you. If you hesitate, I’ll just take them all.”

It was the most terrifying threat.

Ultimately, choosing to remove one of his arms was a clear intent.

“I-I’m sorry! Please forgive me…”

“Oh, suddenly you’re polite? Glad to hear that. It seems we can communicate. There’s really only one way for you to avoid losing a limb.”

“Yes, yes. Please tell me.”

“If you swear to honestly tell me everything you know, I’ll not touch a hair on your body. Well, except for that shoulder. I already got that one. But as long as you tell me everything else, you can walk out of here without a scratch.”

“What do you mean by everything…”

At that, Qing beamed sweetly.

“Everything. What is here, who you all are, the martial arts you practice, everything about the Blood Sect, and so on.”

---