Boom!

The fat man rolled down the stone stairs and did not stop until he knocked on the wall on one side.

The heavy collision caused the whole bas.e.m.e.nt to shake.

“Ouch… it hurt so much…”

Chen Hanlong and others were stunned and tongue-tied after seeing the scene.

The fat man struggled up despite falling from high. It someone else fell from so high, he would break his head, bleed, and pa.s.s out.

Thus, it proved that the fat man was not an ordinary person.

Mo Xinghe rushed forward quickly, trying to strike the fat man hard.

“Wait…”

The fat man seemed to have figured out Mo Xinghe's intention; he turned around fast and swiftly, at a speed that a man like him seemed unable to reach. As he waved his hands, his fat jiggled with his movements.

Having been discovered, Mo Xinghe put his hands down in embarra.s.sment and looked at the fat man warily.

“Easy, easy, we're both gentlemen. Let's talk about it and solve it in a peaceful way. It's rude to use violence,” the fat man shook the dust off his body and said with an obsequious smile.

Chen Hanlong felt angry looking at the man's fat face. He kicked him and shouted in anger, “Screw you. How could I be a gentleman in this desperate state? Let me see if you can still be a gentleman.”

Chen Hanlong landed a mighty kick on the fat man's belly while cursing.

To his surprise, the fat man's belly buried his feet, and he felt as if he had kicked into the cotton.

The next moment, the fat man's belly rebounded and bounced Chen Hanlong away, who crashed onto the wall of the bas.e.m.e.nt with a dull sound.

“Bang!”

After that, Chen Hanlong fell onto the ground and gnashed his teeth in pain.

“d.a.m.n you fat pig, I'll kill you…”

Chen Hanlong's eyes were burning with anger. Though he did not get injured during the collision, he saw stars and could not bear the pain.

“Cotton Belly.”

Mo Xinghe stared at the fat man with interest and did not launch any attack. He could tell that the fat man did not mean to hurt Chen Hanlong, otherwise, he would have broken Chen Hanlong's legs with the just blow.

The fat man was surprised after hearing Mo Xinghe's words. He bowed toward Mo Xinghe respectfully and said, “Pay my respect to you, elder. You do have exceptional insight.”

Mo Xinghe could not help but laugh. “This fatty is really clever.” he thought to himself.

“Elder Mo, catch this fatty. I'll make him into braised meat.” Chen Hanlong struggled up and yelled.

The words made the fat man nervous. He waved his hand at Mo Xinghe, saying, “Elder, I had no intention to hurt him. He attacked me first, and I was just trying to defend myself.”

Mo Xinghe, of course, knew what he meant. He asked the question that he was concerned about the most. “Who are you?”

The fat man looked up at the mouse-like man, who was at the entrance of the burrow, and replied embarra.s.sedly, “Sorry, I can't tell you that.”

“Ha, why are you still so arrogant even after being caught? Do you think that I'm just kidding? Believe it or not, I'll make you into braised meat.” Chen Hanlong threatened him deliberately.

Chen Hanlong was not a fool; he knew that the fat man restrained his power when striking him. Otherwise, he would not have been able to struggle up.

“Please don't, please… I'll tell you whatever you want to know. You're so ruthless.” The fat on the man's face s.h.i.+vered, and it looked really funny.

“We are…”

“Go ahead if you are not afraid to be punished after we return back,” the mouse-like man said in a cold voice from above.

On hearing the words, the fat man's face quaked, and he held back what he was going to say.

Chen Hanlong got so angry that he grabbed a stone and threw it at the mouse-like man.

However, the stone was bounced back by the magic formation.

In the end, Chen Hanlong called the mouse-like man names and took the fat man to the inner bas.e.m.e.nt.

The bas.e.m.e.nt was deep under the ground and had many rooms.

Because the Immortal Water would be packed there, Chen Hanlong had decorated the place specially.

Chen Hanlong and Mo Xinghe took the fat man into a room.

Zheng Guangyi and his son, Sun Ying, and t.i.tan all looked at the fat man curiously.

“Who is he?” Zheng Guangyi asked.

