Jiang Chen watched as Young Master Tianlin still wore that "you can't afford to mess with me" expression, and couldn't help but find it amusing.
It was plain to see that although Young Master Tianlin possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts and enjoyed the doting favor of Emperor Danji, the air of a spoiled noble still clung to him like an unshakable shadow.
People like him always carried a whiff of aristocratic arrogance. Whenever they ran into trouble, their first instinct was to lean on their status, to brandish their father's name and try to scare people off.
In reality, this was a clear sign of immaturity.
One could even say that this inexplicable sense of confidence and superiority was, in its own way, rather childish. After all, Young Master Tianlin was a prisoner—a captive.
And yet this captive hadn't shown the slightest awareness of his situation.
Jiang Chen let out a soft, incredulous laugh.
He carved a slice of the roasted game with his blade and placed it in his mouth. Rich flavor burst across his tongue.
Young Master Tianlin spat angrily, "Boy, it seems you still haven't realized what you're doing! Looks like you won't shed a tear until you're in the coffin."
Jiang Chen truly couldn't hold back any longer. He chuckled lightly, tapping the short knife in his hand against the green stone beside the fire pit, the rhythm bright and almost playful.
"Young Master Tianlin, I'm genuinely curious. Just how much faith do you have in your father? You're someone else's prisoner, and yet you still have the nerve to spout nonsense here?"
As he spoke, Jiang Chen rose to his feet. The short blade, still slick with grease from cutting the meat, pressed against the side of Young Master Tianlin's neck.
"Tell me—if I drew this blade across, even if your father is Emperor Danji, you'd still be dead, wouldn't you? You think your father is the most powerful man in the world? Well, what do you think will happen if this blade comes down? Will your old man cough up blood from rage on the spot?"
The cold edge of the blade pressed against his throat, and Young Master Tianlin's mind buzzed violently. Cold sweat erupted across his forehead, and his head instantly cleared.
"You… who exactly are you? Do you have some grudge against my Pill Fire City?" Young Master Tianlin was never made of iron to begin with, let alone forged from the tempered steel of true backbone.
He had relied on his talent and his illustrious pedigree to enter the Imperial realm at such a young age. That had always kept his eyes pointed skyward. On top of that, he had barely ever suffered any setback, so his understanding of adversity was paper-thin.
Up until the very moment Jiang Chen pressed the blade to his neck, some part of him still believed, on an instinctive level, that the other party would never dare do anything to him.
There was no denying it—young Master Tianlin's judgment had failed him spectacularly.
"Who I am is none of your concern. I'll ask you once: do you want to live, or do you want to die?" Jiang Chen's short blade traced back and forth across Young Master Tianlin's throat.
With just a little more pressure, it would slice straight through his windpipe.
Young Master Tianlin was, after all, Emperor Danji's seed. Though he had finally learned what true fear felt like, he displayed a strange, stubborn refusal to beg for mercy.
"You wouldn't dare kill me!" Cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
"Wouldn't dare?" Jiang Chen laughed. "Tell me—right now, what's the difference between killing you and killing a dog?"
"You—" Young Master Tianlin's face flushed red with fury. But he quickly reminded himself that he was, in the end, the other man's prisoner.
If he lost control in his rage and spat out something truly offensive, the other party might fly into a shameful rage and simply cut his throat on the spot.
Jiang Chen slapped the flat of his blade against Young Master Tianlin's cheek several times, laughing mockingly. "In the eyes of everyone in Pill Fire City, you are Emperor Danji's youngest son—a man showered with adoration and flattery from thousands. But in my eyes, you're nothing but a lamb waiting for the slaughter. I don't particularly want to kill you right now, but that doesn't mean I absolutely won't!"
Jiang Chen's blade withdrew in a flash. He gave a casual laugh and sealed Young Master Tianlin's acupoint once more, cutting off his ability to speak. He didn't want to waste any more words on this fool.
Jiang Chen had never come here for Young Master Tianlin in the first place. It was simply that Emperor Danji had been too despicable, targeting Qingxuan. Left with no choice, Jiang Chen had decided to give him a taste of his own medicine.
He set to work, applying a few cosmetic alterations to Young Master Tianlin's appearance, instantly changing his entire bearing. This way, he wouldn't attract too much attention.
Once everything was done, Jiang Chen didn't linger. He set off immediately. Infiltrating Pill Fire City to snatch Young Master Tianlin had gone smoothly enough, but it had still cost him a full day.
By now, those six emperors were probably drawing ever closer to him.
Every minute from here on out was precious.
Fortunately, this location wasn't terribly far from the Moon God Sect's headquarters.
Jiang Chen pushed his speed to the limit. Within a day, he once again entered the Moon God Sect's territory. It was his third visit to these lands, and his mood was entirely different this time.
This time, Jiang Chen didn't bother notifying Third Master Jing. He charged straight toward the Moon God Sect's headquarters.