Hearing Han Lang's taunt, Liu Jian appeared dismissive.
"Hmph! A dog? Jin Chunfeng? He's not even worthy!"
Han Lang felt a flicker of curiosity, then responded as if a realization had struck him.
"Right, right, right, I almost forgot! Jin Chunfeng isn't behind you, it must be Wang Shancai, right? Am I correct?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Jian shot him an even more disdainful look and angrily retorted.
"Are you deliberately trying to disgust me? How much better can Wang Shan be than Jin Chunfeng? Is he worthy of being the one behind me? If it weren't for the orders I received, these two wouldn't even qualify to carry my shoes!"
"Orders?"
Han Lang's alertness was immediately piqued by this statement.
Liu Jian's tone was filled with contempt for Wang Shan and Jin Chunfeng, yet he was clearly acting under their instructions, repeatedly targeting Han Lang.
If Liu Jian wasn't in a master-servant relationship with Wang Shan and Jin Chunfeng, then they could only be friends, or perhaps some other form of peer relationship.
But if that were the case, who was the one issuing the orders to him?
Could it be that there was some hidden big shot in Lecheng that even Wang Shan and Jin Chunfeng had to bow down to?
This thought was truly chilling.
With this in mind, Han Lang urgently pressed him again in a deep voice.
"Then, whose orders are you following?"
Seeing Han Lang's serious demeanor, Liu Jian finally realized he might have let something slip.
After a brief moment of panic, he haughtily turned his head slightly, his eyes filled with disdain. "You? You think you're worthy of knowing my patron's name?"
"Heh! Still quite stubborn."
Han Lang let out a scoff.
He deliberately and leisurely took out three golden needles from his怀 again in front of Liu Jian. With a thought, the needles flew up, hovering unsteadily before Liu Jian's eyes.
Liu Jian became flustered. "You... what do you want to do?"
Han Lang grinned. "Familiarity breeds contempt. We've met twice now, and you must know I'm a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, right? TCM can save lives, and it can also take them. But you might not know that TCM is also excellent for extracting confessions! I'll give you one more chance. Tell me everything you know! Otherwise... heh heh heh..."
Han Lang's cold laughter was like piercing ice, sending a shiver down Liu Jian's spine. Even knowing he couldn't mobilize his martial energy, he forced his stiff legs to lunge at Han Lang.
Han Lang remained unfazed. He controlled the three golden needles and with a "whoosh," they pierced Liu Jian's body, instantly sealing his mobility like acupoint pressure.
"You..."
Liu Jian was filled with resentment but powerless. He could only watch as Han Lang controlled another three golden needles, suspending them before him.
This was truly an attack on his very soul!
"Forgot to tell you! I have about a hundred more of these golden needles. If I use them in rotation, I can practically needle every acupoint on your body. If you still don't talk, I'll have to spend some quality time playing with you today. What do you say? Consider it?"
Liu Jian was so enraged that the flesh on his face twitched, and his eyes seemed ready to spew fire. However, in the end, he could only grit his teeth defiantly and remain silent.
Seeing this, Han Lang sighed and shook his head. One of the golden needles moved in response, instantly sinking into a major acupoint on Liu Jian's back.
"Ah~"
Liu Jian cried out in agony.
For a moment, he felt as if all the meridians in his body were being stretched to their limit, and every bone felt like it was being pierced by scorching blades, churning his marrow, causing him excruciating pain!
Soon, beads of sweat rolled down Liu Jian's cheeks. He glared at Han Lang with hatred, gritting his teeth and cursing.
"Damn you! If I ever get a chance, I'll make your life worse than death!"
Han Lang smiled slightly, remaining silent. He simply controlled the second golden needle, and with a "swish," it penetrated Liu Jian's lumbar spine.
"Ah~"
Another painful roar.
Liu Jian felt as if his lumbar spine had been struck by lightning. A powerful current, like thousands of small snakes, flowed up his spine and burrowed into his brain, tearing at his mind.
Before he could even begin to adapt, the third golden needle followed, instantly sinking into his chest.
Immediately, his internal organs felt as if they were being clutched by a pair of powerful hands, constantly being torn, twisted, and squeezed. Wave after wave of suffocating pain radiated towards his brain!
The intense pain distorted Liu Jian's features, but Han Lang seemed to show no mercy. As he expressionlessly took out three more golden needles, he said calmly.
"If you still don't speak, then next, I'll have to let you experience the pain of your soul being torn apart!"
Looking at the golden needles flying towards him again, Liu Jian's defenses completely crumbled.
He struggled to open his mouth, begging with difficulty.
"Don't... don't do it! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Han Lang smiled in satisfaction. "That's more like it! Why make things difficult for yourself?"
As he spoke, he waved his hand slightly, instantly retracting the three golden needles that had caused Liu Jian such agony. Then, he looked at Liu Jian with a serious expression and said.
"Speak!"
Liu Jian had not yet fully recovered from the previous pain. He gasped for breath and glanced at Han Lang, saying with evident reluctance.
"I can tell you everything I know, but you have to guarantee that once you know it all, you won't trouble me further!"
"No problem!" Han Lang agreed readily, without the slightest hesitation.
Liu Jian seemed surprised.
He looked into Han Lang's eyes with a mixture of doubt and suspicion, trying to discern his thoughts, but found nothing.
Reluctantly, he kept his promise and truthfully stated.
"I was sent by the Zhao family of Xingcheng to assist Wang Shan and Jin Chunfeng in managing the entire Lecheng!"
"The Zhao family of Xingcheng?" Han Lang's eyes were filled with confusion. He thought for a moment before continuing.
"If I recall correctly, the Zhao family, though one of the top families in Xingcheng, is primarily a business family, right? And you've bowed down to them based on that?"
"Hmph! Ridiculous!" Liu Jian sneered, then continued. "According to you, isn't the Tang family, the foremost of Lecheng's four prominent families, also just an ordinary business family on the surface? But what's the outcome?"
Han Lang suddenly understood!
If someone of Liu Jian's caliber was willing to obey them, how could the Zhao family of Xingcheng be simple?
However, Han Lang soon had a new question.
"That's not right! According to you, the Zhao family should be even more aloof. Why would such a small place like Lecheng catch their eye? If that's the case, why would they support Wang Shan and Jin Chunfeng in controlling Lecheng? It shouldn't have any significance for them!"
Hearing this, Liu Jian also shook his head.
He replied expressionlessly, "I don't know that. It's outside the scope of my knowledge!"
"Tsk!"
Han Lang was displeased at not getting an answer. He looked at Liu Jian with a displeased expression, idly toying with some golden needles in his hand.
Liu Jian was terrified and quickly continued. 138 Reading Net.
"I really don't know about that! However, I can tell you some other things about Wang Shan and Jin Chunfeng!"