Chapter 49: Azhi, the Reincarnator

Chapter 49: The Reincarnator A Zi

“Ah! Don’t come near me!!!~~~”

A piercing scream shook the earth, stunned the heavens, and even caused Zhang Fang to furrow his brows in annoyance.

After a long while, the cries ceased.

Exhausted, A Zi could only futilely twist her delicate body, attempting to retreat. But she was bound to a chair with five restraints, her acupoints sealed by Elder Chen, rendering her powerless. Through tears and sobs, she cast a terrified glance at Zhang Fang. “Are you some kind of demon, to treat me like this?”

“Please, spare me! I beg you!”

“I truly didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your Beggar Sect brothers, nor did I intend to poison those disciples. Believe me, it was never deliberate!”

“What did I do wrong to deserve this treatment?”

“Wuwuwu…”

Stopping about two meters away, Zhang Fang halted and asked sternly, “You really won’t put it on?”

A Zi shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum. “Just kill me! I’d rather die than wear that thing!”

With a sharp hiss, Zhang Fang casually tossed a glowing hot mask into a nearby pool, sending up a plume of white steam. “Fine, if you won’t wear it, then forget it.”

???

Wait a minute. This demon wearing the iron mask just moments ago threatened to burn me with that red-hot mask, didn’t he?

How did he suddenly let me off so easily?

Life’s ups and downs came too swiftly; A Zi felt momentarily disoriented.

Then Zhang Fang spoke again, “Tell me, what’s your main mission?”

At first, Zhang Fang had only been suspicious of this A Zi’s identity. But after her tearful pleas, he was certain: she was a reincarnator.

The real A Zi would never say something as modern as “Are you some kind of demon?” nor express confusion about right and wrong as “What did I do wrong to deserve this?”

Raised in the Xingxiu Sect, the original A Zi’s worldview was utterly twisted.

In her understanding, being abused wasn’t because someone had done wrong but because they weren’t strong enough and failed to show sufficient submission and humility to those stronger. Abuse was their just deserts.

Since this “A Zi” could say things the original never would, there was only one reasonable explanation:

The girl wearing A Zi’s skin was a reincarnator!

Realizing this, Zhang Fang lost interest in intimidating her and instead got down to business.

Still shaken, A Zi was stunned by his question about her main mission, then looked at Zhang Fang oddly. “So you’re one too, like me…”

“No!” Zhang Fang shook his head firmly. “We’re not the same.”

“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am You Tanzhi, currently the Ninth Elder of the Beggar Sect’s Nine Bags Division. Tomorrow, I will duel someone called Yan Shanhe for the position of Sect Leader. If I win, I will become the seventh-generation leader of the world’s largest sect. What do you have to do with a desperate fugitive like you?”

A Zi: …

Honestly, that cuts deep. Do you know that?

But now Zhang Fang held all the cards; she could only muster a faint smile, patiently explaining, “Actually, that’s not what I meant. I wanted to ask, are you really a reincarnator too?”

Zhang Fang nodded slightly, tacitly admitting it, then asked somewhat impatiently, “So, are you going to tell me or not? If not, I won’t ask again. What happened before will be handled officially.”

“Officially?” A Zi blinked, recovering from her earlier fear. “What does that mean?”

Zhang Fang leaned comfortably against the wall nearby, shrugging casually. “It means handling it according to martial world rules. You tried to poison Elder Wu and several brothers of the Beggar Sect — that’s serious. According to the rules, I’ll hand you over to Law Enforcer Elder Bai Shijing to deal with the matter.”

“And what does the sect rule say about this?”

“Sorry, I don’t remember.”

“Anyway, be prepared to die bravely. Elder Bai is fair; you shouldn’t be subjected to any other humiliation or torture before death.”

Hearing she was to die, A Zi hastily smiled and pleaded, “No! I’ll talk! I’ll talk, okay?”

Then she recounted in meticulous detail her two entries into the “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils” dungeon world, fearing Zhang Fang might hand her over to that law enforcer if displeased.

It turned out that after the newbie quiz, the system assigned her A Zi’s identity and placed her at Little Mirror Lake, where A Zi first appeared in the story.

Her main mission in the first dungeon was to evade Ding Chunqiu’s pursuit for thirty days.

Upon being transported into the dungeon by the Reincarnation Tower, she felt hungry and decided to roast fish. Using rewards from the newbie pack and her own kung fu, she quickly caught seven or eight fish.

At that moment, Chu Wanli, one of the four great bodyguards of the Duan family in Dali, appeared and scolded her for being cruel—killing more fish than she could eat.

A Zi bristled: “Who says I can’t eat them? Who do you take me for?”

Chu Wanli challenged her to prove it. Seeing her clumsy roasting technique, he taught her some tips and tricks.

Thus, A Zi learned her first life skill in the dungeon: “Roasting Fish.”

She devoured all eight roasted fish, leaving Chu Wanli dumbfounded. Yet recalling her earlier brutal fishing, he couldn’t resist teaching her how to fish properly…

Just as the two were about to become friends, Qiao Feng and A Zhu arrived. A Zi happily chatted with A Zhu, seemingly about to make another friend, when the Four Great Villains suddenly appeared.

A fight broke out between Duan Zhengchun and the villains. The force was so intense that a single finger strike could be launched far away. Alarmed, A Zi quickly fled the dangerous scene.

But before she could get far, she was caught by Yun Zhonghe.

That lecherous fellow immobilized her acupoints and carried her to a secluded place, intending unspeakable acts.

Unbeknownst to him, she was a Xingxiu Sect disciple. When he started undoing her clothes, he fell victim to an invisible poison powder she carried and was instantly poisoned.

Three hours later, when A Zi’s acupoints naturally released, Yun Zhonghe was already dead.

Thus, inexplicably, A Zi claimed her first kill ever—a major boss no less—and reaped rich rewards.

She learned Yun Zhonghe’s body technique, “Cloud Crane Nine Heavens,” and with the experience points from kills, greatly enhanced her strength.

When facing further Xingxiu Sect pursuers, she skillfully used superior lightness skills to outmaneuver and escape.

She also mastered all the poisons and toxic techniques used by Xingxiu disciples. Fighting fire with fire, she killed over ten sect members, even defeating Mó Yúnzǐ, the sect’s second senior brother.

It wasn’t until she met the senior brother, Star Picker, that she was finally defeated.

Yet, thanks to her superior lightness skills, she escaped Star Picker’s pursuit and survived.

After thirty days, she completed her first dungeon journey with an A-grade rating.

With the rewards and the secret manuals and equipment looted from Yun Zhonghe and the Xingxiu disciples, A Zi bought the “Divine Compilation of the Medicine King” manual and a candle made from Seven Heart Begonia at the consignment shop.

After a month of rigorous training in the practice arena, feeling much stronger, she planned to re-enter the “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils” world to seek revenge on Star Picker.

But upon her second entry, she overheard some indescribable strange sounds outside Madam Ma’s window…

(End of chapter)