Chapter 72

"By the way, why don't you focus on being a 'master'? Is it because your conscience won't allow it, or are you afraid of being exposed? Oh, how about you give me a reading? Let me see just how good you are at bullshitting!" As Xia Yunjie was speechless, Shen Liti continued to chatter away.

"I'm full, you can eat slowly." Xia Yunjie finally realized why Shen Liti and Du Haiqiong became good friends; they were cut from the same cloth. Unable to tolerate it any longer, he hastily gulped down a bowl of century egg and lean meat porridge, wiped his mouth, and got up to go into the bedroom.

Seeing Xia Yunjie get up in a bad mood, Shen Liti was initially slightly taken aback, then she burst out laughing.

She found that Xia Yunjie, this so-called charlatan, was actually quite cute. On one hand, he refused to admit being a charlatan, but on the other hand, he seemed to care a lot about the topic.

...

Four days later.

Dongkai Grand Hotel, a four-star hotel in Jiangzhou City.

The hotel, built by the river, stands 36 stories high with a broad view, making it an excellent place to enjoy the river scenery.

On the rooftop terrace of the hotel, a gentle breeze blew.

Xia Yunjie stood facing the wind, his gaze calm as he looked at Shen Ziliang, who was standing five meters in front of him. Behind Shen Ziliang stood two men in black suits.

These two men had sharp eyes and stern expressions, clearly not people to be trifled with. In contrast, Shen Ziliang, who had been arrogant and full of himself a few days ago, now had dark circles under his eyes and a pale face, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, lacking any energy.

"Frog Brother, have you been sleeping well lately?" Xia Yunjie looked at Shen Ziliang, a trace of undisguised contempt and a cold smile playing on his lips.

When not provoked, Xia Yunjie was just an ordinary worker, but once angered, he became a terrifying wizard. To him, people like Shen Ziliang were mere ants. If not for his conscious restraint of his bloodthirsty nature, Shen Ziliang would have long been dead. It was laughable that Shen Ziliang didn't come to beg for mercy but instead tried to threaten him with his power and influence.

"Damn, you little brat, you—..." As soon as Xia Yunjie spoke, the two men in black suits changed their expressions, and one of them, who was more impulsive, began to curse and reach for his waist.

Seeing this, Xia Yunjie's pupils suddenly constricted, revealing a bloodthirsty gaze, as if he had instantly transformed into a ferocious beast.

"Stop!" Shen Ziliang timely extended his hand to stop his subordinates.

"Sure enough, it's you!" After stopping his subordinates, Shen Ziliang gritted his teeth and said with hatred. However, the hatred in his eyes could not hide the uncontrollable fear.

"I don't like being threatened!" Xia Yunjie said calmly.

"Alright, I was wrong last time. If you let me go now, we can call it even." Shen Ziliang's face changed several times, but in the end, a trace of unwillingness flashed in his eyes as he spoke.

As soon as Shen Ziliang spoke, his two subordinates behind him were stunned.

Shen Ziliang's father, Shen Wanzhen, died young, and Shen Ziliang took over his father's business at the age of 25, including some illegal and gray-area businesses. Initially, many people did not believe he could manage these businesses, especially the illegal and gray-area ones. However, Shen Ziliang proved himself to be a more capable leader than his father with his decisive and ruthless methods.

Now, at 32, Shen Ziliang's business and the power he wielded far exceeded his father's peak.

Perhaps because he had gained immense wealth and even underground power at a young age, Shen Ziliang had always been extremely arrogant, doing as he pleased and almost never admitting defeat.

But today, Shen Ziliang was admitting defeat to a young man who couldn't be more than 20!

"Call it even? You make it sound so easy! How can I trust that you will really call it even? You are rich and powerful, and I am just a worker! If you break your word later, it won't matter much to me, but if you harm Shen Liti, I won't be able to guard against it." Xia Yunjie did not let up because of Shen Ziliang's unprecedented admission of fault but looked at him with disdain and asked.

"Don't push me too far, brat!" Seeing that Xia Yunjie was not letting him off even after he admitted fault, Shen Ziliang's face turned red with anger, and his eyes glinted with a fierce light.

"So what if I push you? Didn't you do the same to Shen Liti and me? How come it feels so bad when it's your turn?" Xia Yunjie couldn't help but laugh, his eyes filled with naked mockery and arrogance.

"Good! Indeed, a man with great skills is bold!" Hearing this, Shen Ziliang laughed in anger, then his face suddenly darkened, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes. He had a gun in his hand, which he had somehow produced.

Almost simultaneously, the two men following him also drew their guns from their waists.

Seeing the black muzzles of the guns pointed at him, Xia Yunjie's originally dark eyes turned blood-red, as if blood clouds were rolling inside them. A cold and fierce aura began to emanate from his body.

