Shen Lan Ni glanced to both sides, as if Zhang Liang was the only person in the entire building.
"No need to look, it's just me. Shen Lan Ni, you wretched woman have brought great suffering to Young Master Jiang, and you are still entangled with that trash. Now you come here to make a scene, what exactly do you want?"
Zhang Liang didn't even look up, appearing completely unconcerned.
Shen Lan Ni didn't want to waste words with him. For someone like him, the best way to communicate was through force!
Her tensed calves displayed an extremely graceful yet powerful beauty. With a slight tap of her toes, she shot towards Zhang Liang like a red flame. Her right hand raised high, left hand low, she assumed a posture for an over-the-shoulder throw.
Zhang Liang was no pushover either. Seeing the situation, he calmly kicked his desk, and his swivel chair slid directly backward. Shen Lan Ni missed her move, immediately side-stepped over the desk, and lunged straight for Zhang Liang's neck!
Swish, swish!
A flash of white light appeared in Zhang Liang's hand. He forcefully stood up, using the blade to push back her offensive. At that moment, Shen Lan Ni was completely enraged. In a split second, she lowered her body, her hands darting out like lightning, directly grabbing Zhang Liang's sword-holding arm and twisting it clockwise.
Crack, crack!
Zhang Liang truly did not expect to be defeated in less than ten exchanges. As his right hand felt pain, a fine sheen of sweat appeared on his face. Even the blade was taken by the opponent, leaving him in a state of utter disarray.
"Zhang Liang, I'll ask you again, why are you targeting Ren Yuan Hao?"
Shen Lan Ni was not polite, directly pressing the captured blade against Zhang Liang's throat. Even before the cold blade cut into his skin, it made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
"A friend's enemy is also an enemy. Moreover, in front of so many people that day, a mere accountant dared to humiliate me. Do you think I can swallow that?"
Zhang Liang was a man who avenged every grievance. Such an incident that stripped him of his dignity could only be avenged with death!
"Just for that? You want to kill him?"
"What else? Hmph, I presume you've come because that trash has been thoroughly subdued by the sorcerer, haven't you?"
Just as Zhang Liang was about to laugh wildly, Shen Lan Ni's blade pressed closer to his skin by another millimeter, and a bloody gash instantly appeared on his fair skin!
"I don't believe you dare to lay a hand on me here!" Zhang Liang deliberately jutted his neck forward, his face contorted like a wild beast.
Shen Lan Ni knew the gravity of the situation. Her purpose for coming was to understand the blood curse. Since the opponent had been subdued by her, the rest was just a matter of time.
"Don't believe me? You can try!"
"Don't rush to threaten me. If anything happens to me now, that sorcerer will likely take the trash's life. You, Miss Shen, should know what's more important."
Zhang Liang's unconcerned demeanor made Shen Lan Ni increasingly displeased. She spoke in a chilling tone, "What exactly do you want?"
"I just want him dead. It's that simple."
"Aren't you afraid of losing your own life?"
"I'm certain you, Miss Shen, don't have that much guts! Besides, do you really think I have no backup at all?"
As soon as Zhang Liang finished speaking, Shen Lan Ni felt a gust of wind rush past her ears. A sharp pain struck her waist and abdomen, and she was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string!
"Such, such swift skill, which esteemed master has graced us with their presence?"
Shen Lan Ni clutched her waist, vigilantly looking towards Zhang Liang's position, only to see that there was not even a shadow of a person there!
"Hahahaha, Shen Lan Ni, Miss Shen, how does it feel to be bullied?"
A flicker of pain crossed Shen Lan Ni's face. The previous blow was no less than a professional boxer's straight punch. If it had been an ordinary person, she would likely have been unable to get up.
This scene suddenly reminded her of being bullied with cold violence in junior high school.
At that time, Shen Lan Ni was thirteen years old. She had just moved to Aishen City with her father. A new place, a new school, new classmates – everything felt like a reset, which she found hateful. Her friends with whom she could chat and laugh were far away.
She was unaccustomed to it. Because of her delicate and lively appearance, she was often ostracized by the female classmates. That incident happened in the second week after she transferred.
She remembered it was June, and the weather was hot. On the way home from school in the afternoon, she had to pass by a lake that wasn't very large. Midway, her hair and limbs were seized by several women who emerged from the tall grass!
There were five of them. They hurled vulgarities, dragged her into the tall grass, and then beat her severely. That wasn't all; they ended up pushing her into the mud at the edge of the lake!
She remembered that night clearly. The lake water was as cold as an ice cellar. She had always been a clean woman. She plunged into the lake alone to wash off the filth. Only when the stars were high in the sky and the night was quiet did she stumble away from everyone's sight and return home.
From then on, she resolved to learn self-defense techniques. By chance, she met her senior brother and master. So, whenever she had a holiday, she would go to the deep mountains for quiet cultivation, until she, with her astonishing fists and feet, threw those women into the mud, truly falling in love with martial arts.
At this moment, that same humiliation washed over her again, causing her blood to boil and her killing intent to surge!
"What a formidable tigress. How is it, feeling after taking my punch?"
The voice came from overhead!
As she looked up, she saw a familiar face.
No, that face was covered in small, lumpy bumps. What was once a rather heroic face had become pockmarked, those bumps easily bringing to mind things found on a toad.
"You are, Jiang Cheng?"
"You recognize me even though I've turned into this? But don't worry, in a while, my face will be as good as new." Jiang Cheng hung upside down from a crystal chandelier like a bat, his face seemingly incapable of showing any expression.
"What did you do, how did you..."
"For revenge, I can endure this minor change. I, Jiang Cheng, can endure it. You stinking whore, you've come at the perfect time today. I'll give you another chance to come back to me. I promise to put aside past grievances and treat you well, how about it?"
As Jiang Cheng spoke, his vocal cords would emit a guttural purring sound, like that of a cat!
"What if I say, I refuse?"
"I'm afraid you have no choice today!"
Jiang Cheng suddenly unleashed a palm strike, directly at her face. Shen Lan Ni had been on guard. She took a step back, deftly dodging to the side. However, just as she stabilized her stance, Jiang Cheng, who should have been in front of her, had already clenched his fist and struck her abdomen!
"Ugh..."
The blow came too suddenly. Shen Lan Ni was hit twice hard in the waist and abdomen. She felt a sweet taste in her throat and immediately vomited a mouthful of blood!