How Dare You!

"I—this... Young Master, you're clearly making trouble out of nothing! How can you wrong someone like this?"

The shopkeeper's face was full of bitterness as he slapped the counter angrily. "I told you what the goods were, I told you what they were for, and we even agreed on the price! Now that the goods are in your hands, why are you suddenly stirring up trouble for no reason?"

"Tch—"

Galeo swung the necklace in circles, his gaze sweeping left and right over the surroundings. The guards behind him deliberately spread out a little so they wouldn't block the busybodies from watching the show.

Seeing that quite a few people had turned their eyes over, Galeo braced one hand on the counter, wound the necklace twice around his hand, and deliberately tried to blow the matter up. "It's not like other places don't sell this sort of thing. Their prices are less than seventy percent of yours, and the effects are much better... This wouldn't be fake, would it? Hm?"

"Don't you slander me!"

The shopkeeper was anxious and furious, but with Galeo's guards behind him, he still did not dare make a move.

"Heh..."

Galeo sneered, pinching the embedded magic core as he showed it around to everyone. "Everyone, look! This so-called high-quality magic core the shopkeeper keeps talking about was dug out of a grass rabbit to make up the numbers! And this so-called gold inlay—isn't this just copper?"

"You! You, you!" The shopkeeper's eyes reddened with rage. When had he ever boasted that the materials were high-grade?

"What about me?"

Galeo suddenly stretched out his hand, the necklace dangling lightly from his finger. "If everything I said is false, then how did you come up with such a high price?"

I...

The shopkeeper opened his mouth but did not dare make a sound. The other party's palm, covered in Dou Qi, had almost touched the tip of his nose.

Dou Zhe...

As if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, the shopkeeper, who was only at the seventh stage of Dou Qi, instantly lost his momentum and stood there, mumbling, unable to speak.

"Hmph! Everyone heard that, right? Everyone saw that too, right?"

With a victorious, strange laugh, Galeo spread his hands and turned halfway in place to present the scene. "This shop, this street! Someone here is selling fakes!"

The crowd gathering in circles instantly grew restless. Some were indignant and wanted to speak out, some echoed Galeo and joined in the shouting, and still others only wanted to watch the excitement grow bigger, afraid the disturbance was not loud enough.

Ha~ As expected, they're all a bunch of fools~ Watching great heaps of people be spun around by just a few words of his, Galeo laughed despite himself and held his forehead, looking utterly intoxicated by his own earth-shattering wisdom.

This young master really is a genius...

"Galeo!"

The person called out by name suddenly shuddered all over, and a hollow, helpless look instantly coated his face.

The guards around him hurriedly moved closer, surrounding him within.

Whoosh—

The crowd instantly parted, opening a wide path for the newcomer.

Rustle—

Two lines of guards jogged in from behind him and formed up along the crowd.

At the end of the path, a youth carrying a Black Ruler on his back strode over. It was as if dark clouds were rolling in, bringing with them an indescribable heaviness and pressure.

Every step was dull and steady, ringing out atop everyone's heartbeats. In just a few breaths, the entire place fell silent.

With one glance, everyone knew this was someone capable of taking charge, making his grand entrance at the finale.

"Huff... Bang!"

The Black Ruler hummed as it fell to the ground. The massive tremor made Galeo's heart skip half a beat, and the cracks spreading across the stone slabs made the corners of his eyes twitch even more.

With a sharp scrape, the Xuan Heavy Ruler plowed an arc-shaped groove through the ground before lifting again, the dust and air currents it brought up leaving a trail branded through the air.

"Galeo—"

The Black Ruler spun and pointed, shredding all the smoke, dust, and earth waves. "How dare you!"

The guards surrounding Galeo hurriedly raised their weapons. Galeo himself, however, felt his legs go weak, then straightened his body again like a spring.

One swing of that ruler, and even a Dou Zhe can be sent flying.

