Chen Qing snapped back to her senses and exerted a slight force with both hands, directly snapping the hemp rope binding her hands.
Seeing Chen Qing escape so easily, Su Mu quickly extended her own bound hands and looked at her expectantly.
Having her hands and feet bound felt truly uncomfortable, even though those two masked men had been extremely polite to Su Mu.
However, afraid that Su Mu might run away, the two had tied her ropes even tighter.
In just this short time, Su Mu’s fair wrists and ankles had already been chafed red by the rough hemp ropes.
Chen Qing looked at Silly Shizun’s expectant gaze, a playful glint in her eyes.
“Shizun said that this White Lotus Cult is pretty good, didn’t she? How about staying here?”
Su Mu hadn’t expected Chen Qing to use her own earlier words to tease and threaten her.
If this detestable Villain really left her in this icy prison…
Even without becoming a sacrifice for the White Lotus Cult’s evil rituals, she would freeze to death at night.
“Even if the White Lotus Cult treats me well, I would never associate with such an evil cult!”
To avoid truly being abandoned by Chen Qing in this freezing dungeon, Su Mu quickly declared righteously.
“You say that, but I saw Shizun wavering quite a bit earlier.”
“I didn’t! I wasn’t! Don’t talk nonsense!”
Su Mu hurriedly denied it three times in a row.
This Villain was too detestable. She had only sighed a moment ago, yet she kept harping on it.
Could it be that she just wanted an excuse to toss her into this cell?
Before Su Mu could think further, the two masked men returned.
Though their faces weren’t visible, their eyes were filled with the excitement of having scored a major achievement.
But before these two masked men could revel in their joy for long, they spotted the hemp rope on the ground that Chen Qing had snapped.
Upon discovering that Chen Qing had freed herself, alarm bells rang in their minds, but they didn’t even have time to draw their swords.
Chen Qing’s hand shot out from the cell, grabbed them by the collars, and slammed them viciously against the bars.
Her speed was so fast that they hadn’t even reacted before they were knocked unconscious on the ground.
Su Mu, watching Chen Qing’s brutal display from behind, felt a twinge of fear in her heart.
Her little mind couldn’t help but imagine that if Chen Qing slammed her like that, it would leave a fist-sized lump.
Su Mu didn’t even dare think about how painful that would be.
After dealing with the two masked men, Chen Qing turned her head, her scarlet eyes fixing on Su Mu.
“I-I have nothing to do with the White Lotus Cult. I absolutely won’t join them!”
Seeing Chen Qing approach step by step, Su Mu’s fear instantly turned to panic.
She was afraid that Chen Qing, seeing the special treatment those two masked men had given her, would mistake her for one of the White Lotus Cult and deal with her too.
Su Mu shook her head frantically as she explained.
Chen Qing looked at Silly Shizun’s flustered appearance and felt a bit helpless.
She wasn’t sure whether to mock this Silly Shizun for being cowardly or just plain stupid.
Ever since discovering traces of the White Lotus Cult, this Silly Shizun had been sticking with her the whole time.
Chen Qing might suspect others, but this Silly Shizun, who had never once succeeded in scheming against her despite constant attempts…
She truly couldn’t muster even a shred of suspicion.
Chen Qing walked over and, under Su Mu’s cowering gaze, grabbed her wrist and snapped the rope binding it.
The rough hemp rope had left a clear red mark on Su Mu’s fair and delicate wrist.
Chen Qing crouched down and also snapped the rope binding Su Mu’s ankles.
Looking at the glaring red mark on Silly Shizun’s fair and exquisite ankles…
It was like a faint crack on fine porcelain, stirring a subtle, unusual impulse in Chen Qing’s heart.
It had been a long time since she had truly disciplined this Silly Shizun. Once the White Lotus Cult matter was resolved, Silly Shizun’s special physical condition should have ended just in time.
Su Mu looked at Chen Qing crouching before her and suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of crisis.
Why did she feel like this detestable Villain with ill intentions was thinking something bad?
However, Chen Qing had just freed her, so although Su Mu had some faint suspicions, she wouldn’t voice them.
Chen Qing stood up from the ground with a calm expression.
“Follow closely. If you get lost, I won’t come back to save you.”
“Okay.”
Su Mu nodded obediently. Now in the thieves’ den, Chen Qing was the only one she could rely on.
No matter what, she had to cling to this Villain’s thigh for now.
Chen Qing found the keys in the pockets of the two unconscious masked men and unlocked the cell door.
She picked up the two swords dropped on the ground, keeping one for herself and handing the other to Silly Shizun for self-defense.
Su Mu carefully took the sword from Chen Qing. Normally, she traveled while hugging Chen Qing’s sword.
But she had never really used a sword herself.
Gripping the hilt, she drew the blade slightly.
Looking at the silver gleam of the blade, Su Mu felt a bit excited.
With a powerful weapon in hand, this counted as her first step toward becoming a great hero.
If she weren’t afraid of cutting herself, Su Mu would really want to draw the sword fully and swing it around.
Seeing Silly Shizun fiddling so seriously with an ordinary sword, Chen Qing bound the two unconscious masked men together and tossed them into the cell.
With everything done, Chen Qing started heading out of the tunnel.
The White Lotus Cult’s lair was underground, a maze of interconnecting tunnels.
No wonder it was so well hidden.
This layout also added some difficulty for Chen Qing and the others.
After all, Chen Qing wanted to find the White Lotus Cult Leader directly and get answers about what was so special about Silly Shizun.
She also needed to rescue those captured girls. These winding tunnels greatly increased the risk of getting lost.
But as outsiders, the two had no better options and could only follow the tunnel outward.
As they walked, two White Lotus Cultists suddenly appeared ahead, each holding a lantern.
The four stared at each other wide-eyed. Before the two White Lotus Cultists could react, Chen Qing slit their throats.
The lanterns with flickering candlelight fell to the ground, stained with warm blood.
Looking at the two with eyes wide open in death, Su Mu swallowed hard, her gaze desperately avoiding the corpses.
However, being in a confined space with two corpses, Su Mu would be lying if she said she wasn’t panicking.
But she could only force herself to adapt. This world wasn’t like Blue Star before her transmigration.
Murder, robbery, and brutal fights happened almost every moment in places beyond the officials’ reach.
There were also Jianghu organizations with limited oversight from the authorities.
A few deaths were the most normal thing.
Chen Qing had already killed plenty in front of her. On Blue Star, Chen Qing would have been wanted and shot long ago.
Chen Qing had no such psychological burdens. She closed the two unclosed eyes with her hand and searched their bodies.
After searching for a bit, she actually found something.
She pulled two wooden tokens engraved with the words “Corpse Controlling Token” from their bodies.