“The hostage,” Chen Hanlong replied.

“Isn't it easier to catch a thinner hostage? This guy is too fat, and it must have been troublesome to catch him.” Zheng Guangyi thought there must be something wrong with Mo Xinghe's and Mo Xinghe's minds and that they did a poor job.

“Yes, yes… I totally agree with him. How about you let me off and go to get another hostage? That silly mouse is a nice choice. I can help you draw him here.” The fat man s.h.i.+fted ground and betrayed the mouse-like man.

If the mouse-like man heard the words, he would say, “A weak teammate does you more harm than a strong enemy.”

“You wis.h.!.+ Stop dreaming! Sit down and behave yourself.” Chen Hanlong kicked a chair to the fat man's side.

When the fat man sat down on the wooden chair, there were creaking sounds. The others all looked at him, stunned, worrying that the chair would collapse.

“Answer my question, who are you and your companions?” Mo Xinghe walked to the fat man and asked.

“Can I not answer it?” The fat man observed Mo Xinghe's expression timidly.

“What do you say?” Mo Xinghe put on a dangerous look.

The fat man's face trembled as he replied with an ingratiating smile, “I'll tell you, but after we get out of here, can you tell my companions that I was forced to speak under torture when they asked you about it?”

Mo Xinghe's and others' eyes popped out. “This fatty is funny. He really knows how to earn himself some credit.” they thought.

“Okay.” Mo Xinghe agreed.

“We're from the 12 Chinese Zodiacs,” said the fat man.

The others all looked confused upon hearing the answer.

“What's the 12 Chinese Zodiacs?” Zheng Qian asked curiously.

“Is it an organization?” Mo Xinghe asked.

The fat man nodded and replied, “Yes, our organization is called the 12 Chinese Zodiacs.”

“Are you kidding us?” Chen Hanlong doubted.

“No. I promise that I'm telling the truth for I'm at the mercy of you guys.” The fat man raised his hand and vowed.

“Well, I'll trust you for the time being then.” Mo Xinghe pondered for a while and continued, “Since you're an organization, who do you work for?”

However, this time, the fat man kept his mouth shut.

“Tell me quickly, or I'll slice your meat and braise it.” Chen Hanlong started to threaten him.

“I'm sorry, but I just can't tell you.” The fat man looked embarra.s.sed, and after a while, he continued, “All we want is the Immortal Water, and we won't hurt you.”

“Bulls.h.i.+t!” Chen Hanlong shouted and grabbed the man by the collar, yelling, “Won't hurt us? Then why did you use guns and cannons against us? If we had not run fast enough, we would have died now.”

“We didn't do that.” the fat man retorted.

“Who else could it be then?”

“It's the 12 Constellations.” the fat man signaled Chen Hanlong to let go of him because he felt choked.

“What the h.e.l.l is the 12 Constellations?” Chen Hanlong almost went mad.

The others were as astonished as him. “Is there more than one force targeting us?” they wondered to themselves.

“The 12 Chinese Zodiacs, the 12 Constellations, you're on the same side, aren't you?” Chen Hanlong murmured, and he grabbed the fat man even more tightly that the nerves stood out on his arms. If it were not for that the fat man was too heavy, Chen Hanlong would have lifted him up.

Others agreed with Chen Hanlong and stared at the fat man at the same time.

The fat man looked frightened and stuttered, “We're from the same organization, but we're absolutely not partners…”

“This silly fatty is kidding us. Beat him…”

Before the fat man could finish his words, Chen Hanlong yelled and interrupted him. At the same time, he punched the man on the face and beat him up.

Apart from Mo Xinghe, the other men also went over and surrounded the fat man. They felt so suppressed these days that they beat the fat man hard to vent their anger.

Covering his face with his hands, the fat man screamed miserably, like a pig being killed.

About a dozen minutes later, they got tired and panted heavily. It took strength to beat.

The fat man squatted on the ground screaming, covering his face with his hands.

“That's enough. Stop pretending,” said Mo Xinghe.

The fat man immediately stopped screaming and stood up slowly with a candid smile.

