NOVEL WEB AZI Vol 1 Chapter 31 to Epilogue
Chapter 31
Having boarded her carriage that is pulled by two horses with manes of electric energy, Yao Ying and the three bodyguards rush off into the night skies, while the territory of the Ling Yuan family that is behind their backs grows smaller and smaller.
“Can’t they go any faster?”
Peeking out from the yellow curtains of her carriage, Yao Ying asks with an expression of impatience.
Their speed of movement through the air is by no means slow.
“Lady Yao Ying, this is as fast as they can pull. Worry not clan chi-”
Before the bodyguard in charge of driving the carriage is able to finish his sentence, a figure dressed in black robes over a grey layer appears in the far distance.
Carried on the back of this black-haired figure is a three feet sword with a blade that seems to be equal to a hand in width.
As soon as the figure had appeared, the two lightning maned horses neigh to a halt.
“Who goes there?”
“Ling Yuan family, Qīng Míng Yáng. (清明阳)”
Cupping his hands together, Qing Ming Yang gives the group of four a formal salutation.
“Might I ask that you move aside? We’re in a bit of a rush.”
“Afraid not.”
Answering as such, Qing Ming Yang’s blue eyes gleam with chilling radiance as he immediately reaches for his sword and draws, revealing its blade to be crafted from jade.
*Sccrrrr!* without pausing in his movements, Qing Ming Yang slashes with the sword sending out a sword Qi that heads for the carriage.
“Lady Yao Ying!”
Before the sword Qi can divide the carriage, the bodyguard to the right rips the carriage’s right panel apart and drags Yao Ying out from within.
*Boom!* as the carriage splits in half, the shockwave throws the group of four back while the horses scurry in fright!
“Qing Ming Yang, you’ve got quite a bit of guts to do that to my carriage!”
Having been dragged out of the carriage at the last possible moment by one of her bodyguards, Yao Ying looks at Qing Ming Yang with eyes of fury.
“Hahaha, young lady, you can glare at me all you want. But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re not leaving here today.”
“Who sent you?”
“…Does the dead really need to know that?”
Without answering the bodyguard’s question, Qing Ming Yang approaches the bodyguard and begins to exchange hits with them.
“Keep Lady Yao Ying safe.”
Having said this, the other bodyguard rushes off to join the exchange leaving only one guard by Yao Ying’s side.
(What is going on? First that Ling Yuan family servant came to tell me my grandfather is in trouble, and now this Qing Ming Yang appears here… He’s able to fight against two of my bodyguards while they are working together in union, and is even able to stand afloat in the air without a magic treasure. His cultivation base should be in the Core Formation realms. To be able to hire him—who is also a Ling Yuan family clansman all for the sake of making me vanish from this world… Who is this rich and daring?)
“Urk!”
As Yao Ying is thinking of who could be plotting against her, the bodyguard who is holding her up in the air raises a cry of anguish and without his support, she immediately begins to fall towards the ground.
(There was a second assassin…!?)
Turning her body to face upwards, Yao Ying sees a green-eyed young woman dressed in purple robes over a white layer with a light purple sash.
“Xià Rì’er (夏日儿), you vixen!”
Recognizing the young woman to be someone—who she had an argument with back in the estates of the Ling Yuan family, Yao Ying curses at them aloud.
“Ai, little brat, is that how a proper lady should speak? Hm?”
As soon as she says this, Xia Ri’er frowns.
“Ai… How lucky you are to live for a bit longer, Lady Yao Ying.”
Seeing a rift in the fabrics of the dimensional walls opening up beneath the falling figure of Yao Ying, Xia Ri’er who has grown accustomed to this sight shakes her head.
Such rifts are a common sight near Ling Yuan family’s outer perimeters. Occasionally, some of the wildlife that dwells in the forest below would be swallowed up by them.
“Ah!”
“Uh…”
Having finished off the two bodyguards, Qing Ming Yang swings his jade sword to remove his victims’ blood from its blade.
“If I live through this, I’ll-”
Just as the figure of Yao Ying is swallowed up by the dimensional rift, Qing Ming Yang approaches Xia Ri’er.
“She got swallowed into Ling Beng Realm?”
“That she did. Well, she shouldn’t live for long in that realm, even if she survives her fall. Remember, she doesn’t have a medallion on her and with how hateful those weapon spirits are of us, she’d be ripped to shreds should she encounter them.”
