AZI Volume 2 Chapter 28

"Friend, how much longer are we going to walk for?"

For an entire one-mile radius around the hotel, there was not a single soul to be seen.

"I was hoping you'd just get bored and leave. But if you want a real answer, well… Wherever the closest bathhouse is."

Halting his footsteps, Long Hua answers as such.

"Hmm."

Waving his hand, Bai Wen casts a cleansing spell to remove the oil and coolant that had seeped into Long Hua's clothes.

"I won't leave until we've had that chat, and I'd suggest you—to just get it over with, unless you want me to follow you to the ends of this earth."

On account of Bai Wen having cleaned his clothes for him, Long Hua raises a sigh; and reluctantly, turns toward an open-air café, and begins to move in its direction.

The tables and chairs are made entirely out of cheap metal, but the furniture themselves are more than sturdy enough for what they are intended for.

"You wanted to chat, in that case, answer me this. How is it that you're able to use your cultivation base without triggering the city's detection system?"

Upon Bai Wen sitting down on the opposite side of the table, Long Hua immediately asks this question, to which, the former asks back—

"Friend, before asking a question, shouldn't you at least introduce yourself first?"

"Before asking for someone else's name, you should introduce yourself first, don't you think, friend?"

Unable to think of a counter to this argument, Bai Wen sighs, and answers—

"Bai Wen. Bai as in emptiness, and wen as in to ask."

"And that mask?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Bai Wen proceeds to take off his plain mask—revealing a face that many would consider to be handsome. However, he still chooses to keep the cloth that hid his left eye on.

"Now would you introduce yourself, friend?"

"Hmm, what a coincidence really. I'm also surnamed Bai, call me… Bai Zhe."

"Isn't that the name of your sword?"

At the wave of Bai Wen's hand, a set of ceramic tea ware appears on the table—with steam spewing out of the kettle's spout.

Filling two cups, Bai Wen slides one of the cups to Long Hua, and asks—

"Why not be a bit more honest?"

"…"

Picking up the cup and sniffing it, Long Hua takes a sip.

The refreshing taste of this tea comes as a pleasant surprise to him, clearing away the rest of his unpleasant mood.

"Not even going to suspect if it was poisoned?"

Towards this question, Long Hua asks back—

"Why come all this way just to kill a person?"

"Hah, talking with a smart person is indeed much more enjoyable."

As the two set their cups down, Bai Wen continues the conversation, and says—

"That sword, Kun, belongs to a clansman of mine."

"If you're here to retrieve it, then you can forget it."

"I don't need it back, nor do I have a grudge against you."

Raising an eye, Long Hua remarks—

"Even though I killed your clansman? Isn't this generally where a long chain of grudges begins to form? Kill the young, come the old, kill the old, then comes the ancestors?"

"The Ling Yuan family has over a hundred branch households."

Constricting his eyes, Long Hua pays careful attention to the light in Bai Wen's right eye, as the latter adds—

"Cousins, nieces, uncles, aunts, it doesn't matter. In an organization of this size, those outside of your birth parents and siblings of the same blood—might as well be the same as strangers."

"Strangers? You seem to think of them to be enemies instead."

Towards Long Hua's remark, Bai Wen simply smiles, and the former asks—

"Why did you seek me out for, if it's not over a grudge?"

"Can't my reason to be—to just make a friend?"

Sniffing the air, Long Hua asks—

"You smell that?"

"What?"

"Your own bullshit."

A dry laugh comes from Bai Wen in response to this reply, before he clears his throat, and says—

"You asked me how I was able to avoid the city's detection system when using my cultivation base. The answer to that is because…"

"…"

Despite being interested in the answer, Long Hua wasn't willing to play along with Bai Wen's antics—for the latter seems to be the type, who would take a mile when given an inch.

"…Friend, are you seriously so unwilling to give me your name? Isn't this a cheap price to pay for information of great value to you?"

Raising a fist with his index finger straightened, Long Hua answers—

"One, I do not know if this method of yours is something that I can use as an outsider of your household."

Raising his second finger, Long Hua adds—

"Two, who knows if the method you're giving me is genuine. Three, wipe that passionate light in your eye away because I'm not interested in men."

Lowering his hand that has three fingers raised, Long Hua picks up his cup for a sip, whereas Bai Wen remarks—

"The fact that you can say three—means you must really think your face to be a masterpiece."

Placing a hand to his chin, Bai Wen thought for a moment before making an expression of realization.

"…Is your current face a mask?"

"Surnamed Bai, either you tell me something useful, or scram. I don't have the patience to entertain you."

At the snap of his fingers, Bai Wen causes a stack of emerald-green stones to appear on the table, and pushes them to Long Hua.

"And now?"

Directing an incredulous look at Bai Wen, Long Hua thought to refuse, but the stones that the former had just pushed towards him were spirit stones.

The amount of spirit Qi contained in these stones is probably worth more than three months of him attempting to draw the energy directly from the air.

"Long Hua."

Storing the spirit stones into his storage pouch, Long Hua gives out his name.

"Long Hua? Long as in dragon, and hua as in prosperous? A name that befits someone with refined looks."

"Move on."

"I guess I'll call you Lao Long."

"Am I supposed to call you Lao Bai, then?"

"A friend of mine calls me that as well, so why not?"