Volume Four: The Buddha Saves No One; Only I, the Demon, Deliver Them - The Netherworld (Part One)

Xu Hu's lips twitched. Luo Qian had always thought any smile that showed stark white teeth looked terrifying, but Xu Hu clearly wasn't used to threatening people. The two canine teeth peeking out beneath his lip only made him look like a clumsily painted opera mask. Luo Qian stared for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Xu Hu's face hardened. He beckoned, and a row of torture instruments came rattling toward them. "Go on, laugh..." Luo Qian shrugged. "Boss, you look more sinister when you're like this." Furious, Xu Hu seized him and hauled him up. "Talk. What are you really after?" Luo Qian stopped holding back and shoved him away. At worst, I'll smash my head against a wall and die. "Nothing. Someone wants to win you over, and I'm just doing him a favor."

Xu Hu had never seen Luo Qian so hot-tempered. He grabbed a whip covered in barbs from beside him and gave a sinister smile. "I never knew you had such backbone."

Crack! The whip snapped, and Luo Qian couldn't help flinching. Xu Hu roared with laughter. Stung, Luo Qian braced himself and said, "If you're a man, make it quick!" Xu Hu grinned. "Oh, I'll make sure you enjoy it..."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Three lashes curled through the air. After three sharp cracks, three bloody welts appeared on Luo Qian's face. That pushed him over the edge. "You don't hit a man in the face, you bastard!" Even a rabbit bit when cornered, and Luo Qian was ready to fight for his life. As he clenched his left fist, Xu Hu felt a surging force flood the entire cell. While Xu Hu was still wondering where it had come from, Luo Qian lunged and drove a punch straight at his face.

When Xu Hu