“Heh this isn’t so bad. Wouldn’t need to stain our hands with her blood.”
“And just like that, a prodigy vanishes from this world.”
“We’re accomplices in this task. Help me clean up the bodies.”
“Fine. Oh, what of that servant?”
“The dead tells no tales.”
“Indeed, they don’t.”
Chapter 32
By the time Long Hua and the others had returned to GC012 it was already Saturday.
And upon arriving back at the office, the group immediately went their separate ways to do whatever it was that they would normally do outside of work.
“Right, call up that squad that gave us the task.”
Pouring himself a glass of water, Ye Chen turns to Li Xue who has seated herself on the damaged sofa with her computer out on her lap.
“You planning to raise a complaint?”
“And to raise our compensation.”
“And the contract?”
“Tell them to read the fine print. And if they still got issues, well… This colonel rank of mine gives me the privilege to send people off to the frontlines with a single call.”
With a completed message typed out, Li Xue smiles as she presses the trackpad to send it.
“Looks like I wouldn’t need to use my major rank then.”
………
As the metal door slides to the right, a person dressed in a short-sleeved black dress steps through and enters the room.
The skirt worn by this person reaches pass their kneecaps, while the rest of their legs are covered by tall black boots.
Mounted on top of this square room’s ceiling are four speakers, while a small table and chair is situated in the center.
There wasn’t much else contained in this room aside from a giant machine that was attached directly onto its back walls.
This machine is tubular in shape with a glass cover that is layered over by frost, making it chilly to the touch.
Within this machine, rests a human body, the body of a young girl dressed in the white gowns of a hospital patient. Much like the person who had entered the room, this sleeping individual also has straight black hair.
It wouldn’t take too much effort to guess this machine’s purpose, it is none other than a cryostasis unit.
“Lí (黎), I’ve return.”
As the metal door slides to a close, the visitor who had entered stands in front of a computer terminal that is positioned in front of the cryostasis unit. Mounted on top of this terminal is a small camera.
[Welcome back, big sis.]
A soft voice comes from the speakers.
Reflected on the surface of the camera’s lens is a visitor with deep blue eyes.
[You told me you had a two-day shift. Was it difficult?]
Towards the camera, the visitor shakes their head and smiles.
“Don’t worry about it. Ah shall I resume the story that I was telling you about last time?”
[Before that I want to tell you about what I saw in my dream.]
“I’m all ears.”
With a gentle smile on their face, the visitor moves back and sits on the only chair in this room.
[I saw a person wearing a black mask that covered half their face in my dream. He-]
………
[So, how was your first serious job? Are you getting along well with the rest of your teammates?]
A lazy voice comes from the speaker of Qing Yue’s smartphone.
“Everything is going well, mother.”
Within a dark alley, Qing Yue stands with her back leaning against a wall.
The usual brightness contained in her pink eyes is nowhere to be seen, causing her to give off a colder air.
Her trademark red newsboy cap is held in her left hand, while she pressed her phone to her right ear.
Parting her pale pink hair aside are two black oni horns that she would normally keep hidden beneath her cap.
[If I recall, one of your teammates is a member of NPI.]
“Ah that one. He’s quite…”
Recalling the way in which Long Hua had moved in the face of the steel hound’s attacks, along with how he had taken out the one-horned lion in a single strike, Qing Yue continues—
“I feel like he’s gotta be an issue.”
[Oh in what way?]
“He took down a one-horned lion with a single strike to the neck, and the way he moves around in battle is very… Reminds me of a martial artist in those live wuxia dramas. His Relic is merged with his body and takes on the form of two snakes with poisonous fangs. Oh, he also punched an Apotheosized Sinner with his bare fist, I’m surprised that he didn’t shatter his knuckles… I’m willing to wager that he’d be able to fight an Immortal with his fists alone.”
Lighthearted laughter comes from the other end.
[That girl really found herself an interesting ally. And your other teammates?]
“The captain is an odd man with a fondness for mobile games. The vice-captain is trying to off him over a grudge. The other guy seems to have money issues for whatever reason.”
[All sound like people of character. When do you intend to get your tune-up done?]
“Preferably next week.”
[I’ll let the people at Rime Tech know then.]
“Ideally, I’d want Jìng Yīn (静音) to do it or at least someone of the same skill level.”
