"What the hell do you people want?!"

Zhu Shou was terrified. Even though he’d seen his fair share of scheming and big setups, the implications behind this young man’s smile sent chills down his spine.

Crazy! This Shen guy is insane! No, Shen couldn’t possibly have the guts for this—it must be Jiang Cheng behind him, right? Zhu Shou couldn’t help but guess.

In an instant, a flood of information overwhelmed Zhu Shou’s mind, shattering his usual composure and leaving his thoughts tangled in chaos.

Shen Hao stayed seated, pouring himself another glass of Wuliangye—the bottle he’d brought along. Rumor had it the Zhang Family had recently tweaked the process and upped the strength, coming in at around thirty-seven, thirty-eight percent alcohol now. The taste was much improved.

"Lord Zhu, sit and talk. You’ve only got two paths right now. Either I kill you right here and toss this dossier over to the brokers—nothing will happen to me. Hell, your master might even thank me and send me a couple of pretty female slaves for my trouble. The second path is to join us."

Shen Hao wasn’t joking—his hand was already on his blade. With his current Cultivation, dealing with Zhu Shou, who’s only at Qi Refining Fifth Layer, wouldn’t take more than three moves to take his head off.

Once you know the plan, you either join or die—no third option. And you’re not getting any time to think it over.

"You...," Zhu Shou slumped pale-faced in his chair, feeling Shen Hao’s Killing Intent bearing down on him.

"If you haven’t chosen by the time I finish this drink, Lord Zhu, I’m afraid you’ll have to forgive me." Shen Hao raised his cup—about enough for three small sips.

Zhu Shou opened his mouth a few times, finally letting out a long sigh, squeezing words out through clenched teeth: "What do you want me to do?"

Shen Hao laughed loudly, draining the wine in one gulp and tossing the cup aside. "A wise man adapts to the times! Lord Zhu, your choice might be tough, but who knows—it could be the most profitable deal of your lifetime. Besides, joining the Xuanqing Guard comes with plenty of perks. Might help your career down the road!"

Zhu Shou stayed silent, waiting for what else Shen Hao had to say. At this point, he was meat on the chopping block—nothing he said would matter.

Shen Hao didn’t mind. It was normal for Zhu Shou to be pissed. Shen Hao was confident: once things got moving, Zhu Shou wouldn’t be able to jump ship. As for hatred? If things got going, he could just find a replacement and silence Zhu Shou for good—no big deal.

"Heh, Lord Zhu, you’ve worked at the brokerage for years, tons of experience training all sorts of slaves. I figured you could put that to use—helping vet slaves for nobles and also expanding our Xuanqing Guard intelligence network. The specifics need your expertise to figure out.

I’ve only got one requirement: stability. Spread things as fast as possible, but keep it absolutely secret. Of course, if it’s exposed, you’ll bear the blame alone. Our Xuanqing Guard will never admit to knowing you."

Shen Hao’s words made Zhu Shou’s teeth itch. He’d met shameless people, but never someone quite this shameless.

But Shen Hao felt it was just right. Planting moles from the brokerage into various powers was doable but absolutely unadmittable. The connection with Zhu Shou had to stay hidden, leaving no trace. If Zhu Shou got exposed, the Xuanqing Guard would act like they’d never heard of him. If Zhu Shou tried to drag them down with him? Go ahead—no evidence, no case.

All the ugly stuff out in the open, and Shen Hao had to make sure Zhu Shou knew he was basically a puppet now. Rebel, and Shen would cut those strings—Zhu Shou would be the only one paying the price.

"Are you planning to plant people with every official?"

"Of course not—this is just a test run. Start within your reach. Whether it’s the family cook, a female slave, or a martial slave—you decide, doesn’t need to be someone crucial. The priority is just getting ’inside’ for now. You get what I mean?"

Zhu Shou understood, and he was forced to think through the details. After a while, he said, "Training a trustworthy slave takes a lot of time. I can’t do it alone. I’ll need to put together a team and set up rules. Once that’s done, I can start picking candidates, training, sending them out. It’ll take at least three to five years."

Delaying Technique?

Shen Hao grinned and shook his head. "Three to five years is way too long. At most, I want results in half a year—otherwise, there’s more than one Chief Steward at the brokerage. I’ll get someone else to do it."

Zhu Shou’s eye twitched—he hadn’t expected Shen Hao to completely ignore his ploy and instead corner him.

"Half a year’s way too short. You’ll never get true obedience..."

Shen Hao cut him off. "True obedience? You mean brainwashing, right? For elite staff, you can train loyalty with that method. But ordinary expendables don’t need the hassle. Heard of the drug ’Capture to Death’? Works wonders on ordinary people—guarantees obedience."

Zhu Shou’s expression shifted; he clearly knew about ’Capture to Death’. Ordinary folks who took it suffered torture worse than death once it kicked in—only another dose temporarily relieved it. Unless you found the antidote or had a High-Tier Cultivator draw out the poison, you’d spend your life as a medicine slave.

"Still, even with that, half a year’s just too short. And you’re not expecting me to pay for expenses, are you?"

"Don’t worry about funds; just the timeline—half a year. If I don’t see results, you’ll be in big trouble. So, Lord Zhu, you’d better give it your all.

Oh, and so far, only you and I know about this. Wang Yiming’s not in on it, so keep your mouth shut. I’ll have someone else handle the contacts with you later. That’s all for today. On March 25th, it’s the Blue Moon Association—you’re attending the Hong’en Hall celebration, yeah? Looking forward to seeing your detailed plan then."

With that, Shen Hao got up and walked out of the private room, leaving Zhu Shou pale-faced and scrambling to leave as well.

Back home, Zhu Shou erupted in anger, nearly beating his favorite female slave to death. It wasn’t until late at night that he managed to suppress his frustration.

Now that he’d been caught with damning evidence—Zhu Shou felt completely trapped, powerless to fight back. All he could do was take it one step at a time—at least he wasn’t facing certain death.

Afterward, Zhu Shou still reported to duty as usual, interacted with all sorts of women, behaving as if nothing had changed. But he knew his mind was spinning non-stop. Only a few days left until March 25th—he’d have to come up with an initial plan, or Shen Hao would make his life hell.