AZI Volume 3 Chapter 45

Taking aim at Chen Lan's back, Long Hua extends his fishing rod, and casts his line out.

As the rock that is tied to the end of the line approaches Chen Lan—

"Ah!"

Woken up by a sharp sense of pain—that originates from his right shoulder blade, Chen Lan snaps his eyes wide open, and leaps off the floor.

"Damn…!"

As Chen Lan grimaces in pain, Yu Ji smirks in seeing Long Hua giving the former the same style of wake-up treatment.

"Hurts, doesn't it? Good, it means you're still alive."

Repeating the words that Long Hua had said to her when she had woken up, Yu Ji's smirk widens.

"Yu Ji and…? Surnamed Long?"

Raising an eye towards Chen Lan, Long Hua asks—

"Ai, surnamed Chen, why the glare?"

"Why the glare? Surnamed Long, if it weren't for you and your fishing rod, I wouldn't have lost four storage pouches, and ended up having my salary cut for the month!"

"Surnamed Long, grudges over a salary aren't easy to sate."

Judging by Yu Ji's solemn tone when she said this, she seems to be speaking from experience.

Shrugging a shoulder, Long Hua replies—

"Your skills were lacking, why look to me as an excuse?"

Ignoring Long Hua's words, Chen Lan draws out his Relic—which takes on the form of a single-edged saber, sheathed inside of a black scabbard. The entirety of the weapon seems to be about three feet in length.

"…"

Taking a step forward, Chen Lan closes the gap between Long Hua and himself.

With his weapon partially drawn, and with Long Hua within striking distance, Chen Lan is confident in his ability to lop off the enemy's head, however—

(Emperor, mortal realm's greatest authority.)

"…!"

As soon as Long Hua takes a step forward with his left hand clenched into a fist, cold sweat flows from Chen Lan's pores—causing his complexion to pale.

(The hell is this?!)

Facing Long Hua, who had only released the air of his Martial Emperor's Step, Chen Lan feels as if he is facing a monster that can swallow him whole—making his charge look as if he is willingly delivering himself into a monster's maw.

(I need to retreat!)

Stomping the ground beneath his feet hard, Chen Lan immediately leaps backwards.

"…!"

Similarly, to Chen Lan, Yu Ji also takes a few steps back in response to Long Hua's current air.

"Planning to run?"

Swinging his right hand, Long Hua casts his line out.

"…!"

Just as the line begins to run a second coil around him, Chen Lan positions his saber directly in front of his chest; however—

*Chi! Chi! Chi!* contrary to Chen Lan's expectations—of his saber being able to sever the line, sparks are what flies, as his Relic is made to contend against Long Hua's sword Qi.

Having been caught off guard, the line manages to run three circles around Chen Lan, and upon it cutting into his clothes, Long Hua dismisses a portion of the sword Qi—to prevent Chen Lan from being cut into pieces.

Pulling the fishing rod back, Long Hua drags Chen Lan towards him, while throwing his left fist out.

"Ah!"

Taking a punch to the gut, Chen Lan raises a miserable shriek.

Drawing in a deep breath, Chen Lan asks—

"S-Surnamed Long, you…? What kind of fishing rod is this?"

"Simply an ordinary fishing rod."

"My ass! What kind of line could possibly withstand the sharpness of a Relic?"

Heaving a heavy sigh, Long Hua answers—

"…Fine, I'll be honest with you. This fishing rod is an Immortal's magic treasure that I brought off the internet."

"Bullshit!"

"Ahn?"

"…"

Walking over, Tian Cheng silently offers to hold the fishing rod for Long Hua, to which, the latter accepts.

Taking out his unfinished cigar and lighting it, Long Hua sucks in the fume—before exhaling it right to Chen Lan's face.

Changing the topic, Long Hua says—

"Surnamed Chen, you have information that I want in your head. So, time to cough it up."

"Heh. You want to know about the inner workings of the Ashen River Hall, do you? Well too bad! You won't get anything out of me!"

Automatically assuming this to be what Long Hua wishes to know, Chen Lan smirks with confidence in his ability to withstand torment, to which, the former replies—

"Are you certain? If you speak now, we could still be friends."

"Piss off!"

Heaving a sigh, Long Hua drops his bag, and takes out a pair of paw pad gauntlets, and puts them on.

"Uh…?"

Seeing the odd gauntlets, Chen Lan can't help but look on in confusion.

"Eat this!"

*Nyan!* as soon as Long Hua's right fist that is covered by the paw pad gauntlets lands onto Chen Lan's face, a cat's cry goes off.

*Nyan! Nyan! Nyan! Nyan! Nyan!* treating Chen Lan as a sandbag, Long Hua throws out a barrage of punches—that are followed by both Chen Lan's miserable shrieks and a cat's cry.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Aaaahh!"

"Surnamed Chen, you ready to talk or not?"

"Surnamed Long, just kill me! Kill me and be done with it!"

Despite having taken so many hits—that could have killed him more than ten times over, Chen Lan doesn't know why he still isn't any closer to death.

"Oh? Still have the galls to call me surnamed Long, do you?"

*Nyan!* landing a heavy hit onto Chen Lan's abdomen, Long Hua adds—

"Call me lord, grandfather, or ancestor!"

Towards Long Hua's words, the Tai Xuan Emperor thought—

(The man who made numerous geniuses call him ancestor is back!)

"…"

Watching Chen Lan, who is being pummeled to the point of having his bruises turn purple, Yu Ji's expression stiffens completely. She's a bit concerned that at this rate, Chen Lan might just croak before he can even say anything useful.

"Speak, asshole!"

"I… Pui!"

Dodging Chen Lan's spit, Long Hua glares at the former with winter like coldness.

"...…"

"…?!"

As Long Hua gradually lowers his glare—towards a specific part of his body, Chen Lan is quick to notice.

"Surnamed Chen, I have a technique here that anyone can use, and it's called "Severing Children and Grandchildren Strike," let's see how many times you can withstand it."

"S-Surna…- I'm w-warning you, don't come any closer!"

Almost as soon as Long Hua had said these words, the colors of purple that are on Chen Lan's body whiten by a single shade, as he struggles to break out of his bindings with evident desperation.

"What's wrong?"

Placing a hand onto Chen Lan's right shoulder, Long Hua asks—

"Weren't you going to call me surnamed Long again? Weren't your lips supposed to be difficult to pry open? Weren't you proud of your abilities to withstand torment? Aren't you a man, who had undergone specialized training to withstand interrogations? In that case, this shouldn't be anything difficult to withstand, right?"

"Quit shoving words down my mouth, I-I…-!"

Without waiting for Chen Lan to organize his thoughts, Long Hua takes aim, and strikes with his right fist.

"…!!!"

*Nyan!* immediately, a scream—that is of a far higher pitch than anything before it, comes out of Chen Lan's mouth.