Chapter Twenty-Eight: The IOU

Having purchased the spiritual talisman, An Qi even forgot her usual good manners and left in a rush, clutching her satchel tightly, without so much as a goodbye. The aristocratic young master Yuan Li did not hurry away. Instead, he squatted before Ling Tian’s stall, one foot planted on the display, and said coldly, “Kid, you’ve got guts, embarrassing me in front of An Qi. I think you’re courting death.”

Ling Tian paused, looked at Yuan Li with a cold gaze, and sneered, “I’ve noticed you second-generation heirs have rather cliché lines. Is that all you know how to say? No originality, just the same old words. It’s tiresome.”

Yuan Li was taken aback; when he usually flaunted his power, others never reacted this way. Are street vendors nowadays this brazen? And do they all speak so eloquently?

What the hell am I thinking?

Yuan Li shook his head vigorously, pointed at Ling Tian, and threatened, “Kneel and kowtow three times, loudly. Maybe if I’m in a good mood, I’ll let you off.” In Yuan Li’s eyes, making a lowly vendor kneel before him was nothing; he even thought it elevated the vendor’s status to bow before the son of a real estate tycoon.

“Sorry, what did you just say? I didn’t catch that.” Ling Tian felt it necessary to teach this pretentious fool a lesson: everyone has dignity, it’s not something to be trampled on.

Yuan Li barked angrily, “Are you deaf or just pretending? Are you messing with me?”

Ling Tian twirled his finger lazily, “How could I mess with you?”

Yuan Li snorted, “Even if you borrowed courage, you wouldn’t dare.”

Ling Tian replied languidly, “It’s not that I don’t dare, it’s that you’re not worthy.”

Yuan Li thought Ling Tian was about to beg for mercy, so he adopted a posture of waiting for his enemy to surrender, his face full of smugness. He relished trampling on others’ dignity—after all, he was born with a powerful father, a renowned real estate tycoon in Yunhai City, backed by an influential family.

But before Yuan Li could finish his fantasy, he heard something entirely unexpected and was infuriated. In Yunhai City, he was at least someone of importance, yet he was being toyed with by a mere street vendor. Was his intelligence slipping, or was the other guy simply too formidable?

Why am I lost in thought again? Damn it, time to teach this blind little vendor a lesson.

“Come here, beat him up, then toss him into the lake,” Yuan Li commanded. Still dissatisfied, he added, “Hold him down and make him kneel first.”

The bodyguards following from a distance immediately rushed forward. Both were imposing and fierce-looking, their mere appearance intimidating. They flanked Ling Tian on either side, but before they could reach out, Ling Tian struck swiftly, sealing their acupoints, then grabbed each like chickens and dragged them to the lakeside, kicking them into the water one by one.

Yuan Li was dumbfounded. Everything happened so quickly; in the blink of an eye, his two bodyguards, who had tried to restrain Ling Tian, were tossed into the lake.

Ling Tian returned to Yuan Li, dusted off his hands, and smiled, “So, what was it you said just now?”

Facing Ling Tian’s smiling face, Yuan Li’s lips twitched. This guy was far too calm and decisive; without a word, he’d simply thrown his bodyguards into the lake. Based on Ling Tian’s actions, Yuan Li knew if he didn’t make the right choice now, it wouldn’t stop at just being thrown in the lake.

He stepped back nervously, “Don’t come any closer, let’s talk this out.”

“I intended to negotiate peacefully, since I prefer amicable dealings. But your arrogance just now was intolerable. I think you know what you need to do now.” Ling Tian pressed forward, his domineering aura rising like a mountain, bearing down on Yuan Li.

An assassin king who had killed without blinking, empowered by a formidable spiritual sense, was not someone an ordinary person could withstand—especially not the dissipated, weak-willed Yuan Li.

Under the overwhelming pressure, Yuan Li collapsed to the ground without realizing it, his clothes soaked in cold sweat.

“I’m straightforward, not interested in empty gestures—kneeling won’t mean anything. Do you understand?” Ling Tian asked.

On the verge of mental collapse, Yuan Li nodded hastily, “I understand, I understand everything.”

Ling Tian scoffed, “Understand? You don’t understand a damn thing.”

Yuan Li shuddered and pleaded, “I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Didn’t you accuse me of extortion just now? Well, if I don’t extort you at least once, I’d feel I let down your words. Here’s my card, transfer one million to it.” Ling Tian handed over his card.

Yuan Li took it, trembling, and said cautiously, “I don’t have that much money.”

“You’re a rich heir—how could you not?” Ling Tian mocked.

Yuan Li felt like crying, fearing Ling Tian would beat him, and quickly explained, “My family gives me plenty of spending money every month, but I spend it fast. I only have one hundred thousand left.” He logged into his mobile banking and showed Ling Tian the balance.

Ling Tian glanced at it and said, “Then one hundred thousand it is.”

At this, Yuan Li felt a surge of relief. One hundred thousand wasn’t a huge sum; getting out safely was what mattered most. But before his happiness could settle, Ling Tian continued, “And write me an IOU for nine hundred thousand, with your name and fingerprint.”

Escaping was all that mattered now.

Yuan Li quickly completed the transfer, then used a brush dipped in cinnabar to write an IOU for nine hundred thousand on yellow paper, signed it, and pressed his fingerprint. To Yuan Li, nine hundred thousand was no small sum, but as long as he could leave, he’d have plenty of chances to reclaim his dignity later.

Ling Tian looked over the IOU, dissatisfied, and said, “Add the reason: say you went out with a prostitute, and after everything, she charged a million. You only had one hundred thousand, so I paid the remaining nine hundred thousand for you. Write it down.”

Yuan Li burst into tears. A million for a prostitute? What kind of high-class escort could cost that much? Even a Japanese princess wouldn’t charge so much. The worst part was that this hateful vendor not only extorted him, but made him write himself as the good guy—a truly devious move.

“Judging by your face, you’re not thrilled. How about you write you went out for a gay encounter instead?” Ling Tian said with a sly smile.

The mere thought of two men together made Yuan Li shudder. He quickly replied, “I’ll write it as you said,” and, afraid Ling Tian would change his mind, finished the IOU at lightning speed, handed it to Ling Tian, and ran off as fast as he could.