Han Li stood with his back to Black Bear, facing the crowd of fighters. Though Black Bear had made his footsteps as light as possible, how could he possibly hope to evade Han Li's senses?
So when Black Bear was only a few paces away and lunged forward like a demon from hell, Han Li shifted his body ever so slightly, and in an instant he had turned to face Black Bear in one smooth, almost ghostly motion. He looked at the charging man and offered a faint smile.
Black Bear was stunned, but he had already committed to the lunge and could not retreat. Left with no choice, he bellowed, thrusting both massive, hair-covered hands forward in a vicious grab. In his mind he prayed that this young man had no fighting experience and would be rattled by his ferocity, long enough for him to get his hands on him.
When Han Li saw that this hulking brute still had the nerve to attack him, his expression darkened in an instant. With a whoosh, he vanished from Black Bear's sight.
Black Bear cursed inwardly, hastily planting his feet to spin around and flee—but then he felt a cold sensation at the back of his neck. The gleaming tip of a sword protruded through his throat, and as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. Black Bear clamped both hands over the spurting wound in a desperate attempt to stanch the blood, wanting to say something, but only a few rasping croaks escaped his throat before he collapsed to the ground.
Sun Ergou's face had turned the color of tallow. He had watched it all happen—the young man had circled behind Black Bear like a specter, drawn a flexible sword from his waist, and driven it through Black Bear's throat in a single effortless thrust. Now the young man was pulling out a piece of white cloth and calmly wiping down the glinting blade.
The young man seemed to sense Sun Ergou's gaze. He raised his head and flashed Sun Ergou a light smile.
Sun Ergou immediately averted his eyes as though he had looked upon a venomous snake. Not only did he feel no joy at the death of his rival Black Bear—instead, his heart was flooded with the grief of a fox mourning the hare.
He had fully realized his mistake now. This young man was no fat sheep waiting to be fleeced. He was the King of Hell come to claim lives. And here he and his underlings had stumbled blindly into this death god's palm of their own accord. They had walked straight into their graves!
His only remaining hope was that his men might be able to subdue the giant. If that happened, perhaps he would still have enough bargaining power to negotiate terms and save his own skin.
But when Sun Ergou got a clear look at the situation over by the giant, he froze like a statue.
More than twenty men—all of them covered in blood—lay motionless on the ground. And the giant stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, perfectly still. When he noticed Sun Ergou looking his way, he returned the gaze with cold, dead eyes.
Though the giant's features were hidden beneath his cowl, Sun Ergou could still feel a bestial thirst for violence wash over him like a physical force. His face shifted from tallow-yellow to chalk-white.
Han Li had been observing Sun Ergou's reactions with detached interest. He could tell the man knew no martial arts whatsoever and was now terrified beyond reason. He saw no reason to bother dealing with him personally.
"Qu Hun, kill him." Han Li finally turned back and spoke in a casual tone.
"No! I surrender! I'll hand over everything I own to the young master! I'll serve you like an ox or a horse! I know all the big and small news in Jiayuan City—I can be of some use to the young master—" Sun Ergou saw the giant striding toward him like a demon and collapsed to the ground, babbling desperately for mercy.
"Oh?" Han Li had not been inclined to pay attention to Sun Ergou's rambling, but the mention of knowing all the news in Jiayuan City caught his interest.
"Hold off for now." Han Li called out to Qu Hun, who had been about to twist Sun Ergou's neck, and walked a few steps forward until he stood before the man.
"You know Jiayuan City very well?" Han Li asked with a smile, looking every bit the genial young gentleman.
But Sun Ergou had just witnessed the ruthless side of this young man and dared not slacken for even a moment. His voice trembled as he stammered out, "Very well! Extremely well! I've lived in Jiayuan City since I was a boy. I know every blade of grass and every tree here like the back of my hand!"