"Five hundred million? Why don't you just rob us outright?" Dongmei erupted in fury. "We've already investigated this place—this entire building couldn't have cost more than fifty million."
Bald Li's expression did not waver. He took the teapot from his secretary and personally poured tea for the three of them.
"Heh, young lady, there's an old saying: 'Raise the price where you sit, and someone must pay.'"
"Prices can always be negotiated slowly."
He lifted the steaming cup before him, smiling lazily. "Miss Huangfu, come now—have some tea first."
But Huangfu Shiyue remained perfectly still.
Bald Li's eyes narrowed slightly. "If Miss Huangfu refuses to show even this much courtesy, then I must ask you to leave."
Dongmei's tone was like ice. "Li, don't push your luck. Do you really think we wouldn't dare touch you?"
Bald Li's face darkened, and he gave a cold snort. "Little girl, I've roamed these streets for decades, brushed shoulders with death more times than I can count. I didn't survive all that just to be scared by you."
"Either sit down and talk properly—or get out."
A cold gleam flashed through Dongmei's eyes. She very nearly lashed out to teach him a lesson, but remembering that this was his turf, she restrained herself by sheer force of will.
Huangfu Shiyue spoke coolly. "Manager Li, enough idle chatter. State your price."
Bald Li sprawled back on the sofa, utterly unhurried, refusing even to respond.
Huangfu Shiyue's brows knit together, a trace of anger flickering in her eyes.
Yet she did not explode. Instead, she raised the teacup before her, took a light sip, and then said coldly, "Can we talk now?"
"Hahaha, that's better." Bald Li laughed heartily. "Miss Huangfu, it's not that I wish to make things difficult for you—this building truly cost me no small effort…"
Huangfu Shiyue cut him off with a voice like ice. "Manager Li, enough with the games."
"I may not know how you learned of the Huangfu family's plans to develop the southern district, but you rushed here to erect this building and block us."
"My advice: take your profit and leave. Greed beyond reason only invites death."
Ye Chu's brows rose slightly. The great clan working with the Jiang family—wasn't that the Huangfu family?
He hadn't expected to encounter them here.
Bald Li chuckled darkly. "I know very well the might of the Huangfu clan. How about this—if Miss Huangfu agrees to one simple condition, we will vacate at once."
"Speak," Huangfu Shiyue said, her tone flat.
Bald Li's lecherous gaze swept across her graceful, voluptuous figure. "Simple. Just spend one night here with me."
Dongmei's fury erupted like a storm. "You bastard—you're courting death!"
Without another word, she struck out, no longer caring for propriety.
Huangfu Shiyue's flawless face turned to frost—she was truly enraged.
But Bald Li was unfazed. He rose to meet Dongmei's attack, the two clashing fiercely.
Each blow split the air with a sharp crack, the sheer force of their strikes plain to hear.
Ye Chu's eyes narrowed—both were body-tempering martial artists.
Their strength appeared to be around the seventh or eighth stage.
Indeed, Bald Li was at the early eighth stage, while Dongmei had reached its peak.
As the fight dragged on, Dongmei's superior strength gradually tipped the scales.
Yet Bald Li did not panic.
He evaded a flying kick, quickly leapt back, and slammed his palm onto a red button on the desk.
An earsplitting alarm blared through the entire building.
Dongmei's expression shifted, and she lunged for him again, but with their strengths so closely matched, she could not bring him down quickly.
Within moments, a pack of black-clad thugs stormed into the office.
Some surrounded Huangfu Shiyue and Ye Chu, while others moved to assist Bald Li.
With reinforcements at his side, Bald Li soon turned the tables.
In less than a minute, Dongmei was kicked hard to the ground, blood at the corner of her mouth, clearly injured.
Several men rushed forward and pinned her down.
Bald Li dropped back onto the sofa, grinning. "Well, Miss Huangfu, have you reconsidered?"
Even now, Huangfu Shiyue's expression remained composed. "Manager Li, think carefully. If you lay a hand on me, the Huangfu family's wrath will fall upon you."
