Chapter 1741: Li Laide

Hearing Chen Ling call his name directly, the youth Li Laide's brain crashed.

Damn it...

Is this a hunter who took down a bounty notice and came to claim his head?

But how is that possible? Stealing from this workshop today was a completely spur-of-the-moment decision; how could the other party be waiting here for him in advance? Could it be the Path of the God of Divination? But he looks more like the Path of the God of Thieves...

Could it be that there is a Path of the God of Divination behind him? He isn't operating alone, but has a team?

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Li Laide's mind, and his heart plummeted to the bottom...

He knew he was likely done for this time.

He opened his mouth to say something, but a surge of mental power crashed into his mind. He felt the world go black, and he lost consciousness completely.

……

Early morning.

Li Shangfeng sat up in the bright morning light and gave a lazy yawn.

"Sleeping on this concrete floor for too long really makes my back ache... Next... hmm? Oh no! The lights! I didn't turn them off! My electricity bill!!"

Li Shangfeng seemed to remember something, his sleepy eyes widening instantly. He looked at the light above in terror, and upon discovering that the breaker had tripped and it was off, he let out a sigh of relief.

Li Shangfeng washed up and walked out of the workshop back to his home, where he saw breakfast already laid out on the table: bread, milk, eggs, white porridge, fried dough sticks—everything one could want...

Li Shangfeng raised an eyebrow, intending to give his good sister some praise, when he saw a note left on the table:

[I'm off to school. This is breakfast for Boss Chen!]

[Li Shangfeng is forbidden from eating!!]

Li Shangfeng: ...

Li Shangfeng's mouth twitched. Pretending not to see it, he threw the note in the trash, drank a bowl of porridge, ate a fried dough stick, and then knocked on Chen Ling's door.

"Boss Chen, breakfast is ready... are you up to eat some?"

He asked cautiously.

A moment later, the door opened slowly.

Chen Ling, wearing brown clothes, stood at the door and nodded at him with a smile: "Thank you."

"Ahem, I didn't know what you liked, Boss Chen, so I just prepared some bread and milk... Uh, I'm going out for a bit, please make yourself at home."

Li Shangfeng gave a simple greeting, went back to the workshop to grab his things, and hurried away.

Chen Ling stood behind the window, watching several phantom figures follow Li Shangfeng into the distance. He lifted his fingertips from his sleeves, and a red paper tentacle passed through the living room to under the bed, dragging out Li Laide, who was unconscious like a dead dog.

Li Laide at this age looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, wearing a very decent black vest. Combined with his slightly curly long hair and those three-dimensional mixed-race features, he looked like a young nobleman out of a storybook... except that now, the nobleman's face was covered in soot from last night's fire, making him look quite disheveled.

Chen Ling stood by the window, squinting down at him. With a thought, the red paper tentacle clinging to Li Laide gave him a fierce slap.

The youth woke up from his coma instantly!

Li Laide's reaction was incredibly fast; the moment he opened his eyes, he instinctively sprang up like a spring, but the next second, several red paper tentacles pressed heavily onto his back, pinning him before Chen Ling like chains...

Li Laide found he couldn't break free, so he could only glare at Chen Ling, the youth's deep blue eyes filled with defiance and stubbornness.

"What kind of look is that?" Chen Ling said calmly. "What... you're not convinced?"

"Who exactly are you? Why do you know my name, and why did you know I would come here?" Li Laide gritted his teeth. "You must have been targeting me for a long time, right? How much do you know... about me?"

"It's a coincidence, actually... I didn't do anything. You delivered yourself to my doorstep."

"Heh, do you think I'll believe that?"

"Perhaps fate is just that wonderful," Chen Ling said leisurely. "However, I do know quite a bit about you..."

Hearing this, Li Laide's expression changed. He said coldly:

"If you want to kill me, just do it! I have no background, no gang. Killing me to claim the bounty would be a clean job... My skills weren't good enough, I accept the loss!"

"...Oh?"

Chen Ling's gemstone-like eyes narrowed, watching Li Laide sharply. "I haven't even said anything yet... what are you nervous about?"

"You!"

Li Laide gritted his teeth, unwilling to talk to Chen Ling anymore, and stubbornly turned his head away.

"At this age, you're already close to the fifth rank of the Path of the God of Thieves... You live up to your reputation," Chen Ling said unhurriedly. "If I'm not mistaken, it hasn't been long since you stepped onto the divine path."

"What? Do you know me very well?"

"In a sense... yes."

Chen Ling certainly knew Li Laide. When he was in the Wuji Domain, he had dealt with him plenty of times... And in the Akashic Tower, he had even simulated Li Laide's limit state. Perhaps even Li Laide himself didn't understand him as well as Chen Ling did at this moment.

"...You're a psycho," Li Laide rolled his eyes. "What exactly do you want to do? I'll tell you first, I have no money to compensate you... Either take my head for the bounty, or let me go."

"You aren't going anywhere."

Chen Ling walked slowly to the dining table and sat down, picked up a piece of bread, and used a butter knife to spread a layer of butter on it, slowly and evenly. He didn't seem to intend to kill Li Laide, nor did he intend to let him leave.

Li Laide couldn't figure out what this guy was trying to do. His eyes kept scanning the surroundings, trying to find an opportunity to escape, no matter how slim. But he was never one to give up easily.

Li Laide's brain cells were consuming rapidly, and at the same time, a rumbling sound came from his stomach.

Li Laide: ...

Chen Ling glanced at him and was silent for a moment.

He waved his hand gently, and all the red paper tentacles pinning Li Laide were retracted. He said calmly:

"Come over here and sit down to eat."

Li Laide was stunned, not expecting Chen Ling to let him go so easily. His deep blue eyes darted, and the next second, a mountain of kitchenware was stolen from thin air and appeared before him, which he then hurled at Chen Ling!

At the same time, he nimbly flipped and leaped out of the window behind him!

Li Laide's heart was about to jump out of his throat. He ran for his life while listening intently to the movement behind him. When he didn't hear a single piece of kitchenware hit the ground, he knew he was finished...

Sure enough, his figure, which had run dozens of meters away, began to uncontrollably move backward. In a strange posture, he flipped back in through the window and, along with the kitchenware that had been flying through the air, returned to its original position.

Beside the dining table,

Chen Ling unhurriedly put down the perfectly buttered bread and looked at him leisurely...

"Come over..."

"Sit down and eat."