Li Duoer, who had always been as cold and aloof as an iceberg, now had a complex mix of emotions on her pretty face.
Her deathly pale eyes showed a flicker of life.
She abruptly stood up and hugged Li Hanlong's arm, screaming, "Big Brother... Run!"
Seeing Li Zhonglou, who was covered in blood and being held at gunpoint by Li Hanlong, Li Duoer's heart ached.
For the past few days, she had been consumed by guilt over Yan Bin's death.
She also learned that Li Hanlong had kidnapped Li Zhonglou's mother and wife to lure him into a trap.
But Li Zhonglou had never appeared, and she thought he had fallen victim to her uncle's ruthlessness, which was why she had been listless and heartbroken every day.
She never expected to see Li Zhonglou again here.
But the situation was even worse; he was being held at gunpoint by her uncle.
She wanted to save Li Zhonglou, but her small and delicate frame was even weaker than an average person. How could she possibly influence a master like Li Hanlong?
Her arm remained unmoved, the muzzle of the gun pointed at Li Zhonglou's forehead.
A sinister grin spread across his face: "Kid, if I were you, I'd flee far away. How dare you still hide in Yong'an."
"Young Master Huang was crippled by you, and Lian Zijian is dead. Do you think these things have no consequences?"
"Childish!"
"Your death is imminent. Even if I don't kill you today, you won't live for another month."
Li Hanlong said these words through gritted teeth.
In fact, he really didn't want to kill Li Zhonglou, because Li Zhonglou was merely a tool to control Lin Zhendong.
Killing him would only incite Lin Zhendong's anger and revenge.
Keeping him alive, however, would allow him to obtain the information he had been seeking for so many years.
How could he not know which was more important?
But as things stood, he didn't expect Li Zhonglou to be so reckless, crippling Huang He and killing Lian Zijian.
Fate had been sealed at that moment.
The reason he hadn't died yet was that a certain important figure was abroad resolving some issues these past few days.
He would return to the country within a month at the most.
By then, Li Zhonglou would surely be dead.
"Since you're going to die anyway, you might as well die by my hand," Li Hanlong narrowed his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a sword.
He had made up his mind: killing Li Zhonglou would anger Lin Zhendong, but it would also allow him to directly ascend to the favor of that important figure.
Now, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
Saying this, he moved his finger, ready to pull the trigger.
Li Zhonglou pushed Ning Lang aside and faced Li Hanlong, a smile never leaving his face.
He had already foreseen all possible consequences.
Since he had foreseen them, he could calmly accept them.
This was his tribulation, and he could not escape it. It was just a pity that he couldn't take Li Hanlong down with him.
He hoped Li Hanlong wouldn't be so insane as to spare Ning Lang, so that his mother might have a slightly better life in her later years.
Come on!
He had already died once, what else was there to fear!
Li Zhonglou roared in his heart.
*Click!*
Just then, a faint sound of a mechanism echoed. Li Zhonglou instinctively closed his eyes, bracing for death.
But the gun did not fire; it was the sound of the private room door being opened.
Li Hanlong glanced towards the door, his hand naturally pausing.
A sleazy middle-aged man, holding a fortune-telling banner and wearing a Taoist robe, staggered in.
Li Zhonglou reopened his eyes and saw the man, his pupils widening.
Shen Yishou!
Why was this old charlatan here?
Could it be that after being thwarted in Qin Zhou last time, he had learned of his presence in Yong'an from his disciple Xu Qing and had come specifically for revenge?
Li Zhonglou's heart trembled violently.
One Li Hanlong was already terrifying enough, and now Shen Yishou had appeared.
It truly was a case of "when it rains, it pours," and "a slow boat meets a headwind."
However, the situation was already so bad that it couldn't get any worse. Even if both of them wanted to kill him, it wouldn't matter.
"Who are you? Did you come to the wrong door? We didn't invite any fortune tellers," Li Hanlong asked in a deep voice.
He was a smuggler of cultural relics, not a murderer.
Killing Li Zhonglou was easy, and killing Ning Lang and Zeng Wang to silence them would also be acceptable.
But now a divine stick had appeared. Did he have to kill him too?
"Sir, I foresaw that you would have a bloody disaster today, so I have come to help you resolve it. I am not some fortune teller; you can call me Shen Banxian." Shen Yishou waved his hand grandly and walked towards Li Hanlong unhurriedly.
He didn't even glance at Li Zhonglou or the others.
It was as if he were blind, unable to see the gun in Li Hanlong's hand.
"Stop!" Ayue Qubi's face darkened, and he sharply commanded and attacked.
He had been repelled by Li Zhonglou earlier, which had cost him face in front of his godfather.
Now, some uninvited fortune-telling charlatan had appeared, providing him with an opportunity to vent his anger.
A cold glint flashed in his hand, and this time he attacked with full force, slashing towards Shen Yishou's throat.
It was as fast as lightning.
This strike was much fiercer than when he had faced Li Zhonglou earlier.
*Bang!*
Unfortunately, when he was still half a meter away from Shen Yishou, he suddenly curled up like a ball and was sent flying backward.
He hit the wall with a thud, slumped to the ground, and fell unconscious.
The entire process was as swift as thunder.
No one could see it clearly except Li Hanlong and Li Zhonglou.
It turned out that as Ayue Qubi approached Shen Yishou, Shen Yishou raised his knee and kicked, striking Ayue Qubi in the abdomen with a move that was both later and earlier.
With just one kick, he had completely incapacitated him.
"Are all the younger generation so arrogant nowadays?" Shen Yishou spat, speaking without looking at Ayue Qubi, but rather casting a glance at Li Zhonglou.
