Although Chu Qi wasn't heavy, I was confident I could lift her with one hand. The problem was that all my strength had been drained by her in the water. I could barely do a push-up, let alone carry her.
After a few failed attempts, I completely collapsed on the ground, saying weakly, "Master, please spare me, I really can't do it anymore."
"Do you really think you can't?" Chu Qi turned and smiled.
"My muscles have completely lost control and can't exert any force," I said. She was a proponent of the muscle strength theory, so I had to go along with her. If it were with Yao Yao, I'd make excuses like "qi has been depleted."
Strangely, perhaps due to Chu Qi's unique training methods, while swimming earlier, I hadn't consciously suppressed the demonic core's energy within me, but it had been unusually sluggish, sleeping soundly in my dan tian qi hai like its owner, with no intention of helping.
Even now, as I lay exhausted, it showed no signs of activity. I even tried to mobilize it but couldn't wake it up.
Perhaps it was because Chu Qi was sitting on me?
The pressure from her small posterior felt warm, and right there, my dan tian qi hai.
"You need stimulation," Chu Qi said.
"How do I stimulate it?" I asked.
"For example, if you were in mortal danger right now, could you still stand up?"
"Adrenaline? Stress response?" I remembered this term from biology. When the human body encounters danger, it instantly secretes adrenaline, stimulating muscles to react extraordinarily.
"Exactly. But adrenaline secretion is often passive. If you could learn to secrete adrenaline actively, you could master external martial arts."
Oh, so that's how it worked. Now I understood. Compared to Yao Yao's shamanistic magic, Chu Qi's method was very scientific.
I believed in science.
"Then, how do I secrete it actively?" I asked again.
"With enough passive training, you'll become active. Look back at me."
"Look at what?" With the last bit of strength I had, I turned my head to look at Chu Qi on my back. She was holding a dagger, which glinted coldly. The tip of the dagger was pointed directly at my spine.
"Wh-what are you doing!" I said nervously, glancing instinctively at Yao Yao outside the window. Yao Yao was still sunbathing, but she had changed from lying down to resting her chin on her crossed hands on a lounge chair, watching Chu Qi and me leisurely, with no intention of coming to my rescue.
"I'll count to three, and then I'll let go," Chu Qi said, slowly raising the dagger. Its vertical position remained unchanged. If she let go, the dagger would pierce my spine. If it went between the bones and damaged my central nervous system, I'd be paralyzed from the waist down. My aunt was a doctor; I understood basic medical knowledge!
"Hey, don't joke like this!" I said angrily.
Chu Qi ignored me and shouted playfully, "One."
I struggled with all my might, but my body still lacked strength. I couldn't even secrete adrenaline.
"Two."
Still futile. I thought, I'm finished. She probably overestimated my abilities, thinking I was a martial arts prodigy. In reality, I was nothing, just an ordinary person who couldn't even play soccer well, let alone practice martial arts. It seemed I was destined for a wheelchair.
"Three." As Chu Qi's voice fell, the dagger began to freefall. At the same time, she did something even more outrageous: she lifted both her feet, pressing her entire weight onto me, increasing the load!
Just as the dagger was halfway down, my heart suddenly pounded, my body jolted, and I twisted my waist, throwing Chu Qi off my back. After getting rid of her "burden," I immediately rolled to the side to dodge the dagger's thrust. But I was still a step too slow. The dagger tip pierced my side. Fortunately, Chu Qi hadn't been thrown too far. She kicked the dagger away with the top of her foot mid-air.
I scrambled to my feet and instinctively reached out to help Chu Qi up, checking her foot for injuries, but found none!
"...I clearly saw you kick the blade?" I asked, confused.