AZI Volume 2 Chapter 32

"…Hmm, now then… How do I go about this? My contract with that bas-…"

Within a white space that contains absolutely nothing, a young woman with magenta-colored eyes frowns—at the recall of a certain individual, who had instilled into her a sense of fear that will most probably never be forgotten about for a million years to come.

The magenta-colored iris of the young woman's eyes is surrounded by a golden ring; her long hair is left loose, with a small portion of it tied into a flat tail. Another defining trait of hers, is the red lotus sigil that is present on her forehead.

Attire wise, she is wearing a bare-back white dress—with a red sash around her waist. Detachable sleeves are cuffed around her arms, while her feet are left bare.

If one also had to describe the air that emanates from the young woman, they would probably say that she feels like a goddess.

However, to Long Hua, this person couldn't be anyone other than Tian Cheng—for she shares almost the same exact face as the doll, but with a bit more maturity.

The only other differences are the color of her hair being black instead of white, along with the sigil on her forehead.

"…"

Staring at the image that is projected in front of her—showing Long Hua seated in lotus posture, Tian Cheng contemplates her next move.

"An act is in order. Luckily, my vessel doesn't display emotions well. Dragging him into this dreamscape, I should be able to act out whatever personality I so please."

Narrowing her eyes, Tian Cheng compares the Long Hua that she is familiar with—to the one currently displayed through the projection.

"Though I say that, a bit more observation wouldn't hurt."

...…

"...…"

As silence looms in the air, Long Hua continues to draw spirit Qi from his surroundings. Eventually—

"Rebooting…"

A mechanical voice speaks—causing Long Hua to reopen his eyes.

Resting on the floor is a fully restored Tian Cheng with her eyes wide open.

"Loading…"

As Tian Cheng's eyes flash rapidly, Long Hua unfolds his legs to take a more relaxed seating posture.

"Checking system…"

Getting off the floor, Tian Cheng rises to a stand, and after a minute of examining her body's condition, she shuts her eyes—with her face angled towards Long Hua.

"…"

Seeing Tian Cheng's nonchalant behavior after coming back to life, Long Hua blinks his eyes, and asks—

"Got anything to share after coming back to life?"

"A machine doesn't really die."

Deciding this to be the best response, Tian Cheng observes for any changes on Long Hua's face.

"You mind opening your eyes?"

Doing as requested, Tian Cheng inwardly thought—

(Eyes are indeed a window into a person's state of mind, however—)

(When the eyes you are staring into—are but objects designed to replicate the actual organs, how far would you be able to see? …Not very far, if at all…)

Thinking of the same thing, it is eventually Long Hua who raises a sigh, while Tian Cheng inwardly puts on a smug look in reaction to the former's response.

"You able to remember what happened?"

Nodding her head in response to this question, Tian Cheng goes on to say—

"An Anti-Immortal round had hit me."

"Is that the name of the bullet that was used?"

"The interior of the bullet is inscribed with a magic array that is set to detonate upon making contact with spirit Qi of great density. Its outer structure is made from specialized material that is commonly used by the military to pierce through a practitioner's outward defenses."

(So, getting pierced by that bullet means I truly would have been as good as dead? ...…That's…-)

Death, the end of life, a concept that all those who have tasted the joys of living would come to fear by instinct.

Despite how terrifying that near death experience had been, however, Long Hua still didn't feel any sense of fear towards dying—causing him to frown.

(Instead of saying that I fear death, it's more like—I'm curious of what's beyond it. Well, reincarnation does indeed exist, and having experienced it—my perspective has become distorted. …Not a good habit to keep.)

Clearing his throat, Long Hua moves the conversation along.

"In other words, it's the perfect type of weapon to use against a practitioner. You mentioned a magic array being inscribed into it, any idea which arms manufacturer made it?"

"I'm unable to find a blueprint for this bullet in any of the arms manufacturers' catalogs. Perhaps, it's an original design of the Long Yue family?"

"This family has dealings with practitioner-related objects, and also has ties to the military, just…-"

Shaking his head, Long Hua dismisses the thought, while narrowing his eyes.

"Doesn't matter which side they're on in this war of two worlds. The moment I manage to get out of this Leng Bing Realm, none of it is of concern to me."

(This dispassionate view… How very much like his shizun. However, it doesn't seem like his memories are fully restored just yet.)

