The cunning glint in Li Nanzhu's eyes grew even brighter. Striking while the iron was hot, she flashed forward and closed the distance to Liu Qingyang in an instant. Her movements were as fast as lightning as she seized both of his wrists—which he had just shielded with spiritual energy—and simultaneously executed a clever leg sweep!
"Thud!"
Caught completely off guard, Liu Qingyang was pinned ruthlessly to the ground in an incredibly pathetic posture, his cheek pressed against the cold floor.
Inside, he was screaming with joy: 'Yes, yes, yes! Just like that! Subdue me! Make it so I can't resist!'
However, the words that came out of his mouth were quite different.
"You... Li Nanzhu! What do you think you're doing?!"
At the same time, he struggled with a mixture of shock and fury, but Li Nanzhu's hands were like iron pincers, keeping him from moving an inch. His heart, however, only grew more excited.
'Great pin! Use more force! Make me look even more innocent!'
Duan Xianxing watched the scene, dumbfounded. Then, his mouth split into a wide grin, and he almost burst out laughing. It was only after Feng Qingping shot him a glare that he managed to restrain himself. Rubbing his hands together, he asked, "Junior Sister, do you need help?" He found this whole show absolutely hilarious.
"Yes!" Li Nanzhu shouted without looking back as she kept Liu Qingyang pinned. Her tone held a hint of ferocity. "Quick! Search him! Find his jade pendant! Without that jade pendant, let's see how he tries to run!"
Although Duan Xianxing didn't quite understand what Li Nanzhu was up to yet, he had absolute trust in his junior sister. He knew she wouldn't actually harm Liu Qingyang.
Hearing her command, he immediately responded, "You got it! Leave it to me!"
With that, he squatted down and began rummaging through Liu Qingyang's clothes, shouting all the while, "Liu Qingyang, stay still! Hand over that jade pendant!"
This searching, however, was about to be the death of Liu Qingyang!
Liu Qingyang feared nothing in heaven or earth, but he just happened to be... incredibly ticklish!
As Duan Xianxing's hands fumbled around his waist, armpits, and ribs, the itchy, numbing sensation felt like ten thousand ants crawling over him, shooting straight to his skull!
"Mmph... hng!" Liu Qingyang's face turned beet-red in an instant, the veins on his forehead bulging.
He gritted his teeth with all his might, desperately trying not to laugh out loud. His body, however, couldn't help but tremble uncontrollably as suppressed groans escaped his throat.
'Duan Xianxing, you bastard! Stop scratching! It's so itchy I could die! I can't laugh! I absolutely cannot laugh! If I laugh, the secret is out! This whole performance will be for nothing! My reputation!'
To the uninformed spectators outside, his face was flushed red, his body was shaking, and he was gritting his teeth with physiological tears even pricking his eyes. He looked exactly like someone who was trapped, overwhelmed by shame and indignation, and pushed to the absolute limit of humiliation.
To the others from the Five Elements Dao Sect, the scene looked different. Jiang Yifan and Zhu Yinxi assumed he was simply dying of embarrassment from being pinned and searched by a woman. Feng Qingping and Ling Suxin thought perhaps his previous injuries hadn't healed and being restrained was hindering his breathing.
Only the "perpetrator," Duan Xianxing, felt the violent trembling of the body beneath his hands and heard those suppressed, tearful groans. Combined with Liu Qingyang's face—which was now so red it looked ready to drip blood, nearly matching the color of his hair—Duan's eyes suddenly lit up!
'Good heavens! So Liu Qingyang is ticklish! Haha! This is going to be fun!'
A mischievous smirk curled on Duan Xianxing's lips as his wicked sense of humor flared up.
Instead of stopping, he deliberately lightly scratched a few more times at the most sensitive spots on Liu Qingyang's waist and armpits, lowering his voice to tease, "Oh my, look what I've found?"
Liu Qingyang's heart skipped a beat as a massive sense of crisis and shame enveloped him!
He could feel Duan Xianxing's malice!
'Duan Xianxing! I'm not finished with you! Once this is over, just wait until I tickle you until you're begging for mercy on your knees! A gentleman never forgets a grudge!'
He wanted to die right then and there! Yet, he had to keep acting!
This sensation was a hundred times worse than actually being beaten up!
He simply steeled his heart, closed his eyes, and chanted internally: 'I am a rock, I feel nothing.' He adopted a posture of complete surrender, as if saying he didn't care what they did to him anymore, only hoping the torture would end soon.
"Seventh Senior Brother! Stop playing around! Find the jade pendant!" Li Nanzhu seemed to notice Duan Xianxing's little antics and chided him in a low voice. She still had to maintain control of the situation.
Fortunately, Duan Xianxing knew when to stop. After messing around a bit and receiving a slight glare from Li Nanzhu, he gave a cheeky grin and sped up. Soon, he fished out the Water Moon Sect jade pendant from Liu Qingyang's robes—the one that represented his tournament qualification and points.
"Found it, Junior Sister!" Duan Xianxing handed the jade pendant to Li Nanzhu.
Only then did Li Nanzhu release her grip on Liu Qingyang and stand up. She tossed the jade pendant in her hand, an unkind smile on her face.
She looked down at Liu Qingyang, who had just scrambled up from the ground and was struggling to steady his breathing and straighten his disheveled clothes. His eyes held a mix of grief, indignation, and a hint of despair.
"Liu Qingyang," Li Nanzhu waved the crucial jade pendant. Her tone carried the triumph of a victor and a non-negotiable threat. "Now, your life—and the points you worked so hard to accumulate—are all in our hands!"
She paused, her smile growing even more villainous. "You have only two choices! One, be obedient and come with us. We'll share our fortunes and our troubles. Considering you just helped us out, we might even share some points with you. I promise you won't lose out."
"And... what's the second?" Liu Qingyang asked weakly.
Li Nanzhu toyed with the jade pendant. "Two, if you dare say no, or if you try to play any tricks to escape halfway... hmph, don't blame me for being ruthless! I'll immediately transfer all the points out of this jade pendant!"
Her smile became even more radiant. "And then—snap! I'll crush it! When that happens, the rules of the secret realm will kick you out immediately! All your previous efforts will be for nothing, and you'll go home empty-handed! Think about how your sect leader will handle you then!"
Hearing this, Liu Qingyang was secretly overjoyed.
This way, his staying wasn't a voluntary betrayal, but a forced necessity! He was a victim who couldn't help himself!
He was being coerced and held hostage by the Five Elements Dao Sect!
This excuse was absolutely flawless! Perfect!
Even if the old man found out, he couldn't blame him!
This was all to protect the points and the sect's honor! He was enduring humiliation for the greater good!
He practically wanted to give Li Nanzhu a standing ovation, but on the outside, he had to maintain a complex expression of having suffered a great insult, showing a fierce internal struggle before eventually bowing his head to the cruel reality.
He took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, "You... all of you... despicable! Shameless! To use such methods to threaten me!"
But eventually, as if resigning himself to fate, he lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Fine! I agree! I'll go with you! But you must guarantee my safety! And... the points... you have to give me a share!"
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