Upon entering the room, a flash of suspicion crossed Xu Ke's face.

Who could Qian Hong have offended so badly that she'd resort to clutching at straws and coming to him for help? Xu Ke didn't believe for a second that Qian Hong was stupid enough to not realize he'd even considered killing her, let alone helping her. Besides, Qian Hong had been hustling in Tianhai for so many years; it was impossible that she had no connections to turn to. And yet, this enemy was someone that even her network couldn't handle…

Xu Ke set down the property deed, a pensive look in his eyes.

If she had to come to him, then she wasn't really seeking him out, but rather the Wang Family behind him. An enemy that required the Wang Family to suppress had to be from one of Tianhai's top-tier powers, or maybe even one of the six great families.

Xu Ke's eyes suddenly lit up.

He understood.

Although he had a vague understanding of the situation and even sensed an opportunity he could exploit, Xu Ke had no plans to seek out Qian Hong immediately. He wasn't the one in the hot seat, so he wasn't the one who needed to be anxious.

Sure enough, after Xu Ke had rested for half an hour, another knock came at the door.

"Xiao Ke, are you resting?" Qian Hong, who had just been rebuffed, was back for another try.

"I am," Xu Ke replied flatly.

Standing outside, Qian Hong was momentarily speechless before forcing a dry chuckle. "Heh… heh, well, Sister Hong bought some fruit. Would you like some before you go to sleep?"

Xu Ke got up and opened the door. "If you have something to say, just say it."

He stared at Qian Hong, who was, in fact, holding a fruit platter. "Let's, let's talk inside," she stammered, forcing a smile.

"What is it that can't be said in the hallway?" Xu Ke said coolly.

Qian Hong glanced left and right. Seeing the corridor was empty, she lowered her voice and pleaded, "Xiao Ke, the ones targeting me… it's the Li Family. It involves too many secrets. Let's please talk inside. If you're willing to help Auntie, I'll give you one hundred thousand. What do you think?"

Li Lang was incredibly shrewd. The five hundred thousand he had promised her was to be paid in two installments: fifty thousand up front, and the remaining four hundred and fifty thousand upon completion. This meant she now had to cough up an additional fifty thousand of her own money to beg for Xu Ke's help. The thought was excruciating.

"Oh?" Xu Ke raised an eyebrow.

So, it was the Li Family who told Qian Hong to drive him away? He had assumed it was the Huang Family or the Ye Family. It seemed he hadn't hit Li Lang hard enough today.

Seeing his reaction, Qian Hong was overjoyed.

"Then come in and talk," Xu Ke said coolly.

"Yes!" Qian Hong was ecstatic. One hundred thousand really worked! Xu Ke was tempted!

「Inside the room.」

Qian Hong sat apprehensively across from Xu Ke. "It's like this, Xiao Ke. The Li Family is very unhappy with me, your landlord, because you're living here. They're planning to cause trouble for my business. I've been getting death threats in messages and calls recently. I'm scared to death. If my tenants are endangered because of this, I, as the landlord, can't shirk my responsibility. Besides, I wouldn't be able to make a living in Tianhai anymore… So, to save everyone, and to help me, Xu Ke, could you please get the Wang Family to step in just this once?"

After finishing, Qian Hong looked at Xu Ke with a fawning smile and pushed the plastic bag of fruit slightly toward him.

At this, Xu Ke chuckled. "Sister Hong, you can call yourself a moron, but you can't treat me like one. I'll give you one more chance. Tell me the truth, or I'm throwing you out."

Xu Ke's smile vanished, his gaze turning icy.

This woman still hadn't said a single true word. After failing to drive him out, she was targeted by the Li Family, and now she was trying to pin the blame on him? What a load of bullshit!

Hearing his words, Qian Hong froze, a surge of fury rising within her.

Moron? She had said she was helpless, but she had never called herself a moron!

She wanted to lash out. But when she met Xu Ke's cold, hard gaze, her courage failed her.

"I, I…" Qian Hong hesitated for a moment before finally lowering her head. "I took money from them at the beginning. They told me to drive you out, but I failed. So now, the Li Family plans to run me out of Tianhai. I've already been threatened by several groups of people who came to my door."

Li Lang had started venting his anger on Qian Hong right after she failed to evict Xu Ke. At first, he only planned to make it so she couldn't be a landlord anymore. But after she harassed him with a barrage of text messages, he decided he wanted her gone from Tianhai for good—out of sight, out of mind.

"Is that so?" Xu Ke sneered. "Then isn't this the lesson you deserve?"

"I… I know I was wrong." Qian Hong suppressed her resentment at his mockery, her voice low and subservient. "But Sister Hong only did it because the Li Family is too powerful to oppose. You seemed honest, a good person, so I felt I had no choice but to wrong you."

She had to admit, that was exactly what she had thought at first. Since Xu Ke was a pushover and she had the Li Family—backed by the mighty Ye Family—protecting her, she didn't hesitate to offend him.

"Good," Xu Ke said, his face an emotionless mask. "'An honest person.' 'The only one you had to wrong.'"

His tone was icy, laced with killing intent. In that instant, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet.

Sensing the murderous intent in his voice, Qian Hong broke out in a cold sweat, a chill running down her spine.

He wasn't actually planning to kill her to silence her, was he?

At that thought… Qian Hong wet herself.

SCRAPE.

The chair was pushed back.

THUD.

Her knees gave out. Qian Hong collapsed in front of Xu Ke, her body trembling. "Xiao, Xiao Ke! For the sake of me renting this apartment to you, please, spare Sister Hong! If you save me this time, I swear I'll never do anything like this again! You can live here for as long as you want!"

Xu Ke laughed, but there was no humor in it, only rage. "I pay you fucking rent. Does that give you the right to be so shameless? You make it sound like I'm living here for free."

Qian Hong trembled even more violently. "I… I'm the moron! I misspoke! But please, I'm begging you, save me!"

She kept her head bowed low, terrified that if she looked up and met his eyes, he would cave her skull in with a single punch.

Xu Ke said flatly, "Save you? Fine, no problem. Just hand over all the evidence you have of the Li Family instructing you to harass me."

At his words, Qian Hong's head shot up. "No, I can't do that!"

If she gave the evidence to Xu Ke and he made it public, who knows what would happen to the Li Family, but she could forget about ever being a landlord again. What tenant would want to rent from a landlord who could get them all kicked out at a moment's notice?

"Then get out." Xu Ke couldn't be bothered to haggle. He slammed the bag of fruit onto the floor.

SPLAT.

"I…" Qian Hong's face went pale. "Xiao Ke, don't do this! I'll give you one hundred and fifty thousand! Just forget the evidence, okay?!"

"Then why don't you just forget about living, okay?" Xu Ke replied flatly.

Qian Hong froze.

The next moment, done with wasting words, Xu Ke snatched a pair of scissors from nearby and flicked them toward her.

WHIZ…

A sharp gust of wind cut through the air. A lock of hair by Qian Hong's ear was instantly sheared off as the scissors grazed past. Then, they embedded themselves deep into the stool right beside her kneeling form.

BANG!

The sound was explosive. Qian Hong's body went completely rigid. It was only when the severed strands of hair drifted down that her eyes widened in terror and her body went limp.

Just now… If she hadn't been lucky, if the scissors hadn't missed by a hair's breadth, she would be dead. Death itself had just brushed past her!

Qian Hong wet herself completely.

He'd kill without a second thought! Xu Ke… he was far more ruthless than the Li Family!

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