Chapter 103: Subjugation

Han Li stood with his back to the bear, facing the crowd of fighters; though the bear moved its steps with extreme caution, it could not possibly evade Han Li’s senses.

So when the bear was only a few steps away and launched a ferocious pounce, Han Li shifted his body slightly, suddenly turning to face the bear with a faint smile.

The bear was stunned, but he was already in mid-charge and could not retreat; helplessly, he roared loudly, thrusting out two massive hands covered in black hair to grab at his opponent, praying this youth had no fighting experience and would be intimidated by his fearsome appearance, allowing him a quick strike.

Seeing this huge man still foolishly attacking him, Han Li’s expression darkened instantly—he vanished from the bear’s sight with a flash.

The bear cried inwardly in dread, hastily stopping his advance and turning to flee—but suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck. A gleaming sword tip emerged from his throat, then vanished just as abruptly. The bear frantically clamped his hands over the spurting wound, trying to speak, but only managed a few dry, guttural gasps before collapsing to the ground.

Sun Ergou’s face had turned ashen; he had watched with his own eyes as the youth moved like a ghost behind the bear, drew a soft sword from his waist, and pierced the bear’s throat with a single effortless thrust. Now the youth was wiping the gleaming blade with a white cloth.

The youth seemed to sense Sun Ergou’s gaze—he looked up and smiled faintly at him.

Sun Ergou immediately retracted his gaze as if he’d seen a venomous snake; he felt no joy at the bear’s death, only a chilling sense of shared doom.

He now fully understood: this youth was no easy prey—he was Death itself. And his own band of petty devils had blindly walked straight into the hands of these grim lords—this was suicide.

Sun Ergou’s only hope now was that his men could subdue the giant; perhaps then he could bargain for his life.

But when Sun Ergou saw the scene beside the giant, he froze like a wooden statue.

More than twenty men lay sprawled on the ground, drenched in blood, utterly motionless. The giant stood upright, arms crossed, and met Sun Ergou’s gaze with a cold stare.

Though the giant’s face was hidden beneath his cloak, Sun Ergou still felt a wave of bestial bloodlust crash over him, turning his ashen face pale.

Han Li had watched Sun Ergou’s expressions with cold detachment; he saw this man had no martial skill and was now terrified beyond measure—he had no interest in dealing with him personally.

“Qu Hun, kill him,” Han Li said finally, his voice casual.

“No! I surrender! I’ll give you all my wealth, I’ll be your slave, I know every detail of Jiayuan City—I can serve you faithfully, …” Sun Ergou, seeing the giant advancing like a demon, collapsed to the ground and blurted out desperate pleas.

“Hmm!” Han Li had no intention of listening, but when he heard the man knew all the secrets of Jiayuan City, a spark of interest stirred in him.

“Hold off,” Han Li called to Qu Hun, who was about to snap Sun Ergou’s neck. He stepped forward a few paces and approached the man.

“Are you familiar with Jiayuan City?” Han Li asked with a smile, appearing perfectly amiable.

But Sun Ergou, who had just witnessed Han Li’s ruthless brutality, dared not show the slightest disrespect—he trembled as he stammered: “Very familiar! Extremely familiar! I’ve lived in Jiayuan City since childhood—I know every blade of grass and tree!”

He felt as if he’d grasped a lifeline and wanted to exaggerate his usefulness tenfold to prove his value.

After hearing this reply, Han Li rubbed his nose, tilted his head slightly, then pulled out a porcelain vial from his robe.

He poured out a white pill, the size of a dragon’s eye, and handed it to Sun Ergou.

“Take it—or die,” Han Li said bluntly.

Sun Ergou’s hand trembled as he held the pill. He hesitated, staring at it—but when his eyes met Han Li’s icy gaze, he shuddered, then swallowed it in one gulp.

“Good. Now I believe you,” Han Li nodded in satisfaction.

“This pill is called the Rotting Heart Pill. It’s my exclusive secret formula. You must take an antidote once a month—or your internal organs will rot away and kill you. You’re a sensible man—you won’t dare be disloyal.”

Though Sun Ergou had expected something terrible, hearing the pill’s effect made his face crumple—he looked utterly defeated.

“Don’t worry. Once you’ve helped me finish what I need in Jiayuan City, I’ll remove this poison entirely and restore your freedom. With your skills, I wouldn’t need you anywhere else.”

“Really, Young Master?” Sun Ergou’s spirits lifted slightly.

“Here—take this silver to handle things. Clean up this mess first. I don’t want anyone to know what happened here. Understood?” Han Li tossed him a pouch of silver coins, his tone dismissive.

Sun Ergou caught the pouch and weighed it lightly—it was heavy, likely holding over a hundred taels in loose silver.

He brightened, suddenly thinking serving this extravagantly generous youth might not be so bad after all.

“Young Master, rest assured—I’ll handle this perfectly, no trouble for you!” He patted his chest with a fawning grin.

“Fine. I’ll leave first—I need to find an inn to rest. Come find me tomorrow morning. As a local kingpin, you should have no trouble tracking me down,” Han Li ordered without ceremony.

“Yes! Yes! Tomorrow morning, I’ll be there on time, ready to serve Young Master!” At this point, Sun Ergou accepted his role as Han Li’s subordinate with surprising composure.

Han Li smiled, signaled Qu Hun to carry the large pack, and slowly departed. After walking a considerable distance, he glanced back and saw Sun Ergou still standing faithfully in place, watching him leave with an expression of unwavering loyalty.

“Interesting,” Han Li suddenly found the man intriguing—he had good instincts. Perhaps he could be truly useful after all.

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