“Poisoned? Impossible! I’m always extremely cautious. All my food and drink are handled by dedicated personnel!” After the initial shock, Sun Ergou showed signs of unease.
Hearing this, Han Li couldn’t be bothered to explain in detail. He raised his hand, and a flash of blue light instantly shot into Sun Ergou’s body.
“Young master, what is this? What are you doing?” Sun Ergou didn’t dare to dodge but grew somewhat panicked.
“This is the True Spirit Art, which can manifest the toxins in your body. Take a look in the mirror yourself!” Han Li said casually as he sat in his chair.
Upon hearing this, Sun Ergou’s heart sank. He hurried to a corner of the room where there was a woman’s dressing table. Frantically searching the table, he found a small bronze mirror and warily glanced into it. Instantly, he froze! Reflected in the mirror was a face covered in dark energy, with purplish-black skin that unmistakably indicated severe poisoning.
“Young master, save me! I have always been loyal to you, without a trace of disloyalty!” Sun Ergou, his face full of fear, rushed back and knelt before Han Li, pleading desperately.
By now, he was more than half convinced! Given Han Li’s identity as a cultivator, it was unlikely he would go to such lengths to deceive him. If Han Li truly meant him harm, a mere flick of his finger could crush him to death.
Watching Sun Ergou’s display of loyalty, Han Li smiled faintly and calmly said, “Don’t worry. Although this poison is well-hidden, its toxicity isn’t strong. It won’t kill you within a few days. There’s no need for such alarm.”
Hearing this, Sun Ergou felt somewhat reassured but continued to play pitiful and begged, “Young master, with your immense power, please find a way to detoxify me! I, Sun Ergou, will continue to serve you with all my heart and strength! If you don’t believe me, I can swear a poisonous oath. I…” Though Sun Ergou’s status was vastly different from before, he had clearly become much more afraid of death. Without waiting for Han Li to respond, he pointed to the roof and rattled off a series of vows, leaving Han Li both annoyed and amused.
“Serve me with all his heart and strength? As if I’ve been the one constantly benefiting him!” Han Li thought, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“Here is a detoxification pill. You can take it later. As long as you aren’t poisoned again, you’ll be fine from now on.” Han Li shook his head slightly but still took out a blue pill and tossed it to him.
“Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!” Overjoyed, Sun Ergou took the pill and repeatedly expressed his gratitude. Cleverly, he scrambled to his feet and carefully stored the pill.
“This poison didn’t accumulate to such a severe level from just one or two doses. It must have taken at least several months! I think you should be able to figure out who poisoned you. Am I right, my esteemed Gang Leader Sun?” Han Li suddenly chuckled, half-jokingly.
“Young master, you flatter me! However, I do have a few suspects in mind regarding who might have poisoned me.” Sun Ergou rubbed his head and smiled obsequiously. Now that Han Li had saved his life, he naturally treated him with even greater respect.
“Hmm! As a cultivator, I won’t interfere in the affairs of mortals. Handle it yourself. Actually, I came here this time to see Qu Hun and take him away. Now that I’ve gained some cultivation, bringing him along won’t be much trouble. You have no objections, do you?” Han Li’s smile faded as he spoke solemnly.
“Young master, you want to take Lord Qu Hun away? But, young master, Lord Qu Hun has long since left Siping Gang.” Upon hearing this, Sun Ergou inwardly groaned but had no choice but to brace himself and reply.
“What do you mean? You lost him!” Han Li’s face immediately darkened, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, causing Sun Ergou to shiver involuntarily, his heart filled with extreme fear.
“Young master, please calm your anger! It wasn’t me who lost him—Lord Qu Hun ran away on his own. Although he’s not in the city now, he hasn’t gone far. He’s in the nearby mountains and forests, and I’ve had people keeping an eye on him at all times!” Sun Ergou hurriedly explained, afraid that Han Li’s wrath would erupt.
“Ran away on his own? What happened? Explain clearly. If it truly wasn’t your fault, I reward and punish fairly and won’t blame you.” A flicker of surprise passed Han Li’s face as his expression softened slightly.
After all, Sun Ergou still knew Qu Hun’s whereabouts, which was enough! However, Qu Hun was little more than a walking corpse—the idea that he could run away on his own was something Han Li found hard to believe.
