Helping the Pretty Lady and the Encounter Part II

“Good, good. Oh, Qing Qing, excuse me to go to the restroom. You and Bai Zhe could go and wait for me in front of the examination room on the fourth floor. I will follow you,” Meng Dong said before taking his leave to go to the restroom.

Bai Zhe asked Meng Qing Qing questions about the entertainment industry, while they were taking the lift. Suddenly, a strong earthquake struck. The power went out, and the lift stopped.

Thud.

“Eh? What should we do? Where’s the backup power? Why is it not working yet?” Qing Qing started to panic when she realised that the backup power was not working. Even the communication signal was down. She could not contact anyone outside to help them if it was like this.

Bai Zhe used his qi to explore the scene around him. The boy discovered that the lift was stuck between the second and the third floors. He walked to the door with Qing Qing standing nearby, shining a light from her smartphone.

“Qing Qing, please step back from the door,” said Bai Zhe. The only source of light in the lift was from the smartphone’s flashlight. Bai Zhe did not wait for her to reply; he was already at the door.

“Hey! W..wait, Master Bai. I am still in front of the door…” Meng Qing Qing exclaimed in surprise because her body was now pressed close to his. A strange feeling came over her again. She did not know where to put her hands. Finally, she placed them on the boy’s chest. Up close, Meng Qing Qing realised that he was much taller than her.

‘I-I can’t push him off. Why is he so strong? Is he really a boy of fifteen? Ohhh? The scent…’ Meng Qing Qing who was trying to push the boy off, halted abruptly when she smelled Bai Zhe’s scent. It made her feel strangely safe. She rested her head on his chest to inhale the pleasant scent that made her feel at ease, without Bai Zhe even noticing.

“Qing Qing, you can just call me Bai Zhe. You do not have to call me Master. And don’t be afraid. Move to the side and please shine the light for me,” said Bai Zhe.

His voice brought her back to reality. Meng Qing Qing moved to the side and shone the light from her smartphone’s flashlight toward the door. What Qing Qing witnessed afterwards was Bai Zhe using his hands to pry open the doors until they opened with a squeak. The tightly sealed doors were opened as if Bai Zhe was opening a regular door.

When it was opened, the two found they were stuck between the second and third floors. Bai Zhe turned to smile at Qing Qing before he squatted down in front of the door.

“Qing Qing, please step on my shoulders and climb to the third floor. I will follow you.” Bai Zhe patted his own shoulders, which made her feel safe. She had never experienced this feeling with anyone before.

The woman slowly and lightly stepped up on his shoulders, filled with shyness because she had worn a skirt today, even though she had worn short tights underneath it.

Bai Zhe stood up so Qing Qin could grab onto the third floor. He then used his hand as a step for Qing Qing to step on and crawl up. He jumped and held onto the floor above, climbing out after her.

“Are you all right?” A nurse who saw the two climb out of the lift hurriedly went to ask and check on them.

“We are all right. Was that an earthquake?” asked Qing Qing.

“Yes. It’s chaos here. The electricity system and the backup system are down,” said the nurse.

“Will grandpa be all right? He went to the restroom,” said Qing Qing, making the nurse panic instantly.

“On which floor did your grandfather go to the restroom?” asked the nurse.

“I think the first floor,” answered Meng Qing Qing, then she noticed that the nurse’s face had turned pale.

“R…right now the celling of the restroom on the first floor has fallen in. The second-floor restroom collapsed down onto the first floor.” What the nurse said about the first-floor restroom made Qing Qing run down to the first floor via the stairs, followed by Bai Zhe.

In front of the first-floor restroom, people were being kept from entering. The entrance to the first-floor restroom was blocked by the debris of the second-floor restroom. The scene made Qing Qing’s knees weaken; she sank to the floor.

“Grandpa, are you safe?” shouted Qing Qing, with the hope that he was still alive. People around her felt sorrow over the tragic incident.

“Is someone in the restroom? How unfortunate.”

“It is so pitiful. He probably won’t survive.”

“I think so. The second floor collapsed. Survival is unlikely.”

“Qing Qing, calm down first.” Bai Zhe grabbed her shoulders. Qing Qing cried and pressed her face into his chest. Right now, she was afraid that she would lose her beloved grandfather.

“Stay here. I will go help Grandpa Meng,” said Bai Zhe before walking over to stand in front of the entrance. The people around who heard him tried to stop him.

“You’d better not. It’s very dangerous.”

“Right. The third floor could also collapse at any minute.”

“It is better to wait for the authorities, young man.”

Bai Zhe ignored the words of people who were only standing around watching, but not doing anything. He had reached the restroom entrance which was entirely blocked by debris and pressed his hand onto the rubble, sending his qi toward it to destroy the structure of all the materials.

[Bone-Devastating Palm] Bai Zhe muttered softly, then lightly knocked the debris with his hand. What happened next astonished the people who were there. The moment Bai Zhe knocked on the debris that was blocking the way, they disintegrated into sand.

“These things are brittle. They are not dangerous. If we help to move them out, we should be able to reach the victim before the authorities arrive,” said Bai Zhe.

Then, people started to come over to help move the debris out. It was not long after that that he found Meng Dong lying unconscious on the restroom floor. As Meng Dong had taken refuge under the sinks, which were relatively strong, he did not have any serious injuries.

Bai Zhe carried Meng Dong out of the restroom and then took him to the doctor for further care because the old man seemed to have just minor wounds. That he had fainted was probably because of shock.

“I must excuse myself. Qing Qing, please tell Grandpa Meng to get well soon,” said Bai Zhe. He believed that he would certainly see her again in the future.

“Thank you, Bai Zhe. If you were not in the lift with me, I might still be stuck there and might have died from suffocation. Also, if you had not been here, my grandpa would not have ended up with just minor injuries. Thank you so much.” Qing Qing thanked him with all her heart. Her smile made his blood pump vigorously; cheeks turned red and hot. Yes, he was blushing.

Though in Da Xian, he had met many women, Qing Er was the only one whom he had fallen for. She had died not long after their marriage. At that moment, he recalled Tai Si Kong’s words.

[Pious man, your soul mate has not truly gone anywhere. She has just departed for a faraway land. One day you will meet her again.] At that time, he had thought Tai Si Kong was just joking. But now he got goosebumps from his master’s words. Maybe his Qing Er had been reincarnated as Meng Qing Qing. But how could he be sure about it? The only thing he could do was to get to know Meng Qing Qing more.

Meng Qing Qing grabbed his arm when he was about to leave. When he turned to question the other party, his cheek was touched by Qing Qing’s nose, followed by her lips. Then, she swiftly drew back.

“A reward for the brave hero. Thank you,” said Qing Qing before running away.

Bai Zhe touched his cheek where it had been pecked. He felt the heat on his face.

The boy stood there, looking at Qing Qing until she had disappeared from his sight.

Then, he came back to his senses and went home with the feeling of having finally found something that had been missing.