As the middle-aged man's face gradually turned from purplish-red to dark purple, and his eyes went from despair to vacant.
Li Zhonglou slowly let go, and then pressed the toilet flushing button.
"I ask, you answer."
"Who was the person who called you?"
"Cough." The middle-aged man gasped violently, showing no sign of answering.
His eyes glared at Li Zhonglou, filled with hatred.
Seeing this, Li Zhonglou, expressionless, reached out and gripped his finger, then gently snapped it.
*Crack!*
A bone-snapping sound that made one's scalp tingle echoed. The middle-aged man gritted his teeth, but couldn't stop a scream from escaping.
His left little finger was bent at a grotesque angle, appearing most horrifying.
The intense, surging pain stimulated the middle-aged man's brain.
Fear mixed with shock.
He hadn't expected this young man, whose eyes were as cold as ice, to be so ruthless.
He hadn't even given him the slightest chance.
"Second question, why did you send people to kill my mother?" Li Zhonglou asked again, his voice devoid of any emotion or fluctuation.
No mercy was needed for enemies.
It was as if breaking a finger was as simple as breaking a candle.
This extremely cold-blooded display sent shivers down the middle-aged man's spine.
But his years of experience in the underworld and his pride prevented him from backing down.
He gritted his teeth and growled, "Kill me if you have the guts."
*Crack!*
As soon as the words left his mouth, another cracking sound of bone breaking erupted.
This time, it wasn't a finger, but a foot that Li Zhonglou had stomped on and shattered.
The sheepskin scroll's cultivation didn't grant strength itself, but the technique to use it. An ordinary person with two hundred pounds of force, due to muscle tension, would hinder the transmission of power, causing significant loss.
Less than a tenth of it would be effectively used.
Li Zhonglou, however, could now exert at least eighty percent of his strength, coupled with speed, making him terrifying.
He could easily stomp through floor tiles, and crushing a few toes was child's play.
They say all ten fingers are connected to the heart, let alone an entire foot.
Such heart-wrenching pain made his consciousness begin to blur.
The reliance he had held onto instantly vanished like a bubble.
"I'll talk, I'll talk..." the middle-aged man's face contorted, no longer daring to play any tricks. "I'm from the Hengmen. If you move against me, you'll be in big trouble."
"Big trouble?"
Li Zhonglou calmly withdrew his foot and said, "When you sent people to assassinate my mother, you already sealed a fate of no return."
"I suspect the one in trouble isn't me, but this so-called Hengmen!"
"No matter how formidable you are, you shouldn't have provoked me."
His senior sister's words had come true so quickly.
The reason she had made him practice the sheepskin scroll was to prepare him for encountering various kinds of people in the future.
He had dismissed it with a laugh at the time, thinking that in this era, ancient martial sects would have long lost their influence.
He hadn't expected to encounter one so soon.
He had to admire his senior sister's foresight.
"You're Li Zhonglou?" The middle-aged man's pupils dilated upon hearing this, his face a mixture of pain and disbelief. "The son-in-law of the Jiang family!"
Connecting these words, he recognized Li Zhonglou's identity.
This son-in-law, whom everyone looked down upon, was initially beneath his notice.
If his boss hadn't given a death order, he wouldn't have even bothered to glance at someone like Li Zhonglou.
How could he have imagined he would be so ruthless?
"Tell your superiors, within a month, Hengmen will disappear from Qin Prefecture," Li Zhonglou said, pocketing his phone and turning to leave.
Knowing about Hengmen was enough; further interrogation would be meaningless.
With his phone in hand, many truths would be revealed.
The interrogation just now was merely to vent his anger and avenge his mother.
"Arrogant brute, after provoking Hengmen, I will ensure you die without a whole corpse!" After Li Zhonglou left the restroom, the middle-aged man, dripping with cold sweat, his eyes bloodshot and his face contorted, cursed fiercely.
Returning to the private room, Li Zhonglou acted as if nothing had happened.
Only after seeing Cao Chunhua and Xiao Yun off and getting into a taxi did his expression turn grim.
"What happened?" Xu Lie, being perceptive, asked casually.
"I've found the person who harmed my mother. You'll have to work hard this month," Li Zhonglou said calmly.
Xu Lie understood immediately.
On the way, he made a call to Wu Hao.
After dropping Xu Lie back at the hospital, he found a coffee shop to meet Wu Hao.
"The company registration is almost done. Have you thought of a name?" Wu Hao asked excitedly as soon as they met.
"We'll discuss the name later. For now, help me crack this phone. I need all information about everyone who communicated with this phone," Li Zhonglou said, taking out the middle-aged man's phone and handing it to Wu Hao.
For this kind of task, no one was more suitable than Wu Hao.
"Whose phone is it? Is this legal?" Wu Hao instinctively glanced around and asked in a lowered voice.
"Don't worry, he doesn't dare to call the police," Li Zhonglou smiled. "If there are problems, I'll take responsibility."
Hengmen was an organization that operated in the shadows. If the man dared to report his phone stolen, it would save him trouble.
At worst, he'd be charged with robbery, but Hengmen would likely be wiped out.
After all, it was a small society hidden in the dark.
With the current crackdown on crime, wouldn't that be suicidal?
"Alright, I trust you. I feel like you're getting more mysterious lately, am I wrong?" Wu Hao's confusion vanished upon hearing this, and he joked.
"People change, and so will you. If you ever face a disaster you can't avoid or a mistake you can't rectify, you'll understand," Li Zhonglou said in an extremely calm tone, narrating his insights from two lifetimes.
He didn't expect Wu Hao to understand at his age, nor would he explain his rebirth to him.
If it were anyone else, he wouldn't even have the thought of sighing.
But Wu Hao was not an ordinary person.
Since he had been reborn once, Wu Hao's fate would inevitably change with it; this was unavoidable.
This sentence was merely to plant a seed in his heart.
"That's quite profound. I know your mother's illness has hit you hard, but things will get better. Trust me, brother!" Wu Hao said with a serious expression, trying to comfort Li Zhonglou instead.
He assumed Li Zhonglou's transformation was solely due to his mother's illness.
Li Zhonglou didn't offer further explanation and continued to discuss the company's naming with him.
Names like "Shíshí Jiànbǎo" (Constant Treasure Appraisal) and "Bǎoqì" (Treasured Artifact).
But they all felt mediocre.
He couldn't think of a good name for a while, making Wu Hao scratch his head in frustration.
Just then, the glass door of the coffee shop was pushed open forcefully, and a petite figure darted inside.
It was a little girl with a single braid.
She looked about twenty years old, not tall but with a slender, curvaceous figure.
Her large eyes sparkled with a vibrant gleam.
As if born on a high mountain peak, untouched by the mundane world, her pure gaze was unforgettable.
However, at this moment, a hint of panic flickered in the girl's eyes.
After entering, she immediately glanced back at the door, then quickly rushed towards Li Zhonglou's seat.
The next second, the girl squeezed herself entirely under Li Zhonglou's seat.
Her bright eyes met his.
Her eyes seemed to convey three words: "Help me."
*Dada dada!*
Immediately after, two burly men wearing sunglasses stormed into the shop, scanning the surroundings, their gazes finally settling on Li Zhonglou and Wu Hao.
With unfriendly expressions, they walked towards them in unison.