Chương 315: Truths and Lies (I)

He still hasn't woken up. He's been lying on my bed for almost ten hours now, happily snoring. I thought about hitting him to wake him up, but just let it go; I was far too into testing out the limits of Surging Spirit Art to bother with the old cook. And, speaking of cooks, I think I might have cooked.

'cause holy shit, this art is kinda nice! It heals surface wounds fast, and though I dare not stab myself in the kidney or something stupid like that to test it, it should have the capacity to be helpful there, too. And considering this is all just the minor mastery of it, what about when I perfect it? Or maybe even go beyond that, somehow? Won't I be able to regrow my limbs without ever needing a pill?!... okay, probably not.

I think it's simply a slightly more unique art that will more so be a supplement than a replacement for pills. But I'm glad I made it, as it made me realize something important: I am probably best off focusing on utility arts and trying to somehow bridge the understanding of the world I had on Earth with the one here.

"Ugh," regardless, my train of thoughts was interrupted by a groan; turning around, I saw that the old man was coming to, his expression dark and distorted, especially as he seemed to fully take in his surroundings.

"What, what the hell is this?!"

"This is my bedroom," I said.

"Y-you, how are you alive?! Didn't I poison you?!" He seemed to try and summon Qi, but it was pointless. I'm pretty sure there's nobody within at least fifty thousand miles who'd be able to unseal the acupoints Long Tao sealed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Forget about that," I said.

"I have something far more important to ask--""--you bastard!" he interrupted me.

"Do you know who I am?! I'm an Elder of the Hundred Flower Sect! If anything happens to me, you and your entire lineage shall feel the wrath of a Holy Land! Release me at once and I shall give you a swift--" a rather loud 'pa' echoed.

"Did... did you just slap me?! You bastard--" yet another.

"How dare--" oh boy.

"Stop--" it was kind of fun, to be honest; there were so many times back on Earth when I wanted to slap the shit out of some old dude who demanded respect just because he was old, but all I could do was give him a middle finger.

"..." he finally shut up, just as his cheeks began to swell up. There was still venom in his eyes, of course, but at least he was quiet.

"Hm. As I said, forget you being the Elder for a second," I said.

"And tell me... which Emperor's tomb did you rob, huh?" Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"... what? What are you talking about? Emperor?" There was a lisp to his voice, likely because he might have bitten his tongue once or twice when I was slapping him.

"An insane bastard like you dares capture me?! Hah! Just you wait! When the sect--" the lovely sound of 'pa' rang again, and he stayed silent, staring daggers at me.... is it possible? That he doesn't even know he'd robbed an Emperor's tomb? Probably, actually. I don't think most people would think they'd entered Emperor's tomb when they find a random place. But, ultimately, it doesn't matter.

"Where'd you get the Soul-Snatching Art?" that got his attention as his entire person stiffened, his expression distorting even under the swelling and bruising.

"W-w-w-what are, are you talking a-a-about...? W-what is that?"

"Oh, you don't know?" I smiled.

"It's the art you used to take over the body of an Elder of the Hundred Flower Sect. It's an art that has condemned your soul to utter annihilation when you die. It's an art that you found somewhere, and I'd like you to tell me where."

"...!" he seemed utterly flabbergasted, and I couldn't really blame him. I mean, if it weren't for the system--or, well, Long Tao as well, I suppose--I'm pretty sure nobody else could see through it, either. He's been staying in that place for a while, I imagine, and not even the man's own son could see the difference, let alone anyone else.

"I-If, if I tell... w-will you let me go?"

"Yeah, I don't think so," I said.

"Why'd you even try to kill me? You don't really give a shit about your 'son', right? Was it for the warship?"

"... he was my son," he said, gritting his teeth.

"Oh."

"He inherited the body's talents rather than mine and he had a bright future ahead of him," he continued.

"... I don't think he did, though? Anyone stupid enough to go around and try killing random strangers can't be wise enough to go beyond the limits of nepotism. One way or another, he would have pissed off somebody he shouldn't and would have met the same end."

"You don't know anything!"

"... I really don't," I shrugged.

"And, truth be told, I don't really care. Not about him and certainly not about you. To be honest, I don't even particularly care about where you found the snatching art. Considering it's one of the gravest taboos against heaven, why would I go out of my way to locate it? But, well, I'm human, after all, and curiosity runs deep in my veins."

"... just kill me. I will never tell scum like you anything."

"Hooh. Fair. I honestly thought you'd try to bargain with it for a little while longer."

"You would never let me live."

"I wouldn't," I said.

"But still, there are levels to one's death."

"Hah. What? Are you threatening to give me a slow, painful death?"

"Me? No," I shook my head, sighing.

"I'm afraid my stomach is still nowhere near strong enough for that. I can just barely digest people dying regularly, let alone a slow, agonizing death. But it doesn't matter." I walked up to him and grabbed his hand, placing my finger at the same place people felt for the pulse.

"W-what are you trying to do?!" he growled as I sent a small sliver of my Qi into him, rapidly descending it towards the dantian. The illusion of a Demigod shattered as that trace slipped past the membrane and entered the real one, where a vague spirit of... something resided, trying desperately to curl into a core but failing. And, within its very depths, well beyond the perception of the eye and even Qi Sense, I felt it--the most minuscule trace.

I'd just barely brushed against it when a jolt of electricity shot through my mind, causing me to fly backwards and ram into the wall with such force that it knocked the wind out of me. I hadn't even landed before the doors to the room were cracked open and quite a few bodies stormed in, shouting, as they all grabbed the old man and started beating the shit out of him.... huh. This guy did something either impressively stupid or just ballsy. He actually thieved a tomb of a Sage.