The Interrogation

Yin Mei’s words were very soft, as though this sort of thing meant nothing to her, no different from asking whether someone had eaten their fill.

Xu Ping'an looked down at Li Chi, who was kneeling on the ground.

At that moment, the burly man was trembling like a quail, saying nothing.

He could not see the expression on the other man’s face clearly, but he could more or less guess what he was thinking.

The choice between death and loyalty. Anyone facing death would feel fear; that was normal. But whether they could hold on to their loyalty was another matter entirely.

More precious than a genius was a loyal genius. Even though the other man had always looked down on him, Xu Ping'an still admired him.

But he had eaten his things, and now he wanted to threaten him.

Xu Ping'an was never going to let him get away without paying the price.

At that moment, he could not help recalling how the man had acted before.

There had been almost no respect at all. Relying on his connection to the Grand Princess, he had roundaboutly asked Xu Ping'an for all kinds of things.

He had even taken the initiative to ask Xu Ping'an to help pay for them.

But now he could only kneel there and wait to die.

Xu Ping'an walked around him once, then fixed his gaze on the right hand that had once slapped his face.

He pointed at that hand and said, "I want that arm."

When she heard that, the smile on Yin Mei’s face deepened, delight mixed with relief.

She did not care at all about the life of the man named Li Chi. She only cared about what choice her son would make. Hearing his answer, with no hesitation at all, she lightly drew a line through the air with her right index finger.

"Don’t..."

Before Li Chi’s terrified cry could even come out.

"Sshk!"

His entire right arm vanished in an instant. There was not even time for a mist of blood to appear; the severed stump was as smooth as a mirror.

"Aaah!!"

Before the shriek of agony could fully erupt, Yin Mei’s dragon pupils abruptly widened, and his entire body was slammed viciously to the ground by some invisible force. Even the blood flow at the wound stopped along with it.

The wail was shoved back down as if someone had plugged it up. His face went deathly pale from the pain, cold sweat poured down him, his whole body trembled, and his bloodless lips quivered uncontrollably. But he could not move even an inch; he could only force his arcane power to circulate with all his strength to ease the agony.

Beside them, Liu Yuxian turned her head away. As a physician, she did not want to witness such things, but her eyes remained fixed on the expression of the youth standing next to her.

Xu Ping'an had not expected his second mother to act so decisively.

As expected, anyone who could become a saint was no ordinary person, whether in talent or in temperament.

He glanced at the wound. There was actually no blood at all. Pale white bone was embedded in bright red flesh, a wet, sticky mess.

Even though he had never killed anyone, for some reason, looking at the wound now did not make him feel especially uncomfortable.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at his smiling second mother. Just as he was about to speak, Yin Mei got there first.

"Ping'an, how does it feel?"

Her voice was gentle when she said it, but there was a hint of concern in it, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with her.

Those words were both an elder’s concern and a warning to him.

Someone like this could not be shown the slightest mercy by someone in power.

But more than anything, she was worried he might not be used to it the first time and end up leaving behind the same shadow he had back when he first started cultivating.

Xu Ping'an met her gaze. Those golden vertical pupils still carried the same smile as always. Just as he was about to answer, a soft, fair hand rested on his wrist. Her fingers trembled a little with tension. Following her arm upward, he saw a pair of large peach-blossom eyes looking at him full of concern, the watery softness in them so tender it made one’s heart ache.

Xu Ping'an let his eyes move between the two of them for a moment, then gently squeezed that small hand and gave her an assuring look before smiling. "I’m fine."

At that, a trace of joy appeared in Liu Yuxian’s eyes, while Yin Mei smiled even more brightly and stroked his head.

"That’s good. Ping'an, what do you want to do next?"

Xu Ping'an did not answer immediately. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at the figure collapsed beneath him like a dead dog, then said flatly, "Still not going to talk?"

But after waiting a long while, there was still no response.

That voice, with its icy edge like that of a superior speaking down, reached Li Chi’s ears. He bit down hard, his eyes bloodshot.

Why? What gave him the right to speak like that? He had clearly reached the Fifth Realm Heavenly Bridge before even turning thirty. How many people his age could compare to him? What right did he have?

Just because he was born better than him, he could humiliate him like this now?

He was unconvinced, and even less willing to accept it. Since he had already lost one arm, then he would hold out to the bitter end!

The moment that thought arose, Xu Ping'an noticed the fingers of his left hand clenched so tightly they had gone white, with streaks of blood flowing between them. He could not help but sneer. "Tch. What is it? Not convinced?"

For someone with such a strong sense of pride, breaking their backbone was often more painful than killing them outright.

He crouched down, deliberately leaning his head closer, a strange smile on his face. "I remember you have an older sister, right?"

The instant he said that, he clearly saw Li Chi’s pupils shake violently, and he knew he had guessed right.

He had only heard him mention it offhand before, and in his memory the man often asked him for the same pill, a very special kind of pill.

Looking Li Chi straight in the eye, Xu Ping'an continued to spell out his thoughts. "That Azure Frost Pill was for your sister, wasn’t it? Since she ate my things too, do you think she’ll be fine?"

"Xu Ping'an, you dare?!"

Li Chi nearly roared the words out. Even with his body pinned so he could not move, his expression was twisted into that of a vicious ghost ready to eat someone alive.

That was his sister, his only family!

She was also his reverse scale, his bottom line. Whoever touched her would die!

But he also knew he was only putting on a show. If Xu Ping'an really went after her, he would have no way to stop it.

And the Grand Princess’s residence could not protect her at all.

Xu Ping'an narrowed his eyes, showing no fear at all at the sight. In fact, he even found it a little amusing.

A trapped beast... no, a mad dog.

He crouched there, speaking carelessly as though teasing a dog:

"Do you believe she’ll be in my bed tonight?"

At those words, Li Chi’s heart was suddenly clenched tight, his breathing nearly stopping.

He did not even dare imagine what would happen if that beast dragged his sister back here.

His eyes bulged with blood, the veins on his temples jumping wildly. He stared at the man in front of him for a long moment, then squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "I... I’ll talk."