Chapter 100: Interrogation

"Gao... Li... Xia..." the ninja seemed to be straining to recall something.

Zhang Pu's eyes were like piercing flames; he could tell the ninja wasn't putting on an act. In fact, given how he'd scared the ninja twice before, the man probably wouldn't dare pull any tricks now.

Could it be that the ninja really hadn't been sent by Gao Lixia to deal with him? But somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that Gao Lixia fit the profile of prime suspect best. Or... had Gao Lixia commissioned someone else to find the ninja? That's it! After all, there was no way Gao Lixia would know the ninja directly...

Zhang Pu was analyzing this in his mind, because he could also see that the ninja wasn't deliberately lying.

Then the ninja spoke: "I don't know any Gao Lixia, but someone really did hire me to teach you a lesson. I think... he was probably sent by Gao Lixia. At the time, I didn't intend to kill you—I just wanted to give you a lesson. I never expected you to be so strong... and now even more so..."

The ninja trailed off. Zhang Pu could clearly see the intensity filling his eyes at that moment—it was a shift from the earlier fear and confusion to something like admiration. Yes, that was exactly it: admiration!

Zhang Pu seemed quite satisfied with the look in the ninja's eyes.

This ninja, Zhang Pu thought optimistically, would probably end up admiring him as much as Liu Yingde did.

Zhang Pu could almost hear the ninja marveling inwardly: Look at this kid, already this formidable! And what's even scarier is that from the night I first saw him to now, his overall strength has advanced by leaps and bounds—a thousand miles in a single day! My own master is terrifying, sure, but not to this degree!

Then the ninja truthfully told Zhang Pu the name and appearance of the person who had hired him to attack Zhang Pu. Zhang Pu still couldn't connect that person to Gao Lixia, but the ninja said that once he returned to the Qingwu area, he could arrange for Zhang Pu to meet the man. Zhang Pu figured that when he went back, he'd just investigate and it would all become clear. Besides, the ninja was already in his hands today—if he couldn't turn the man into one of his own, he might just kill him. That would settle the score.

"Alright, let's set this aside for now," Zhang Pu said. "Next, I have more questions for you!"

Zhang Pu then questioned the ninja about their team's situation. As he'd expected, that bunch was indeed planning to go to the Poison Dragon Pool to target Wu Long.

Can these people actually handle Wu Long? Zhang Pu felt a bit doubtful.

However, the ninja told him: their group's leader, that middle-aged burly man Lin Hongbin, actually had combat strength and battle experience comparable to some martial arts grandmasters.

This guy is that strong? Even stronger than I estimated? Zhang Pu mused.

The ninja then went on to tell Zhang Pu that their team had half a mind to pool everyone's strength together. Even if they hadn't known Zhang Pu was this formidable, that mixed-blood beauty Zheng Lan's group was also a powerful team in their own right—with everyone combining forces, it wasn't impossible they could take down Wu Long.

So that was their plan, Zhang Pu thought. It seemed that if just the five of them had come, even Lin Hongbin lacked confidence in handling Wu Long on his own, which was why he'd teamed up with this bunch. Unity is strength—and now, with himself and Liu Yingde's Wu Gui sect added to the mix, there might even be hidden experts lurking in the group. Zhang Pu thought this because, given his current abilities, he couldn't identify all experts with his spiritual sense.

First of all, if someone more powerful than him deliberately concealed their aura, even if he probed with the spiritual sense of the cultivation world, he might not detect them. Moreover, he didn't yet possess the cultivation level for spiritual sense—he'd probably need to reach the late Foundation Establishment stage before he could achieve that ability.

Finally, Zhang Pu asked the ninja about his origins. He was genuinely curious whether this man was a Chinese person or a Japanese person.

The ninja seemed troubled for a long while, and finally he confessed as if telling the truth: he had half Chinese blood and half Japanese blood. He'd spent much of his childhood in Japan and had become a ninja due to some special circumstances, but he'd been living in China for quite a few years now. He said that thanks to the introduction of an elder ninja, he was currently working with Lin Hongbin, who sometimes did jobs for wealthy families.

The ninja said that was about all there was to it.

For now, Zhang Pu didn't really have the mind to worry about whatever the ninja would do next. His top priority was dealing with the impending arrival of Wu Long.

As for this ninja, he naturally wouldn't kill him for the time being!

But then again! Since he'd already subdued the man today, he'd have to give him the same "treatment" as Gao Lixia and the others—consider it a chance to make amends for his crimes!

"Let's head right back up!" Zhang Pu said.

Hearing this, the ninja's heart leaped with joy. He knew—hadn't even dared to hope—that he would walk away unscathed. After all, if Zhang Pu were truly ruthless and killed him here, no one would ever know.

But the ninja, as if afraid Zhang Pu might change his mind, was just about to step forward when Zhang Pu suddenly grabbed him.

The ninja's face turned pale.

Zhang Pu said, "We're not done yet. When we get back, don't say a word about what happened here."

The ninja quickly nodded.

"And one more thing," Zhang Pu wasn't finished. "If your team makes any moves against me in the future, you have to secretly report to me."

The ninja's expression shifted at these words, but he immediately agreed. He was still no match for Zhang Pu—the arm couldn't twist the thigh.

"Wait, I'm not done—"

The ninja hadn't expected that even after everything seemed settled, Zhang Pu still wouldn't let him go.

"You tried to harm me twice. Don't you think some compensation is in order?"

Zhang Pu's next words startled the ninja again.

But the latter wasn't a child—he'd been navigating the world for a long time.

The ninja was about to say something, but Zhang Pu cut straight to the chase, as if he couldn't wait—

"Give me everything valuable you have on you."

The ninja instinctively swept a hand around his body, then said, "I didn't bring much money with me this time, nor anything valuable. But after I leave here, I have some savings where I'm staying—tell me how much you want and I'll give it to you later."

The ninja was genuinely puzzled as to why Zhang Pu was acting like a robber. He had no idea that Zhang Pu had come to love making money these days, because money was good and had so many uses.

Zhang Pu could also see that the ninja really didn't have much money on him.

Still, he casually searched the ninja, finding some other items on him—various weapons and hidden darts the ninja used against people. Zhang Pu didn't want any of those.

But there was one thing on the ninja that did catch Zhang Pu's interest.

How is this like the Dreamstone used in the cultivation world to create and construct teleportation arrays?