Seeing that Han Li wasn’t truly angry, Sun Ergou relaxed slightly but still didn’t dare to delay and quickly explained, “Since you entrusted Lord Qu Hun to me, I’ve always done my best to care for him as instructed, ensuring others rarely saw him unless absolutely necessary. Lord Qu Hun began acting strangely six years ago, during a critical period when our gang was expanding. Our opponent was a medium-sized gang with many skilled members, so I had no choice but to ask Lord Qu Hun for help. In that battle, Lord Qu Hun displayed divine might, and our gang won a great victory. However, just a few days after the battle, a subordinate I sent to look after Qu Hun suddenly reported that Lord Qu Hun had actually spoken. I was extremely shocked and hurried over with the ‘Soul-Guiding Bell’ to check on him, but…”
At this point, Sun Ergou showed a bitter smile.
“What happened? Even with the Soul-Guiding Bell, did he attack you?” Han Li was astonished to hear that Qu Hun had spoken. Seeing Sun Ergou’s dramatic pause, he impatiently scolded.
This startled Sun Ergou, who continued, “He didn’t attack me, but before I could even enter Lord Qu Hun’s room, he seemed to sense my arrival and suddenly burst through the wall, fleeing like the wind. I simply couldn’t catch up!” As he spoke, Sun Ergou’s face showed helplessness.
“Ran away!” Han Li raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
“Yes, young master! Lord Qu Hun has been gone for years, lingering in the nearby mountains and forests for some reason. I’ve taken gang experts multiple times to try and bring him back, but for some reason, as soon as we get close, he immediately relocates, unwilling to meet me. When others go, no one is a match for him—we’ve even lost two experts to this.” Sun Ergou said, utterly perplexed.
“There’s nothing strange about that! It’s probably because you carry the ‘Soul-Guiding Bell.’ Although I don’t know why Qu Hun went out of control, it’s clear the restrictions I placed on him are still effective.” Han Li sneered, his expression unchanging.
“So that’s how it is!” Sun Ergou showed an expression of sudden understanding. It seemed he had guessed this reason before.
“Tell me Qu Hun’s current location. From now on, I’ll handle him. It seems this matter truly isn’t your fault. I’ll need to see for myself to understand what happened. Also, you won’t need the ‘Soul-Guiding Bell’ anymore—hand it over.” After a moment’s thought, Han Li spoke unhurriedly.
“Yes, young master. According to a report from my subordinates a couple of days ago, Lord Qu Hun is currently in the west…” Sun Ergou respectfully provided an address about a hundred li outside Jiayuan City, then carefully took out the Soul-Guiding Bell artifact from his robe and presented it to Han Li with both hands.
Han Li nodded, took the small bell, briefly inspected it to ensure it was intact, and then stored it in his pouch.
“Aside from Qu Hun’s matter, I also have some questions about the Five Colors Sect that I want to ask you. Answer me honestly!” Han Li suddenly straightened his face, his voice turning cold.
This expression clearly startled Sun Ergou, but he immediately nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice.
“What kind of person is the current leader of the Five Colors Sect? Does he have any family? Have any outsiders recently arrived at the Li Mansion? Is he currently staying there?” Han Li asked sternly.
Sun Ergou’s heart trembled, but he answered without hesitation, “To be honest, I still don’t know much about the leader of the Five Colors Sect. I’ve only seen him from afar a couple of times. All I know is that his martial arts are profoundly unfathomable. He has two sons and a daughter, all married. The eldest son is said to be stationed at the Five Colors Sect’s old headquarters, while the second son stays with the sect leader at the Li Mansion. I’ve heard…”
Sun Ergou provided detailed and comprehensive information, clearly having put considerable effort into gathering intelligence on the Five Colors Sect.
Han Li listened expressionlessly to this news, unconsciously tapping a finger on the table as if digesting the information.
Seeing that Han Li had temporarily stopped questioning him, Sun Ergou cautiously ventured, “Young master, are you planning to take action against the Five Colors Sect because of the Mo Mansion incident from back then?”
Hearing this, Han Li frowned, his expression darkening.
“You’re asking too much! Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t know, and don’t speculate randomly. You wouldn’t want to become an amnesiac, would you?”
Han Li’s voice was icy, freezing cold, causing Sun Ergou to pale and hurriedly beg for forgiveness.
After a cold snort, Han Li let the matter drop. When it came to asserting authority, Han Li never held back.
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