The best proof of Long Hua's memories not being perfect—in accordance with Tian Cheng's knowledge, is the nonconfidence-inspiring expression that is on his face right now.

"Master's expression right now doesn't seem as confident as before."

"You noticed? Hmm, long story short, getting out of this realm isn't the end goal anymore."

(I see. So, he's at least realized we're no longer in the same world as before.)

To confirm this, Tian Cheng asks—

"Does the end goal involve getting further away from this world than what master had originally anticipated, or perhaps…?"

"Ai, a lot further away…"

Towards Long Hua's dispirited sigh that is riddled with fatigue, Tian Cheng smiles with glee on the inside.

(Compared to the past, the current him is rather cute. If possible, I truly hope he won't ever recover his memories. Having him stay this way, would make him so much more easier to manipulate. But…)

From prior observations, Tian Cheng can tell that Long Hua has trust issues.

(The more of his memories that are recovered, the worse this issue will become. Come to think of it… Didn't his shizun read his fate for him in the past? I seem to recall his shizun warning him specifically about his relationships with women. …My priority right now—should be to gain his trust before he can hope to build a sturdier wall around his heart. My "attempted smile" after taking a bullet for him through my vessel should have scored me some affection points—if I'm to think of my current situation as a dating sim game, hence I'm not starting completely at square one.)

If Long Hua is able to see the dark smile that Tian Cheng is currently making on the inside, he would definitely become a complete stickler to the words that his shizun had said.

(His shizun is no longer by his side now, nor does he have any friends in this world. Ah, you poor, poor child—stuck in a foreign world, where I am the sole person, you're somewhat familiar with. The more reliant he is on me, the easier it will be to make him my puppet.)

Contemplating about how she could do just that, Tian Cheng thinks up of numerous words that she could say to soothe Long Hua's current mood, and what his reaction towards them would be.

(For the time being, playing it safe should be best.)

Opening her mouth, Tian Cheng says—

"A lot further away, is it? And what would master's most respected person say towards that?"

"…"

(Instead of me providing him with an answer directly, it would be much more effective to have him recall his shizun's teachings.)

Towards Tian Cheng's question, Long Hua presses his brows together in deep thought.

"He'll probably say something like… It's only the first step that is the most difficult. Everything in the middle won't be as bad, and by the time I notice it—I'd have already been so close to my destination that I need only take one more step forward."

"In that case, it will all work out in the end, correct?"

Towards Tian Cheng's response, Long Hua directs a quizzical look at her.

If she is able to display human emotions right now, Long Hua feels like she would most likely be smiling at him in a mischievous way.

"I find it odd to see you more confident than me about this matter."

Pressing her right hand to her chest, Tian Cheng answers—

"In the end, what would a machine designed to fulfill a specific task, and to fulfill that specific task well—know about the difficulties that an individual of flesh and blood must deal with? I do understand to some extent, that the feat master is attempting to challenge is as difficult as scaling the very heavens, but… Is it not the task of a dependable tool to make the challenge as approachable as possible? Perhaps, given a bit of time, this challenge will prove to be not as difficult as master might have originally imagined?"

"…?"

Seeing the oddly pleased smile on Tian Cheng's face, as if she is attempting to sell him a reliable product, Long Hua can't help but ask—

"…Did undergoing a supposed "game over" for you end up…-?"

"Error. Do you wish to restart?"

Extremely pleased by her own performance on the inside, Tian Cheng's inward smile couldn't possibly be any smugger.

(It'd be best to just call it a night…)

Rubbing his temple, Long Hua sighs, and decides to turn in for the night, as he reaches for the blanket.

"Does master plan to rest?"

"Yeah. There's…"

The thought of having to face Nian Yao Yao tomorrow after leaving her hanging for tonight—causes Long Hua to press a hand to his stomach.

"Should I prepare some stomach pain medications for tomorrow?"

"No need. Some things… Just need to be dealt with through gritted teeth. …Should I fill you in on what happened while you were out of commission first?"

"That could wait until tomorrow."

"I suppose that's fine too."

Having said this, Long Hua adjusts his posture on the bed, and turns away from Tian Cheng with the intent to sleep.

"…"

Looking at Long Hua's phone, which is off to the side, Tian Cheng reaches for it, and from within her detachable sleeve—a connector snakes out.

Sitting down on the bed, she connects herself to the phone.