It seemed to be a pointed remark.
This kick, however, made Li Zhonglou laugh.
He had thought Shen Yishou had come to settle accounts with him, but he hadn't expected him to take down Ayue Qubi right away.
It looked like he had come for Li Hanlong.
But who had invited him?
Senior Sister? Or Sister Yun?
Weren't they adversaries? When had they become friends?
He hadn't received any news about it.
At the same time, Li Hanlong's expression became solemn.
The muzzle of the gun shifted from Li Zhonglou to Shen Yishou.
Ayue Qubi was his most accomplished disciple, gifted with extraordinary talent, much more promising than Yan Bin.
He had personally trained him in martial arts since childhood, and later sent him to study with the Chen family in Yuyuan.
His skills were definitely among the best of his peers.
Even he himself would find it somewhat difficult to subdue Ayue Qubi in one move.
Yet, he was knocked unconscious by a fortune teller with a single kick.
Although there was an element of underestimation, it was also evident that this fortune teller was no ordinary person and was likely coming for him.
"Fortune teller, your skills are good. It's his own fault for being knocked out by you due to his poor judgment," Li Hanlong said coldly. "I don't blame you. Leave now, and I'll pretend nothing happened."
"Otherwise, before you get within three meters of me, you'll be bleeding out on the spot."
"The bloody disaster you spoke of must befall you, not me!"
Even without a gun, Li Hanlong believed he was no weaker than anyone else.
What's more, he had a gun in his hand.
Within three meters, even a fly would have trouble getting in.
Let alone some stinky fortune teller.
"Alas..."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yishou's footsteps did not stop. He walked and shook his head with a sigh, "When you eat someone's food, you're beholden to them."
"You can calculate everything but yourself. If you lose your life for a mouthful of food, there's nothing that can be done."
The distance was constantly closing.
The malevolence in Li Hanlong's eyes grew stronger.
Finally, when Shen Yishou stepped within three meters of him.
He pulled the trigger without hesitation.
*Click!*
A crisp sound of the firing pin striking echoed, but no bullet was fired.
Li Hanlong's expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to try pulling the trigger a second time, Shen Yishou, like a ghost, rushed before him.
He unfurled his large banner and cast it down upon Li Hanlong.
Facing a master like Shen Yishou, Li Hanlong dared not be careless. He threw away the gun, swept his arm, and collided it with the flagpole.
Then came a series of low leg sweeps, aiming to break Shen Yishou's leg bones.
Unfortunately, Shen Yishou's movements were as agile as a monkey's, and he narrowly dodged them.
Fortunately, the private room in the Han Palace was very spacious; otherwise, Shen Yishou's large banner would not have been able to be unfurled.
An inch longer, an inch stronger. Li Hanlong was greatly inconvenienced by the banner cloth and couldn't think of a way to break free for the moment, so he could only attack Shen Yishou's center with his fists raining down like raindrops on banana leaves.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged over ten blows.
It was a clash of equals, a stalemate.
It was impossible to tell who was superior.
"That was really damn close. Fortunately, I only loaded one bullet for emergencies," Ning Lang let out a long sigh of relief, helping Li Zhonglou up from the chair, his eyes filled with worry.
He didn't know what background this suddenly appearing divine stick had, but he could fight evenly with Li Hanlong.
This could be considered a miraculous escape from disaster.
"Old Ning, Brother Li, I won't buy the thing... anymore. I have something else to do, so I have to leave first." Zeng Wang snapped out of his daze. Remembering what Li Zhonglou had said earlier about the illegality of buying the golden Buddha, his interest vanished, and he nervously wanted to flee.
Ning Lang naturally didn't stop him and watched him escape the private room.
When he tried to help Li Zhonglou leave, he found he couldn't move him.
"Brother, this is not the time to be stubborn. If you stay alive, you'll have plenty of firewood," Ning Lang sincerely advised.
When gods fight, mortals suffer.
The two of them couldn't intervene at all; the difference in their levels was too great.
The gun was also out of bullets. The only thing they could do was watch the fight.
What if Shen Yishou couldn't hold on for long? Then they, along with Li Zhonglou, would be at a great disadvantage.
It would be better to leave now.
"This is a golden opportunity that might not come again for a long time," Li Zhonglou resolutely shook his head.
Li Hanlong was a powerful figure, cunning as a fox.
Without the right time, place, and people, it would be extremely difficult to subdue him.
Relying solely on legal means was also unrealistic. If he escaped, where would they find him?
Therefore, even if it meant risking his life, he had to keep him here today.
Ning Lang knew that what Li Zhonglou said was true. Since he didn't want to leave, Ning Lang couldn't leave either.
So, clenching his teeth, he said, "Alright, I'll go find some people!"
Saying this, he intended to get the phone back from Li Duoer, but she dodged him.
Ning Lang could see that her relationship with Li Zhonglou seemed to be quite close, so he couldn't forcefully take it.
Seeing this, Li Zhonglou gently persuaded, "Duoer, give your phone to Brother Ning and bring me the Sanlian Chapter when you get back."
"As long as you get the chapter, Li Hanlong won't die."
Upon hearing this, Li Duoer's pretty face tensed, her eyes filled with hesitation. But soon, she handed all three of their mobile phones to Ning Lang.
The next second, Li Hanlong's enraged roar was heard: "Duoer, how dare you betray me."
"Don't forget, I am your uncle."
"Without me, you'd probably be begging on the streets now!"
*Bang!*
As soon as he spoke, Li Hanlong, distracted, was hit by Shen Yishou's banner, forcing him to retreat five or six steps and smash a sturdy rosewood chair.
His face turned pale, but his eyes were fierce like a vengeful spirit.