AZI Volume 6 Chapter 46

*Thud!* once more Qing Ming Yang falls onto his knees, but this time his hands are also pressed onto the wet ground.

"…"

Glancing at Qing Ming Yang, Lin Yu Heng sighs—genuinely sympathetic towards the former, for the opponent he's dealing with is simply too cunning.

"Surnamed Lin."

"…Yes, senior?"

Being called out to, Lin Yu Heng's expression didn't look any better than the one Qing Ming Yang is currently making.

"If I kill surnamed Qing, you're going to be the next one on the chopping block—when you return to the Ling Yuan family. Do you know why?"

"That's…?"

"Humans are innately lazy. Since you accompanied surnamed Qing and surnamed Xia during the first investigation, you've already dipped your toe into this matter. I've no doubt that surnamed Qing must've made some contacts with you—while you two were still back in the Ling Yuan family's estate over the past few days. At this point, anyone with a brain would think that you two share a connection."

"…"

Informed of this matter, Lin Yu Heng suddenly feels lightheaded, as he takes three steps back, and directs a hateful glare at Qing Ming Yang, who had dragged him onboard this pirate ship.

"…"

"…!"

Sensing Lin Yu Heng's killing intent, Qing Ming Yang's arms tremble.

"Surnamed Qing."

Raising his spear over Qing Ming Yang's back, Lin Yu Heng goes on to say—

"Give me a reason to not skewer you right now."

Raising his head, Qing Ming Yang shouts—

"Lin-xiong! Don't be too hasty! I…-! J-Just now, s-senior already gave you a reason, if you kill me, you're only going to be placing yourself on the chopping block! Our common enemy is…-!"

Swallowing his own spit, Qing Ming Yang doesn't dare to finish his sentence.

"…"

Turning his head with great vigor, Qing Ming Yang eventually comes up with—

"Elder Hou! That son of a bitch! If he hadn't assigned me with the task of performing the initial investigation, we wouldn't be in this situation right now! He's our common enemy! He's at the root of all this! Everything leads back to him! Lin-xiong, you and I are brothers—who have been through thick and thin, we wouldn't be fighting among ourselves right now if it weren't for him!"

Other than Hou Chang Feng—

(Xià Chén Hǎi, you piece of shit! If you hadn't told me to report to Hou Chang Feng about Wang Bei Mu's jade slip shattering, I wouldn't be in this hellhole!)

Qing Ming Yang also curses at the elder responsible for overseeing the Ling Yuan family's jade slip library.

...…

Back in the Ling Yuan family's estate—

"Ah… Achoo!"

Xia Chen Hai lets out a sneeze.

The Ling Yuan family's jade slip library consists of a single building that is divided into three floors.

Within this building, shelves filled with jade slips—imbued with a clansman's divine senses, are all stored here.

Wiping his nose with the sleeve of his purple robes, Xia Chen Hai remarks—

"Ai, which son of a bitch is cursing at me?"

...…

"…"

Storing his spear away, Lin Yu Heng heaves a heavy sigh.

Naturally, Lin Yu Heng doesn't buy any of the nonsense that had come out of Qing Ming Ying's mouth; however—

(I don't want to be the next person on the chopping block, dammit. At least if I keep this surnamed Qing alive, he can act as my shield…)

Feeling extremely irritated by the situation that had befell him, Lin Yu Heng turns back to Qing Ming Yang, and—

"Ah!"

Throws a kick at him.

The force of this kick lifts Qing Ming Yang off the ground, and rotating a few times in the air, the former smashes his back onto a nearby tree.

"Ah…"

Rubbing his back in pain, Qing Ming Yang—who is covered in dirt, looks to Lin Yu Heng with a helpless expression on his face, as if he is a wife suffering from domestic abuse.

"Lin-xiong, if kicking me makes you feel any better, you can do it again. But right now… We need to figure out a way to deal with that Hou Chang Feng."

"Tch. The old fogey is in the Immortal realm, neither of us are a match for him."

"…"

Watching the exchange between Qing Ming Yang and Lin Yu Heng, Long Hua remarks—

"Truth be told, the situation you two are in—it's not impossible to resolve."

"…"

"…"

Simultaneously, the two turns to Long Hua. As the one who had been able to think this far ahead, his brain is definitely much more flexible than theirs.

"Senior, please advise."

"Senior, please advise."

Clasping their hands together, the two bow to Long Hua with genuine respect in their eyes, to which, the latter replies—

"The number of people you two brought this time is around 200, right? What if most of these people died? Let's say… We leave less than five percent of them alive, how would this situation reflect upon that Hou Chang Feng—who had been the one to assign this task to surnamed Qing?"

Hearing Long Hua's vicious words, both Qing Ming Yang and Lin Yu Heng sucked in a breath of cold air.

Although Qing Ming Yang had wanted some of the clansmen that he had brought into the Leng Bing Realm to die, so that he could obtain their pouches, not even he had been vicious enough to dream of offing most of them.

"Ah?"

"That's…?"

As his grandfather is the disciplinary hall chief of the Ling Yuan family, Lin Yu Heng is rather quick with his answer, which is—

"Indirect responsibility towards the death of over 200 clansmen—by assigning an incompetent leader to take charge; under normal circumstances, he would be sentenced to exile. But because he's an Immortal realm practitioner—a valuable asset, he would be punished with house arrest for a few years."

Putting on a subtle frown, Lin Yu Heng adds—

"…He's someone who likes to tend to his garden more than anything else, house arrest for him isn't that big of a deal."

Raising an eye, Long Hua asks—

"In that time frame, he's not allowed to make any major decisions, correct?"

"Correct. They'll definitely have another elder undertake the arrangement of this task. But…-"

Knowing what Lin Yu Heng's concern is, Long Hua chuckles, and remarks—

"An elder who would think to assign two individuals, who have already failed to complete a task, to lead another investigation; a person like that, they must've had their head kicked by a donkey."

"Uh…"

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, Lin Yu Heng replies—

"…True, I suppose?"