[Afraid that would be difficult.]
Epilogue – Tian Cheng
Within the garage of the Mirrored Moon Café—
“Please register a name.”
A cold voice devoid of any emotions spoke.
“…”
Looking at the 18-year-old girl dressed in a sleeveless black maid uniform, Long Hua frowns.
The straight white hair of this girl reaches pass her hip—even with it tied into a tail using a black ribbon. Should it be untied, it could very well drag against the floor.
The skirt of the girl’s attire reaches to her ankles and layered over the uniform is a white apron that is just a bit shorter.
Detachable sleeves are cuffed around the girl’s arms a few inches down the shoulders, while a pair of tall black boots wrap around her legs.
Overall, this maid uniform basically attempts to cover as much skin as possible.
(Foolish disciple, what have you brought back this time? If you truly intend to take this weak creature in, are you prepared to care for it for life? Shizun can only protect you temporarily, there will eventually come a day in which you would have to fend for yourself. While fending for yourself, do you think you’d have the leisure to care for someone else?)
It is unknown as to when these words were spoken to him; but with them appearing in his head, Long Hua recalls the time in which he had asked his shizun if he may keep a pet of some kind.
(Ai, even though it’s not a living creature, I still feel as if I’m taking a pet in… A name hmm.)
Staring into the girl’s magenta-colored eyes, Long Hua answers—
“Tiān Chéng. (天城)”
“Tian Cheng, are you sure?”
“Yes.”
With confirmation received, the pupils of the android’s eyes shrunk, and gradually expanded back to normal.
“…”
“…”
Staring at the other in silence, a full minute passes and with that, the android shuts her eyes completely.
“Are your eyes being shut a default feature?”
“The eyelids serve as a filter. Keeping them open at all times would use more processing power. Even with my eyes closed, I can still see perfectly. And the color of my eyes tends to draw unwanted attention in human society.”
This is the same android that was stolen from the military transport, but after undergoing Tai Xuan’s modifications—its outward appearance is no different from an ordinary human girl.
(A person walking around with their eyes shut would draw just as much attention though…)
Shrugging his shoulders, Long Hua moves onto the next topic.
“You know what your job is, correct?”
“To obey your orders at all times.”
“I do not trust living people to work together with me on a job. As for machines of your nature… You getting hacked and backstabbing me would be my main concern.”
“In the current world, there is not a single virus capable of infecting me.”
Towards these words, Long Hua isn’t entirely convinced, but only time will tell.
“You know how to use a sword?”
Pulling Kun out of the storage pouch and holding it beneath its taotie patterned handguard, Long Hua directs it to Tian Cheng.
It wouldn’t be very long until he reaches the ninth stage of Qi Condensation, and once he does, he intends to head out into the wastelands for his tribulation.
Attempting to perform his breakthrough within the city would be suicidal, for he would instantly set off the alarms of the detection system.
During the breakthrough process, a guard would be needed to maintain watch over the surroundings—since, on the off-chance that anyone sees him performing an Immortal feat, it would spell trouble for the future.
For this specific reason, Long Hua had decided to use Tai Xuan to modify this doll that he had acquired by chance.
As for attempting to use this doll on missions assigned to him by NPI or bureau related work, that is also something that only time will tell.
“The necessary knowledge for sword use has been downloaded. If it does not meet your expectations, I may learn through detailed instructions and observation.”
Receiving the sword, Tian Cheng pulls a portion of it out of its scabbard.
“Foundation Establishment realm magic treasure.”
Hearing this term, Long Hua constricts his eyes.
“How do you know that term?”
“Shared memories from…- How shall I address you?”
“Whatever is fine.”
Towards this uncaring reply, Tian Cheng tilts her head.
“Just pick something that won’t create any sort of misunderstandings in public.”
“This outfit dictates that “master” would be a suitable form of address, is that acceptable?”
Imagining all the misunderstandings that would occur, should that form of address be taken, Long Hua is just about to shake his head and reject it, but—
“Prolonged silence shall be taken as a confirmation. Please to meet you, master.”
“To hell with that, change it right now.”
“Error. Do you wish to restart?”
“You… I was thinking you probably don’t have a sense of humor, but it seems like I was wrong. Alright, quit joking around, hurry up and change your form of address.”
“Error. Do you wish to restart?”