Without any magic talismans or enchanted tools to use, Wu De could only block Zhang Yuge’s attacks with his bare hands.
However, fists and feet could never match up against blades.
After just a few strikes from Zhang Yuge’s sword, he was about to collapse.
“Someone, help! Hurry, someone! They’re trying to kill me!”
Wu De didn’t have time to go back to his room for weapons and instead ran toward the stairway in the corridor.
“It’s useless. The tavern’s already been cleared. It’s just the two of us here. Besides, do you really think anyone else in the other rooms will come to your aid?”
Zhang Yuge said with a cold, mocking smile.
Wu De panicked, but he still saw that the tavern’s front door on the first floor was open.
He hurriedly fled toward it.
“You’re finished. Just wait, the Wuling Sect will never let you or your family off!”
Before escaping, Wu De turned back to shout a fierce threat at Zhang Yuge.
Zhang Yuge only revealed a playful smile.
Wu De didn’t have time to interpret the meaning behind that smile before a sharp pain shot through his abdomen.
The beautiful maid he had seen earlier that morning was holding a long spear—she thrust it straight through his stomach.
“You… how dare you wound me?”
Before he finished speaking, another blade came down from behind.
This cut from his nape all the way down to his tailbone.
Zhang Yuge swept his leg in a wide arc, kicking Wu De to the ground and pressing his foot onto his head.
“Consider yourself wounded.”
Wu De cursed furiously under Zhang Yuge’s foot.
“Get your foot off me!”
He had always been the one stepping on others’ heads—never the other way around—and he couldn’t accept it now.
But he found he had little strength left.
Wu De recalled the courtesan—they had only been drinking for a short while, but her body had already started to sway unsteadily.
Before anything official even began, she had fainted.
Yet whenever Wu De thought of Zhang Qingyao from earlier that day, he couldn’t get her out of his mind—his desire burning uncontrollably, desperate to be relieved.
Could it be…
“You despicable scoundrel, doping me—what kind of skill is that? If you’ve got guts, fight me one-on-one!”
“Oh? So you’ve finally noticed. You really are just a fool driven by lust,”
Zhang Yuge mocked.
“Brother Zhang, let’s take this guy away first. There are too many eyes around here.”
Zhang Yuge nodded.
“Shut his mouth.”
Once Wang Quan clamped Wu De’s mouth shut, Zhang Yuge casually delivered four more cuts, severing Wu De’s tendons in his hands and feet.
“Ugh—!”
Zhang Yuge sheathed his steel blade and waved his hand.
“Take him away.”
Before leaving, Zhang Yuge naturally took the storage pouch Wu De had left behind in his room.
Wu De had made a fortune during the day at the tavern, so the pouch surely contained many valuable treasures.
Liu Rong was left to clean up the mess and manage the Imperial Guards.
Chen Bin was assigned to escort the courtesan Jasmine away and tidy up the scene.
Zhang Yuge, Zhang Qingyao, and Wang Quan carried the bound Wu De, stuffed into a sack, to the pawnshop beneath the west city gate of the capital.
This pawnshop was Wang Quan’s family’s private property and was empty at the moment.
The servants who had followed Zhang Yuge to the capital, along with the maid Lv Zhu, were all placed here.
They simply awaited Zhang Yuge’s orders inside the pawnshop, unaware of the larger plan unfolding.
Lv Zhu froze in place when she saw Zhang Yuge holding a man covered in blood, looking confused.
“Master, what is this?”
“Lv Zhu, go brew some tea.”
Zhang Yuge threw the man onto the ground beside him and shook his slightly aching right hand.
“You lot, move him to the secret chamber.”
“Yes, Master,”
The servants replied dutifully.
Today’s Second Young Master truly impressed them all.
Whether it was leaving the Ye Mansion unharmed with Zhang Qingyao or returning with a severely injured cultivator, the servants were stunned.
Inside the secret chamber, they tied Wu De to a pillar.
Zhang Yuge found a chair, dragged it in front of Wu De, and sat down leisurely.
The maid Lv Zhu carried a tray over, holding a steaming cup of tea.
Picking up the cup, Zhang Yuge glanced at Wang Quan standing nearby.
“Pour a cup for Young Master Wang as well.”
After all, Wang Quan wasn’t from Zhang’s household.
Though Zhang Yuge had taken charge, he wanted to maintain some respect for the host.
“Insert steel needles into all his joints, thread iron chains through his pipa bones, and hold a blade to his neck.”
During the process, the sharp pain awakened Wu De completely.
Looking at Wu De, covered in blood, Zhang Yuge chuckled lightly.
“Elder Wu, I’ve come to offer my apologies. I hope you can be magnanimous and not stoop to petty grudges.”
His words were clearly taunting, yet Wu De dared not utter a sound.
“System, system, system, damn system, come out and help me, please help me…”
With no other choice, Wu De repeatedly called out to his system silently.
“Ding, detected current environment. Providing the host with the following options. Option one: Beg for mercy and apologize for past deeds. Failure rate: 90%. Option two: Bluff with threats and use background pressure to intimidate. Failure rate: 95%. Option three: Negotiate benefits, offering generous terms to gain reprieve. Failure rate: 80%.”
Damn it.
Why are all the failure rates so high?
What’s the point of choosing then?
Hearing the three options, Wu De wanted to curse out loud in his mind—such a trap.
At this point, he had no other choice.
“Choose three.”
In the next moment, a warm sensation spread through his body, easing some of the pain.
His mind was flooded with knowledge and experience about negotiation and acting skills.