"Don't think a few tricks can scare me. With a slight pull of my finger, you'll be off to see the King of Hell! Do you really think I can't do anything to you? Now, you have two choices: one, join me, or two, I'll shoot you." Although Shen Ziliang had a deep-seated fear of Xia Yunjie, the gun in his hand and the surge of youthful blood made him reckless.

However, just as Shen Ziliang finished speaking, a bone-chilling aura suddenly enveloped the entire area.

Shen Ziliang and his two subordinates suddenly felt a chill and a tightening in their bodies, as if their blood had been frozen and stopped flowing.

None of them had ever experienced such a terrifying thing. They all looked at Xia Yunjie, who was approaching them step by step, with eyes full of fear, as if they were seeing a demon.

As Xia Yunjie approached, he reached out and took the guns from Shen Ziliang and his two subordinates, then, in front of them, he lightly twisted and rubbed them in his palm.

The guns, which could easily take a life, turned into sand and flowed out from between Xia Yunjie's fingers.

Seeing this terrifying scene, which they had never seen before, cold sweat dripped from their foreheads.

"Now, do you still think this is just a trick? Let me tell you, if I didn't want to kill, I could have done it in seconds!" Xia Yunjie clapped his hands and said lightly.

"Yes, yes!" Even though Shen Ziliang was usually arrogant, at this moment, he could only nod with a pale face.

"Hmph, tell your people to get lost! And don't talk about tonight's events." Seeing that Shen Ziliang had finally put aside his arrogance, Xia Yunjie coldly said.

"Rest assured, Brother Jie, we will keep our mouths shut!" Without waiting for Shen Ziliang to say anything, the man who had previously acted cool like a movie hitman was already nodding and then turned to leave.

After they left the terrace, even these tough men, who had experienced bloodshed, could not help but sit on the ground, gasping for breath, their shirts drenched in cold sweat.

"Brother Jie, I, Shen Ziliang, was blind to your greatness. Sir..." After his two closest subordinates left, Shen Ziliang stammered.

At this moment, Xia Yunjie was already beyond human in his eyes.

"Enough talk. Now, I give you two choices: one, swear to be my servant, or two, live in endless terror." Xia Yunjie coldly interrupted before Shen Ziliang could finish.

If not for his reluctance to kill, Shen Ziliang would have died a thousand times over for pointing a gun at him just now.

"This..." Hearing this, Shen Ziliang's face turned as white as paper.

"Are you unwilling?" Xia Yunjie glanced at Shen Ziliang with disdain and then turned to leave.

"No, no, Brother Jie, let's talk, let's talk." Shen Ziliang dared not let Xia Yunjie leave. The terrifying nightmare was no different from reality, and Shen Ziliang knew that if such a nightmare continued, he would completely break down.

Hearing this, Xia Yunjie stopped and looked at Shen Ziliang with a calm and merciless gaze.

He had no good feelings towards someone like Shen Ziliang and felt no pity.

"Fine! I, Shen Ziliang, swear to the heavens that from today on, I will respect Xia Yunjie as my master and will never betray him. If I break this oath, may I be struck by five thunderbolts and never be reborn." Seeing that Xia Yunjie showed no sign of leniency, Shen Ziliang finally had no choice but to grit his teeth and swear to the heavens.

As Shen Ziliang swore, Xia Yunjie took a coin from his pocket and, without touching Shen Ziliang's hand, drew a line in the air. A white light shot out from the coin, cutting across Shen Ziliang's finger, and a drop of blood flowed out, floating in the air.

Then Xia Yunjie drew symbols in the air with the drop of blood, which dispersed into a thread of blood-colored light. The light eventually formed a mysterious and powerful curse symbol. When Shen Ziliang finished his oath, the blood-colored curse symbol imprinted on his forehead and gradually seeped in until it disappeared.

When the mysterious blood-colored curse symbol disappeared from Shen Ziliang's forehead, he felt something indescribable in his body, which made him shudder with fear.

"You have sworn with blood. If you dare to have any second thoughts, you will be struck by five thunderbolts. Of course, if you don't believe me, you can try it out." Xia Yunjie looked at Shen Ziliang and said calmly.

"No, no, Brother Jie, from now on, I, Shen Ziliang, will follow you and will never have any second thoughts." Hearing this, Shen Ziliang shivered and said with a mournful face. When he swore, he still harbored a侥幸心理, thinking that swearing was just a matter of words, and if he broke it, what could happen? In this day and age, many people treat oaths as empty words and don't suffer any consequences. But now, Shen Ziliang realized that he had been foolish to think that an oath in front of this young man, who was full of mysterious power, could be treated as empty words.