Chen Hanlong and others were dumbfounded. They beat the man for about a dozen minutes, yet the man still smiled at ease. “He can really endure the pain.” they thought.

Mo Xinghe narrowed his eyes and asked in surprise, “It seems that you not only practiced the Cotton Belly but also made your whole body as soft as cotton.”

“Elder Mo, what do you mean?” Chen Hanlong was confused.

“I mean, our strikes were just like a scratch to him,” Mo Xinghe explained with a smile.

The others had a strange expression on their faces. They knew nothing about Cotton Belly, but they realized immediately that the fat of the man was his best defense. That was why they felt as if they had hit the cotton when they beat the man.

“This fatty is really cunning. Elder Mo, teach him a lesson.” Chen Hanlong had no strength to beat the man anymore. Besides, he understood it was useless for him to beat the man.

Mo Xinghe nodded his agreement. The fat man seemed honest but in fact crafty.

“I'd love to see how powerful your Cotton Belly could be.”

Mo Xinghe made a gesture of “please”.

Unexpectedly, the fat man shook his head like a rattle drum and waved his hand. “I don't want to fight with you. I can't defeat you.”

“How do you know that without fighting with me? As long as you knock me down, you can go. Don't you want to leave?” Mo Xinghe tried to tempt him.

He was very interested in Cotton Belly, which was a rare technique. Few people would practice this skill because they had to make themselves fat enough so as to practice it.

“Don't kid me. Lion, Loach, and Archer together failed to defeat you. So I won't fight you.” The fat man kept shaking his head.

“Lion, Loach, Archer, who are they?” Mo Xinghe was curious.

“They are the three people who have fought you before. They belong to the 12 Constellations. The man with golden hair is a Leo, nicknamed Lion. The thin and short man is a Pisces, nicknamed Loach, and the man with a tall figure is a Sagittarius, nicknamed Archer. The three of them are at the ninth level of the Acquired Realm, and Lion is only one step away from Great Completion of the level. However, they could not defeat you even when joining hands. So, you must have reached the Great Completion of the ninth level of the Acquired Realm.” The fat man a.n.a.lyzed and his words sounded reasonable. His sharp insight was incongruent with his ingenuous look.

“Which level are you at?” Chen Hanlong asked.

Since he followed Chu Xun's lead, he had known much more about the Martial Tao.

“I… I'm only at the eighth level of the Acquired Realm,” the fat man answered shyly.

Chen Hanlong and others ran to hide behind Mo Xinghe hurriedly as if they had been bitten by a snake, and looked at the fat man cautiously.

They felt frightened after hearing the words.

They had never expected that the fat man they beat turned out to be an expert at the eighth level of the Acquired Realm. If they were to fight the fat man, he would be able to kill them as easily as killing an ant.

They were terrified, and their hearts skipped a beat when they thought how they had worked together to beat an expert at the eighth level of the Acquired Realm.

Mo Xinghe felt surprised as well. He could feel that the fat man was powerful, but he did not expect him to be so powerful. Considering his power, the fat man could earn a certain place on the lists of experts.

“Answer my question. You could have dodged my attack, but why you let me drag you in deliberately?” Mo Xinghe's aura became threatening and realized that the fat man must not be underestimated.

The fat man replied with an honest smile, “I came here to negotiate with you. I think we should break the deadlock. All my organization wants is the Immortal Water, and we won't hurt you guys.”

“What about other guys?” Mo Xinghe looked ferocious.

The fat man showed a bitter expression and replied seriously, “They are different from us. They care about nothing but the result. To achieve their goal, they would use every means, fair or foul. You can't resist them. Now, the only solution is to give us the Immortal Water. As long as we get the Immortal Water, they would no longer target you.”

The fat man suddenly became so serious that Mo Xinghe and others could not react for a moment.

“I made the suggestion for your benefit. All of you are ordinary people except Elder Mo. No matter how strong Elder Mo is, he could not deal with 20 enemies at a time. By then, you still could not get away and may lose your lives and become Elder Mo's burden.”

The fat man spoke in an extremely grave tone.

Chen Hanlong and others could not help but ponder over the words. They realized that the fat man was right, despite that the words were displeasing.