Bald Li's smile turned cruel. "Miss Huangfu, arrogance can be deadly."
"Do you not wonder why a hall master of the White Wolf Society dares to move against you at all?"
Huangfu Shiyue's eyes sharpened. She connected the dots, and her face turned grim.
"If I'm not mistaken, there's a traitor within the Huangfu family. Who stands behind you?"
Bald Li roared with laughter. "As expected of Miss Huangfu—so very clever."
"As for who it is, you need not know. Just cooperate, and everything will go smoothly."
Huangfu Shiyue's expression was glacial. "And if I refuse?"
As she spoke, a wave of power erupted from her body.
Bald Li's eyes widened in shock. "Body-Tempering—Stage Nine?! Impossible!"
Huangfu Shiyue's voice was imperious. "Nothing is impossible. Why do you think I dared to come here alone?"
Bald Li quickly mastered his surprise, even admiringly. "Indeed worthy of being the brightest jewel of the Huangfu family."
But then a sinister smile twisted his lips. "Even so, tonight you will still fall."
Huangfu Shiyue snorted coldly and was about to strike—when suddenly her face changed.
A searing heat spread from her core, flooding her limbs in an instant.
Her pale cheeks flushed crimson, and an uncontrollable desire surged up from deep within.
Her mind raced back to the tea she had sipped earlier. Her voice dropped to a deadly chill. "Despicable cur—you drugged me?"
Bald Li's laughter was like nails on glass. "Miss Huangfu, one must be careful what one drinks outside one's home."
Huangfu Shiyue's expression was livid. With her status and her ninth-stage cultivation, she had never regarded him as a threat.
Yet she had fallen for his trick.
She focused all her energy, desperately circulating her qi to purge the drug.
But no matter how many times she tried, it was useless.
"Don't waste your strength," Bald Li sneered. "It's no poison I gave you—it's an aphrodisiac."
His mocking laughter filled the room.
Though panic flickered in her heart, Huangfu Shiyue forced herself to remain cold and dignified.
"Scum—if you dare touch me, the Huangfu family will wipe out the White Wolf Society to the last man."
But Bald Li only smirked. "Miss Huangfu imagines too much. I wouldn't dare touch you."
Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, his smile turned more sinister.
"I wouldn't dare—but someone else would."
As his words fell, a door not far away opened, and two figures stepped out—a tall, arrogant young man and a wiry, grey-haired elder.
Bald Li hurried forward with an obsequious grin. "Young Master Cai, the plan went smoothly. Are you satisfied?"
The young man gave a slight nod, his eyes roaming over Huangfu Shiyue with naked greed and lust.
Huangfu Shiyue's pupils contracted. "Sima Cai—it's you!?"
Sima Cai's grin was infuriatingly smug. "Shiyue, surprised? Did I catch you off guard?"
Huangfu Shiyue's voice was like ice. "Sima Cai, if you dare touch me, I will kill you."
Sima Cai laughed, utterly unafraid. "Kill me? Once the deed is done, I'll go straight to your family to propose marriage—then you'll have no choice but to wed me."
"Dream on," Huangfu Shiyue spat. "My father will never agree."
Sima Cai's laugh was harsh and mocking. "He won't, but someone will. Don't pretend you don't know—your entire clan wants you married off."
Huangfu Shiyue's heart sank like a stone.
"Shiyue, you know my heart. Yield to me, and I promise to treat you well." His tone softened as he slowly stepped toward her.
"Get away from me!"
Huangfu Shiyue lashed out suddenly, her fist flying straight for his face.
But the grey-haired elder moved with lightning speed, intercepting her strike with ease.
She staggered back several steps, her face paling with despair.
The elder was also a ninth-stage martial artist.
Sima Cai's expression turned cold. "Elder Zhou, bind this woman. I want to see how defiant she is once she's in my bed."
The old man strode forward, looming over Huangfu Shiyue, whose face had gone utterly ashen.
Would you like me to continue and translate what happens next—perhaps Ye Chu's intervention—so we can see whether Shiyue is saved?