AZI Volume 5 Chapter 11

"...…"

Staring up at the ceiling of the Ashen River Hall's nightclub, Wang Yongning's eyes are devoid of light, as he takes up the entirety of a single sofa for himself.

Currently, he is on the third floor of this gathering hub—recalling the events of today. The pain that Wu Xiao had given him is something that cannot be put into words. It is a sense of pain that will bring any man onto their knees.

Understanding Wang Yongning's emotions the best at a time like this was none other than Chen Lan, who had experienced the same sense of pain. And towards the former, the latter encouragingly says—

"Sir Wang, get yourself together. It's just one busted nut. You still got another left, right? You'll manage somehow, I'm sure."

"…"

Seated on the sofa opposite of Wang Yongning with a table between them, Shao Tianming looks to Chen Lan, who is seated on the center sofa, with an odd look on his face, while thinking—

(The hell? Is this Chen Lan trying to cheer him up, or rub salt into his wounds?)

Not knowing what he can say to Wang Yongning about this awkward matter, Shao Tianming picks up a glass of whisky, and sips away quietly.

As the awkward mood continues to loom in the air, hurried footsteps are detected from behind Shao Tianming, and as the running individual comes closer—

"Sir Wang!"

Coming to a halt, Zhang Yong stands with his back straightened, and bows by 90 degrees to Wang Yongning, while shouting—

"Apologies for the trouble that I've caused you!"

A few seconds after that, Hui'er also comes running over, and does the same as Zhang Yong.

"I-I am as well."

"...…"

"…"

"…"

Receiving no response from Wang Yongning, the two could only choose to maintain their bent posture in an awkward manner.

"…"

Unable to watch this any longer, Shao Tianming shakes his head, and says—

"…Ai, enough is enough. Straighten up."

"Yes, Shao-laoda…"

"…Un."

Having seen what had turned Wang Yongning into his current state, Hui'er finds it incredibly awkward to bring up the topic, hence Zhang Yong turns to Shao Tianming, and whispers—

"Shao-laoda… Sir Wang, he…?"

Waving Zhang Yong away, Shao Tianming replies with—

"Don't ask. Ah… Actually, Hui'er, you able to concoct anything for this?"

"Nothing this specific…"

Hui'er's Relic takes on the form of a jade bottle.

Herbal materials that are sucked into the bottle will automatically be compounded into a pill of two types—the first is a medicinal pill, and the second is a poisonous pill.

What's special about the pills is that they do not degrade over time, making it possible to stock up on them. And as a result of her possessing a Relic of this nature, she has a special status among the denizens of the inner domain.

Normally, an asset of her class shouldn't be placed into a position of danger. However, due to there being no reliably means to transfer medicinal pills between the outer and inner domains, it was decided that she was to be a part of the first team to enter the outer domain.

"I see…"

Scratching his cheek, Shao Tianming turns his head away awkwardly, whereas Zhang Yong asks—

"Shao-laoda, are we really just going to-?"

"Are we really just going to take this lying down?"

Setting his glass down, and cutting Zhang Yong off, Shao Tianming finishes the former's words for them.

"Listen up, you two."

Tapping the table with his index finger, Shao Tianming continues to say—

"I don't care what happened between you and this other "surnamed Long" in the past. All you need to know is, the surnamed Long you met today is a lunatic."

Before continuing, Shao Tianming turns to Zhang Yong, and says—

"Surnamed Zhang, one punch—that was all it took for him to toss you out of the restaurant. From there, you used Partial-Apotheosis. And what did he do to you after that?"

"…"

An awkward look appears on Zhang Yong's face. He naturally knew what had happened after.

However, to drive the point home further, Shao Tianming goes on to say—

"He kicked your ass, and that's without having to even use his Relic."

"…"

From the side, Chen Lan mutters—

"Ai, ancestor is just that fierce."

Comparing himself to Zhang Yong—who doesn't know any better, Chen Lan can't help but feel an extreme sense of self-confidence due to his knowledge of how fierce Long Hua is.

"…"

Batting an odd eye at Chen Lan, Shao Tianming says—

"This surnamed Long and that maid of his managed to survive against the two Immortals in black. Surnamed Ye and I had to team up to fight one of those Immortals, and we still didn't manage to win. Yongning went against the other one, and had his head ripped off. Do you think you can fight a lunatic like that?"

"…"

Being lectured to by Shao Tianming, Zhang Yong can only maintain his silence with a look of embarrassment on his face.

Just as one might think that there would be a prolonged period of silence—

"Chen Lan."

"Hm?"

Simultaneously, all eyes turned to Wang Yongning, who had finally said something, and goes on to ask—

"How did you get yours repaired?"

"Uh, that's…"

Smiling awkwardly, Chen Lan clears his throat, and says—

"I… Umm, ancestor and I… Made a secret deal that if I tell him about the Ripper, he'd give me a healing pill that he obtained from the ruins. And that pill managed to fix me right up."

Only being informed of this right now, Shao Tianming felt the urge to drag Chen Lan over for a beating, as he remarks—

"Chen Lan, that's some real big balls you've got."

"Um, boss, sorry…"

Scratching his cheek, Chen Lan can only choose to apologize to Shao Tianming.

"…"

Continuing to glare at Chen Lan for a while, Shao Tianming eventually raises a sigh, and says—

"Ah, whatever. Not like him knowing about the Ripper matters."

Heaving a sigh of relief on the inside, Chen Lan thought—

(Seems like I was right to tell Shao-laoda this news when his mood is decent…)

"…"

As a light of hope ignites in Wang Yongning's eyes, he asks—

"…Does that surnamed Long have more of those pills?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe, you can ask ancestor when we meet again?"

Turning to Chen Lan, Shao Tianming asks—

"Chen Lan, got anything on that woman with the hood?"

Being able to break Wang Yongning out of his Weapon Spirit True Body state means they cannot just be a nameless nobody.

Blinking his eyes, Chen Lan replies—

"…Didn't she say, she was the restaurant's proprietress?"

"You really believe her to be just a mere proprietress?"

Twitching his lips, Chen Lan answers—

"Boss, even if you beat me to death, I wouldn't dare to dig info up on someone that fierce. Especially so when I've just gotten my confidence as a man back."

"…20,000 NWDs, you willing?"

"Ah, that's a bit…"

Holding back his lifted right hand with his left, Chen Lan shakes his head, to which, Shao Tianming says—

"25,000, that's as high as I'll go."

"Ai, in the end, you're my boss, I can't say no."

Just as Chen Lan is about to take the stack of cash, Shao Tianming retracts his hand, and asks—

"About the Four Executioners…"

"One of them has golden hair and golden eyes, usually has a cigarette in his mouth. Tends to dress in a black military uniform. Other than that, not much else."

Handing the cash over, Shao Tianming remarks—

"Was afraid of you getting rusty."

"How could that be?"