Unfortunately, he, Galeo, was exactly that background NPC.

Even more unfortunately, he had run into the rightful main character again.

Clearly, this guy usually hid inside the Xiao Clan year after year and never came out, so why did he appear out of thin air the moment Galeo caused trouble? There had to be a mole in the Gale Family...

"Uh..."

Galeo looked through the gaps between people at the situation in the field. Feeling that he had the upper hand in the argument, he immediately adjusted his mindset, straightened his clothes, pushed aside his guards, and stood before Xiao Yan.

"Young Master Xiao Yan."

In a rare display of proper manners, Galeo gave a salute, then reached out to show the necklace. "It's not that I'm making things difficult for him, and it's not that I'm deliberately looking for trouble. It's just that this thing of his really—"

Expressionless, Xiao Yan raised the Black Ruler and approached.

Galeo could no longer finish the gossip he had been chewing halfway through. He retreated several steps with a thump, thump. "You... what do you want?"

The Black Ruler rose a few inches higher.

"Hey, hey! You're using your power to bully people! You... you're taking advantage of customers because your shop is big!" Galeo retreated in a panic, but after only a few steps, he tripped and fell to the ground with a smack. He kept backing away while pointing at Xiao Yan.

"You! You, you..."

As the enormous black shadow gradually rose, Galeo could no longer get the word "you" out.

That familiar feeling came back—the despair of Mount Tai crashing down on his head.

Ever since the first time he had been sent flying over twenty meters, that feeling had been carved deep into his mind.

"You can't—"

Clang!

The Xuan Heavy Ruler swung down ferociously, its thick wind pressure pressing down over Galeo's panicked, pig-slaughter-like scream, hacking into the ground almost right against the tip of his nose.

A fierce gust howled in every direction, streaks of force scouring through the space between Galeo's legs.

Dust and smoke spread out.

"Ha... ha..."

Having survived the disaster, Galeo let out two dry laughs and completely collapsed onto the ground, his pupils trembling.

He would die... He really would die...

It could split Yun Leng's head open, and even Star Plucking had only managed to leave a palm print on it. Even a Da Dou Shi would struggle to lift it level with one hand.

How many heads did he, Galeo, have? Was he really that tough?

"What was this young master about to say?" Xiao Yan bent down and asked.

"..."

What else could he say? No matter how much trouble he wanted to stir up, he wouldn't gamble with his own head, would he?

Galeo turned his head and glanced back.

As expected, his guards had been directly pinned down, without the slightest room to resist.

Why the hell were there so many mercenaries in the Xiao Clan Marketplace... There were more Dou Shi than the Dou Zhe he had brought with him.

It had only been half a year, right? If they had this kind of strength, why hadn't they shown it before?

"Come on, let me take a look."

Xiao Yan took the necklace from his open hand. "Mm~ a first-rank magic core. Although the quality isn't great, the Dou Qi is genuine... Shopkeeper?"

"Ah! Third Young Master."

"In your shop, how much is this necklace selling for?"

"Not a coin more or less~ exactly one thousand. Please look!" The shopkeeper brought out the price tag, showed it to Xiao Yan, then displayed it to everyone around them.

"Then in Wutan City, is there anyone else who knows this trade? How much would a necklace of this quality usually sell for?"

"I know, I know!"

A hand shot up high from within the crowd. After squeezing his way out, the man took the necklace and looked it over a few times. "If I were selling it~ this necklace should be worth a little over nine hundred. It's normal for it to be slightly higher in a shop."

"Good. Many thanks."

Xiao Yan replied with a smile, then turned to face the entire crowd and spoke in a clear voice. "The Xiao Clan Marketplace has always been known for fair prices. I believe those who have traded here for a long time have all felt this for themselves."

"Of course, we are not the sort of tyrants who use our power to bully others. If you are cheated, if you suffer injustice, my Xiao Clan will naturally uphold justice for you!"