Chapter 137: Back to drawing.

Chapter 137: Back to drawing."You lied!" Lee said, and not waiting for the response, added, "Thank you for saving my life!"

"We didn’t spare you to listen to your ..." Shen Rouya said, but Lee cut in.

He said, "I didn’t mean that. By locking me up, you saved me from whoever has done the thing you are investigating ... right ... sorry, I interrupted you."

There was an awkward pause, and Lee spoke first.

He said, "You think I’m a smartass who doesn’t know his place, but you have a ton of questions, especially after inspecting my bag. Probably talking to Xiao Lian didn’t lead you anywhere, but you can’t push him too much considering his background. How am I doing so far?"

Lee paused for a moment. These people surely were no idiots. They knew that no matter what he said, it was always better to let the captive talk in hopes he would mess up at some point. To him it didn’t matter, either. He didn’t intend to lie.

He said, "I’m going to fully cooperate, I promise. And I don’t need anything in return. You can kill me if you want afterwards ... not that you need my permission ..."

"Where do we start?" The man asked with a sigh.

Lee couldn’t hold back a smile. The guy was actually really good – it was not his first interrogation, probably not even the hundred and first.

"You probably want to take a seat." Lee honestly said, "It might take a while."

Contrary to Lee’s expectations, the two didn’t call for assistants to bring chairs. He suddenly felt someone grabbing him by the neck and carrying through a dark hallway, then a short set of stairs, and then a slightly brighter hallway.



Upon arriving to a room, slightly bigger than his bedroom, he was put next to the table while the man and the woman sat at the only two available chairs. The room was simple, there were no shelves or closets, only a window. Lee could see only a tree behind it, but any ideas of attempting to escape from this place were instantly discarded.

"Where did you get the bag?" Shen Rouya asked.

She clearly wasn’t as experienced as her colleague and apparently this question was bugging her for some time.

Lee recognized her. She was the big-breasted one who waited for them in Ashland, next to Lunax and a couple other men.

The guy he saw for the first time, though. He was probably in his late fifties or early sixties, at least looked so, dressed in gray, inconspicuous robe. His most impressive feature was that it was impossible to read anything from his face, except for the fact that the crooked nose and thin lips gave rather cruel impression.

"I stole it from Lunax’s vault." Lee dropped the bomb from the start, "The two senior brothers saved my life when dealt with the caretaker who was after me."

Lee saw the man’s eyebrows move a little, but the woman reacted more passionately.

Shen Rouya slammed her palm on the table, and said, "Bullshit! I told you! This is a waste of time ..."

"The lock was peculiar. I had to use three elements and a seal. The elements were not that hard to replicate, although I did get my face burnt a bit. The seal I forged after stealing it, but placing back afterwards." Lee said.

"So you’re a thief?" The man asked, slightly squinting his eyes.

"I was thief in Ashland." Lee said, "Taking something from the person who kidnapped me and performed genocide in my home world felt only proper. I haven’t stolen anything here and don’t intend to."

"Alright, let’s put that aside for now." The man said, "Tell me about the missions you went on, in detail."

"You really want to verify Xiao Lian’s story? The guy is incapable of lying." Lee said with a smile.

"He could barely put two words together." Shen Rouya snorted in return.

For a split moment Lee was confused, but then he laughed and said, "Don’t tell me you interrogated him! With how you look there’s no way he could speak at all! He’s paralyzed in the presence of pretty ladies ... sigh ... alright! Where do I begin ..."



Honesty is the best policy as long as one had nothing to hide. Lee began his story and managed to get to the part when they departed for the second time, but was interrupted by a person in black attire rushing in.

He recognized the dress code. The senior disciples of the Hall of Justice dressed this way.

The problem was ... his vision turned dark ... again.

***

When Lee woke up, his throat was dry again and he had hard time swallowing. There was a piece of cloth in his moth, and this time he was actually tied up. And he was back in his cell.

"No water for you this time." He heard the familiar voice.

Either the man was waiting for Lee to wake up, or woke him up. But it didn’t matter.

"There is no elder Mu in the Azuremist sect and there’s no pretty red-robed sister who gave you missions." He said, and pulled the cloth from Lee’s mouth.

"But you can’t wrap your head around why Xiao Lian is insisting there were?" Lee asked, "You think I have brainwashed him to protect me somehow?"

It was hard to speak, but he was still alive. At first it all went well, at least he thought so, but something serious had happened for everything to turn around.

"All I want to know is whether there is an antidote." The man said, "You don’t want to get on my bad side."

"Alright!" Lee guessed where it was going, "Before you start torturing, I admit to anything you want. I confess! Just tell me what exactly I’m confessing to!"

Neither liked the silence that filled the room and Lee knew he was in the loosing position.

On the other hand, the man was experienced enough to know that the physical torture was the worst form of interrogation. And the annoying part was that the kid also knew that. But Lee was alive only because the man needed something.

Fortunately they were interrupted by a couple people rushing in. It was the same lady, Shen Rouya, from before, but this time she was accompanied by a man, at least judging by his steps.



"How is he?" The man who interrogated Lee, asked.

"Still unconscious." Shen Rouya said. She sounded anxious, and nothing was left from her previous disposition.

"I can draw her!" Lee suddenly got an idea.

"What?" Several voices asked at the same time.

"I can draw the pretty woman Xiao Lian told you about." Lee said, "It’s impossible that no one has seen her in the Mission Hall. She stood out too much."

The following silence implied that the man was battling the common sense and despair, at least that was what Lee hoped for. A kid drawing something would unlikely lead to anything, but they were here because they wanted to find out something important.

Lee got lucky, in a way. He got a chance to prove himself.

Of course, he didn’t expect anyone to be lenient with him. But when the guy who arrived last pulled him by the leg down the hallway, and afterwards up the stairs, he took it to his heart. It was even more painful to realize that the guy turned out to be Chi Yanzhen, who didn’t even try to hide his anger.

This time Lee was allowed to sit at the table. When the writing utensils and paper were brought, he closed his eyes for a moment, picturing the pale lady in red, and began to draw.

Obviously he could draw only in black and white, but it didn’t matter. After a short while, under the surprised looks of the three interrogators, a picture of a person appeared. And Lee was certain it turned out to be lively enough for anyone to recognize her.

He didn’t like the confused faces, though. From the looks of it, these guys had never seen her before. But even if the old dude and the woman hadn’t, Chi Yanzhen had to know her. According to the standards of this world, she was a beauty, and he was a ladies’ man!

But then the revelation struck him! He had made a serious error in judgment. And the key was the fatty in the Azuremist sect.