Chapter 41: Ling Luochen: "This Contract Has No Human Rights…" (1/1)
"Pfft—"
Huo Caitou spat out the second sip of tea he had just swallowed.
His honest smile froze instantly, his pupils shrinking. He abruptly stood up, his tall body stirring a gust of wind that rattled the teacups on the table.
"You… who are you?"
His voice trembled slightly, panic flashing in his eyes.
"And my name is Huo Caitou, not Xu He."
Jiang Li showed no reaction, still speaking calmly.
"It doesn't matter whether you admit it. I just need to know you are Xu He."
The tone was calm.
But that very calmness made Huo Caitou feel as if he had fallen into an ice abyss.
Just as he was preparing to fight for his life, he suddenly felt something strange sweep through his body.
Seeing this, Jiang Li slowly stood up and walked over.
A triangular dagger flashed like lightning and pierced straight into Huo Caitou's heart.
At the same time, Jiang Li casually said: "Take a deep breath. Dizziness is normal."
Huo Caitou, struck through the heart, coughed up blood and could no longer make a sound.
At this moment, he finally understood—he was going to die here today.
In his final moments, hatred and fury filled his eyes as he looked at Jiang Li.
But Jiang Li didn't even look at him. He released the dagger and walked toward the exit.
However, something unexpected happened.
"Jiang… Jiang Li, you…"
At the entrance, Ling Luochen stood there covering her mouth, staring in disbelief at Huo Caitou's lifeless body behind him.
She had come to invite Jiang Li to dinner after his meeting.
She never expected to witness Huo Caitou's death the moment she arrived.
Jiang Li showed no reaction.
Instead, he said calmly: "What, you want to avenge your junior?"
Then he added with a faint smile: "Oh right… I almost forgot. His death has something to do with you too."
Those words pierced Ling Luochen like a needle.
She stumbled back a step, fear spreading across her face, her complexion pale as paper.
Her trembling lips could barely form words.
"No… it wasn't me, I didn't know you would…"
"You didn't know? Good," Jiang Li sneered.
He walked toward her slowly, his dark eyes completely cold.
"If you had known my intention, would you still have gone to find him and brought him to me?"
Each step he took made Ling Luochen's heartbeat miss a beat.
"W-What are you trying to do?" she forced herself to speak.
"Kill Huo Caitou—what do you gain from it? Shrek Academy won't let you go."
"Gain?"
Jiang Li stopped and looked at her.
"Don't forget my identity. Someone paid a high price for his life. Why would I refuse?"
At that moment, Ling Luochen finally remembered.
He was a bounty hunter.
Take money, eliminate trouble.
That was normal for him.
But she never thought she would become the intermediary.
Even if Jiang Li could have killed Huo Caitou without her, she had still been involved.
She had become part of it.
A guilty party.
Seeing her silence, Jiang Li stopped wasting words.
But just as he was about to leave, several powerful auras of Titled Douluo suddenly erupted nearby.
"Seems Shrek Academy is fast," Jiang Li glanced sideways.
Ling Luochen also turned toward the direction of Shrek Academy.
In an instant, she understood everything.
Before she could react, Jiang Li grabbed her and disappeared.
—
Some time later, in a secluded alley.
Jiang Li released her and let her fall to the ground.
Ling Luochen staggered, breathing heavily, looking up at him in shock.
"What do you want?"
After calming down slightly, she asked.
"You and I are now accomplices," Jiang Li said coldly, looking down at her.
"So you only have two choices."
Ling Luochen felt a lump in her throat.
Jiang Li continued:
"First: sign a contract and work for me for free."
"Second: refuse—and die."
Ling Luochen froze.
She stared at the parchment contract in his hand, feeling a chill rush from head to toe.
The document read:
"Ling Luochen voluntarily serves Jiang Li, duration indefinite, must unconditionally obey all orders."
There wasn't even room for negotiation.
"This contract has no human rights…"
Her voice trembled almost into tears.
"Better than dying in this alley," Jiang Li replied calmly.
She looked toward the alley entrance, where faint voices could be heard.
But she knew—if Jiang Li wanted, no one would ever know what happened here.
Silence.
In the end, Ling Luochen took the pen with shaking hands and signed.
The ink spread across the parchment.
At that moment, something inside her seemed to break.
Jiang Li took the contract, blew lightly on the ink, and put it away.
"Pleasure doing business."
Ling Luochen said nothing, head lowered.
But suddenly—
A powerful voice exploded through the sky.
"Jiang Li, release her!"
Jiang Li slowly turned.
In the fading sunset, a white-robed figure stood in the air.
Yan Shaozhe, Dean of the Shrek Academy Martial Soul Department.
His gaze fell on Ling Luochen's miserable state, his brows tightening.
Soul power surged like a tide, pressing down on the alley.
"Dean Yan, long time no see," Jiang Li said with a cold smile.
Yan Shaozhe's eyes turned sharp.
"The incident at the teahouse—was that you?"
Jiang Li shrugged innocently.
"I was just chatting with Ling Luochen. That's all."
"Chatting?" Yan Shaozhe's voice turned colder. "Chatting until she looks like this? Until Huo Caitou dies in a teahouse?"
His aura erupted, pressing down like a mountain.
Ling Luochen trembled, torn inside, unable to speak.
Jiang Li stood calmly under the pressure.
"I was simply carrying out a commission. That's normal, isn't it?"