Chapter 247: Interrogation
Concealment Technique!
Mo Hua had been coveting this technique for a long time.
The first time he saw Diao Lao San (Diao Tail) use it, he had wanted to learn it immediately.
Although Elder Yu said that his minor Five-Element spiritual root wasn't suited for this technique, how could he know without trying?
He had thought that the hidden cultivator had been cut down by the random blades, which had left him a little regretful.
He never expected him to appear again—what a pleasant surprise.
Since he had appeared, there would be no escape.
Mo Hua was determined to extract the secret of the Concealment Technique.
He was now at Qi-Refining level seven, fast enough for movement, but his magical repertoire only included Fireball.
Its power was mediocre, not strong, not weak, just adequate.
Mo Hua's spiritual roots weren't great, and his cultivation method didn't enhance spell power, so even learning another offensive spell wouldn't be very meaningful.
He wanted something more practical.
The Concealment Technique was perfect.
A strong Divine-Sense could conceal one's aura, making detection difficult, while the Concealment Technique could hide one's body entirely.
With his Divine-Sense, learning this technique would essentially guarantee self-preservation.
To seek immortality, one must first survive.
Diao Lao San, his arm twisted painfully by Yu Chengyi, glared through sweat: "Don't even think about it!"
Having been outwitted by this little ghost several times, he hated him enough to kill him, and would never reveal the Concealment Technique.
Mo Hua snorted, "To refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"
But Diao Lao San gritted his teeth and refused to speak.
Mo Hua's eyes brightened suddenly. He asked Yu Chengyi, "Uncle Yu, where's his storage bag?"
When a criminal cultivator was captured, alive or dead, the storage bag was taken and marked.
Yu Chengyi rummaged and produced a bag embroidered with blue water patterns, tossing it to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua emptied its contents.
Two spare daggers—one a first-grade spiritual weapon, the other ordinary, likely just temporary.
Several bottles of poison, each labeled, for coating the daggers.
Several antidote bottles, color-matched to the poisons but unlabeled.
A few books on cultivation techniques and Daoist arts, but Mo Hua skimmed them and found only common, low-quality manuals.
No Concealment Technique manual.
Mo Hua frowned. "Where did you hide the secret technique?"
Diao Lao San gritted his teeth. "You little bastard, I'll never tell you!"
"Still dare to curse me?" Mo Hua raised an eyebrow, flipping out the Thousand-Jin Rod. "Let's see if I don't smash your mouth!"
Yu Chengyi quickly intervened. "No need to use your hands; don't hurt yourself."
Mo Hua wasn't a body cultivator; using force recklessly could injure himself.
Besides, there were plenty of other demon-hunters here who could deal with Diao Lao San.
They had guarded spiritual mines before and seen many comrades fall to Diao Lao San's vicious daggers, so now they were eager to vent their anger.
After beating him for a while, Yu Chengyi called a halt.
Mo Hua asked again, "Are you going to speak?"
Diao Lao San spat a mouthful of blood and relented. "If I tell you, will you spare my life?"
Mo Hua snorted coldly. "Dream on."
He raised two small fingers. "You have only two choices. First, tell us honestly, and we'll deliver you to the Dao Court Division. Alive or dead, it's up to them…"
"Second, refuse to speak, and we'll cut you down with thousand blades now. You're a criminal cultivator, so your death would be meaningless anyway."
Diao Lao San said coldly, "Either way I die. Why should I tell?"
He knew that even if he fell into the Dao Court Division's hands, he was certain to die.
"One choice might get you a chance to live; the other is certain death now."
Mo Hua explained, "If you enter the Dao Court Division, maybe bribing an officer could save you, maybe bribing a higher official could grant release, or at least bribing a jailer could allow an escape…"
Diao Lao San rolled his eyes. If he had such skill, he could have bribed officials long ago and become a clan leader or sect master—or at least an elder.
He sneered inwardly and still refused to speak.
Mo Hua sighed. "Then just prepare for your journey."
These criminal cultivators were already worthless; death would be a relief. As for the technique, Mo Hua could find another way; the Concealment Technique wasn't indispensable.
Mo Hua glanced at Yu Chengyi. He nodded and ordered: "Take him aside and cut him down with thousand blades."
A demon-hunter grabbed Diao Lao San with a large hand and dragged him to a small grove.
Halfway there, Diao Lao San suddenly realized: "I'm about to die!"
Having lived over a hundred years, he had imagined his death many times, never caring.
Now, facing death, he truly understood the fear of vanishing.
Infinite terror engulfed him; his stubborn resolve crumbled instantly.
In that moment, he only wished to live even one more day, or even one more hour.
As long as it wasn't now, tomorrow or the next hour would be better than this moment.
Death in the Dao Court Division was preferable to being cut down and fed to beasts.
Diao Lao San cried out desperately: "I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Mo Hua's spirits lifted. "Wait!"
The hunter dragged him back and placed him before Mo Hua.
Diao Lao San looked weak, barely breathing.
Mo Hua frowned. "Why not speak earlier? Now you've taken extra beatings, stubborn fool…"
Diao Lao San coughed up more blood.
Yu Chengyi whispered: "Say less, don't make him die of anger."
"Okay, okay," Mo Hua nodded repeatedly. "Now, where is the secret of the Concealment Technique?"
Diao Lao San, utterly cowed after tasting death, obediently said:
"In those Daoist manuals, one book, Blazing Fist, pages nineteen to fifty-four, contains… the Concealment Technique."
Mo Hua rifled through the bag and found an old, creased copy of Blazing Fist.
Turning to page nineteen, he saw that the content changed dramatically.
The first pages described fire-based martial arts for physical training; from page nineteen onward, it suddenly detailed a hidden water-elemental spiritual technique.
Between the lines was a small annotation: Concealment Technique.
Mo Hua was overjoyed. He looked at Diao Lao San and thought, "As expected of an old fox. Clever, hiding precious techniques inside ordinary manuals. In the dark, no one notices."
Satisfied, Mo Hua stuffed Blazing Fist with the Concealment Technique into his storage bag. Then he furrowed his brow, thinking:
"If he hid the Concealment Technique here, did he hide other techniques elsewhere?"
He began scanning other Daoist books, page by page, and finally found something unusual.
In a martial arts manual called Flowing Sand Palm, there was a technique Mo Hua had never heard of:
Water Prison Technique.
Mo Hua raised an eyebrow, buy one, get one free!
(End of chapter)