This desperate situation was one Li Chonglou had only encountered once in his two lives.
The first time was during his car accident in his previous life, trapped inside the vehicle as it was about to explode.
If Xu Lie hadn't risked his life to save him, he would have turned into charred bones long ago.
The feeling Shen Yishou gave him was more intense than that car accident.
He had no doubt that if Shen Yishou wished, he could crush his head with a single stomp.
"In my life, though I cannot face death as if it were home, I will never be coerced," Li Chonglou forced himself to calm down, enduring the piercing pain, and gritted his teeth, "Come on, if you don't kill me today, I will make you pay ten times the price!"
He was gambling.
He gambled that the item his senior sister had asked him to retrieve was more important to Shen Yishou than his own life.
He gambled that the safe was connected to the alarm system, making it impossible for Shen Yishou to crack it by force.
He gambled that his master and senior sister's abilities were enough to make this swindler wary.
This was not a blind gamble.
From the moment he saw Shen Yishou upon entering, he had been observing his every move.
Although this swindler acted ruthlessly and spoke aggressively, he hadn't fully committed, holding back a crucial move.
There was still a chance.
"Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you?" Shen Yishou's eyelids twitched, and he glanced involuntarily at the camera inside the shop.
A killing intent flashed and vanished in his eyes.
Although Lin Zhendong and his daughter possessed extraordinary abilities, they were not present to save Li Chonglou.
He could do as he pleased without much concern, after all, he had the backing of the Jinmen behind him. No matter how formidable Lin Zhendong was, he wouldn't dare confront the entire Jinmen alone.
However, if he couldn't obtain that file, he would never have another opportunity.
Lin Ying would undoubtedly guard it more securely, perhaps even keeping it on her person. At that point, he would have no chance.
Furthermore, he wasn't confident he could open the safe without alerting the police.
His only hope was to rely on Li Chonglou and force him to reveal the password.
But Li Chonglou's stubbornness caught him completely off guard.
He was merely a Jin Dianzi, not a Hengmen, and was not skilled in interrogation techniques.
"Putting on a brave face, if you dare to kill, why bother with words," Li Chonglou, further confirming Shen Yishou's hesitation, changed his tone and took the offensive, "I don't even know what you're looking for. If you want something, you should at least be clear about it!"
"A file folder. What's inside is none of your business," Shen Yishou's gaze flickered, and the pressure from his foot eased slightly.
This gave Li Chonglou a chance to catch his breath.
But escaping from beneath his foot was almost impossible.
His only option now was to find a way to notify his senior sister. The video feed from the shop was uploaded to the internet in real-time, but she might not be watching it live.
Making a phone call was impractical; Shen Yishou's abilities would easily detect it.
The only way was to go to the tea table and press the alarm button.
"Let me up first. I can't talk properly in this position," Li Chonglou said, "I've never been one to yield to force, and I'm not saying I won't give you the password, but it depends on my mood."
"Since you don't dare kill me, let me sit down and talk properly."
His life must be preserved, and the item must not be lost!
This was his senior sister's trust in him, and he had to protect both.
"Youngster, don't think you can play any tricks in front of me, Shen Yishou. My patience is only thirty minutes," Shen Yishou narrowed his eyes, as if sensing Li Chonglou's intention, and snorted, "When time is up, even if I don't want to kill you, I will have to."
With that, he removed his foot from Li Chonglou's shoulder.
Li Chonglou felt immense relief and, enduring the pain in his nearly shattered shoulder, staggered towards the tea table.
His eyes, however, subtly scanned for the alarm button hidden beneath the tea table.
Pawnshops were, after all, places where cash items were exchanged. Without some security measures, they would have long been targets.
However, with the prestige of the father-daughter duo, Lin Zhendong, no one dared to covet Donglin in Qin Zhou.
But the alarm bell function had been designed from the initial renovation.
As long as he could reach the tea table and trigger the alarm, Shen Yishou, no matter how daring, would not dare to commit murder in public.
"Stop!" Just as Li Chonglou was about to reach the tea table and sit down, Shen Yishou unfurled the Pingjin flag in his hand, blocking his movement.
He then smoothly took the main seat, pointing the tip of the flag towards the guest seat.
It was clear he was signaling Li Chonglou to sit there.
"Old fox," Li Chonglou cursed internally.
His intentions had been guessed. It seemed the alarm bell was now just a decoration.
Thirty minutes. He only had thirty minutes left to live.
He was right; even a cornered dog would jump. Since this man had fallen out with his master and senior sister and was threatening him, he had no intention of leaving any way out.
Killing him would be a mere formality if pushed to the brink.
What other way could save his life?
Risk informing Xu Lie?
Li Chonglou's thoughts raced. He couldn't think of any friend who could help him out of his current predicament besides Xu Lie.
He secretly reached into his pocket, intending to blind-dial Xu Lie's number.
But his movement could not escape Shen Yishou's eyes. The moment his fingers moved, they were flicked by the tip of the flag, and his phone flew out of his pocket.
It was caught steadily by Shen Yishou.
His single eye was filled with smugness: "Youngster, I've been wandering the jianghu for years. Do you think these little tricks of yours are worthy of showing me?"
"You have only twenty-eight minutes left to live. In the dead of night, you dream of finding someone to save you!"
Hearing this, Li Chonglou forced a bitter smile: "With your skill, besides my master and senior sister, who else is your match?"
"Finding someone to help would endanger them, so I'm not that foolish."
"You want to open the safe and get something. In reality, my senior sister never told me the password."
"I've only been here a few days. How could she possibly tell me something so important? Would you? I just wanted to call her to ask."
"If you don't believe me, call her yourself!"
At this point, with no other options, Li Chonglou found his abilities utterly useless against such a jianghu figure.
No wonder his senior sister had always instructed him to diligently practice the sheepskin scroll cultivation method.
Unfortunately, there was too little time. Even an immortal couldn't achieve instant success.
Now, he could only try a desperate measure.
As long as Shen Yishou could get through to his senior sister, with her wisdom and means, there might still be a sliver of hope.
"Really?" Shen Yishou was half-believing.
He had indeed investigated before coming. Lin Zhendong had taken a new disciple in prison, Li Chonglou, who had been there for less than a week. He hadn't had much opportunity for direct instruction.
It was likely that Li Chonglou was appointed as Donglin's appraiser, and taking him as a disciple was merely to secure his loyalty.
It was plausible that Lin Ying would not give the password to Li Chonglou.
Moreover, Lin Ying was thousands of kilometers away from Qin Zhou. Even flying wouldn't get her back to Qin Zhou in half an hour. Alerting the authorities would only put Li Chonglou in greater danger, and with her intelligence, she wouldn't do such a foolish thing.
"The phone is in your hand. If you're afraid I'll play tricks, then you call yourself," Li Chonglou saw his hesitation and provoked him.
"Fine!"
Shen Yishou's expression turned ferocious. He brought the phone to Li Chonglou, asking him to unlock it: "If she makes any move, you're dead!"
After saying that, he found Lin Ying's number and dialed.