Chapter 62: Interrogation
This sudden punch sent the pale-faced elf reeling, his face contorting as if his skin was about to detach from his skull. Before the skin could settle back, Ji Ma landed another left hook, cursing, “Why are you acting like a shady merchant!”
“Speak!”
“Why aren’t you talking!!!”
By the third sentence, under the astonished gazes of the magic swordsmen, Ji Ma, dressed in an evening gown, leaped into the air, executing a spinning kick that struck his head with a force that nearly knocked it off. Some of the magic swordsmen advised, “Calm down! Calm down! You’re going to beat him to death.”
The lead magic swordsman sensed something was off. He noticed Ji Ma was not acting like a normal human. Looking at the pale-faced elf, who was rolling his eyes, he said in a deep voice, “He can’t talk.”
The pale-faced elf had his teeth deeply embedded in his mouth, froth dripping from the corners of his lips. During his arrest, the magic swordsmen had stuffed a ball into his mouth to prevent him from resorting to suicide methods.
Ji Ma wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead and said, “Oh, I forgot.”
The lead magic swordsman asked, “Do you want to kill him?”
Ji Ma replied, “Because I want to punch him. You all go out; I have some questions to ask him. After I’m done, he’s yours.”
Doubts surged in the hearts of the magic swordsmen.
This person was extremely important. The black dragon of the dark elves was born from a corrupted dragon egg, which had been stolen from Osu An.
The lead magic swordsman pointed the blade of his massive sword at Ji Ma, and the other magic swordsmen instinctively surrounded her. “Tell me, why are you doing this?”
It seemed I have to resort to tougher tactics. Ji Ma sighed, “Don’t you get it? The reason you’re ordered to assist me is to serve me, not to be some spy for the dark elves.”
The giant swords formed a protective barrier around her. The lead magic swordsman was preparing a spell: “Who are you?!”
In the blink of an eye, horns, wings, and a tail emerged from Ji Ma, along with fragments of a pitch-black crown.
The lead magic swordsman, an experienced elf, trembled upon realizing her identity and exclaimed, “A demon—”
Ji Ma snapped her fingers.
A crisp clapping sound resonated, and it was as if white light exploded from her palms. The magic swordsmen surrounding her winced in pain, their consciousness jolted, and they collapsed to the ground.
It was the curse they had buried within them that detonated.
The lead magic swordsman knelt on one knee, refusing to fall, his lips trembling as he struggled to say, “G-great demon—”
“You’re fortunate you didn’t encounter another demon.”
Ji Ma raised her boot and gave him a gentle kick, the heel striking his forehead, causing the lead magic swordsman to lose consciousness and fall to the ground.
The pale-faced elf lay on the floor, his eyes wide as he watched everything unfold. Ji Ma grabbed his ponytail and pulled him up, saying, “Alright, let’s have a good talk.”
The pale-faced elf immediately reacted, lost in his thoughts, his face turning bright red, as if he had fallen into a dream. After a moment of daze, his consciousness regained clarity.
Before him lay a mature and beautiful succubus, draped in another beautiful evening gown, languidly reclining on a chaise longue. A faint floral scent wafted from her, transporting the pale-faced elf to the rare spring of Naga Long, where blossoms bloomed across a frosty field.
Ji Ma made no seductive moves; her mere presence was enchanting.
He suddenly realized, gritted his teeth, and clashed them together, shattering a false tooth, bitter poison spreading across his tongue. He hurriedly swallowed, the poison flowing down his throat without constricting it as it slid inside.
“Are you trying to commit suicide?” Ji Ma shook the bubbling black liquid in her cup and said, “Don’t think about it; you’re in a dream now, at my mercy.”
The pale-faced elf stood up, smiling as he said, “As long as you can satisfy my desires, succubus, I’ll tell you everything—”
Ji Ma raised her hand, an invisible grip seizing his ankle, slapping him against the ground like a fly swatter.
With a sound of bones breaking and screams echoing, she lifted him upside down, blood flowing from his forehead and dripping onto the ground.
“Shall we continue?” Ji Ma asked. “I can arrange four seductive succubi for you; each one a master in their craft, trust me, they are far more dreadful than ten thousand magic swordsmen.”
“I am Esrai Lengxin, a Druzzi, hiding among my cowardly relatives—”
“I’m not interested. I just want to ask you,” Ji Ma gritted her teeth, “Why! Are! You! Selling! Fakes!”
“Fakes?” Esrai Lengxin stammered. “Which fakes?”
“Ah, so you’re addicted to selling fakes.” Ji Ma sneered, “Your mother’s gone, I’m saying.”
“Then everyone you cherish will meet their end, and I’ll offer their souls to be slowly tormented by the temptress.”
“Wait.” Esrai Lengxin said, “May I ask what the situation is here, oh mighty one? I admit I quietly sold disguised dragon eggs to some overly ambitious fools, but… I investigated their backgrounds; what right do they have to call you out of your retirement?”
Hehe, suggesting I’m a big deal.
Ji Ma let out a series of cold laughs. Esrai Lengxin became even more frightened, “You want souls, right? I’ll offer you more souls, just like the doomsday fire sorcerers.”
“No one summoned me; I’m just asking, do you know him?”
As soon as the words fell, the bald brute with a scarred lip appeared, a blood god mark branded on his chest, looking down at Esrai Lengxin from above. The bulge in his pants made Esrai Lengxin’s façade tighten, inducing further fear.
This… this isn’t…
Lord Demon King Ji Ma? It’s a pleasure to see you again… Haha, I heard you were dead; I knew that was false. How could you possibly die?
Right, not dead. Became one of the hero’s concubines, couldn’t live without that scummy man.
Ji Ma controlled the bald brute, pulling his ponytail, saying, “You remember me, I’m glad, but if you don’t want to taste my size with your mouth, tell me why you sold fake eggs to me back then.”
“Fake eggs? How could I dare sell you fakes?” Esrai Lengxin protested. “With a powerhouse like you, I feared you’d turn the tables on me! It’s an honor if you’re willing to pay me—”
The bald brute swung a fist at his stomach.
Esrai Lengxin spat white foam, saying, “I… I didn’t.”
No wonder he was a dark elf; even in this predicament, he was still crafty, trying to deceive.
The bald brute smirked, “Just a reminder, succubus eggs.”
What… succubus eggs?
The bald brute began to take off his pants, saying while doing so, “You used succubus eggs as bait to trick me into thinking they were dragon eggs, scamming my money!”
Esrai Lengxin nearly lost control, exclaiming, “I didn’t! Where would I get succubus eggs? I swear to you, what I sold you was a real dragon egg! Honest!”
Ji Ma did not believe him.
After knocking Esrai Lengxin unconscious, she extracted his memories and encapsulated them in a jar, interrogating him a few more times.
Each time, she received the same result.
Which indicates it was true.
Ji Ma left his dream, departing the dark room, leaving behind a sweat-drenched merchant and a ground full of unconscious magic swordsmen, fading into thin air.
She found herself in the dream palace, sitting in her favorite chair, resting her chin on her hand as she began to ponder.
At this point, it seemed clear that the egg she received back then was indeed a dragon egg.
So, who exactly dropped the ball?
Ji Ma recalled the succubus egg that had always been in the dream palace, a gift from the temptress.
Her unease grew stronger.
Her complexion darkened considerably.
In the depths of her mind, she seemed to hear the laughter of the temptress.
