"..."
Pei Ye pushed again, and the door gave a loose, heavy creak. Looking down, he saw that its hinge had already been twisted and broken. A boot print dented the door, clearly delivered with true qi.
There were several equally shocking signs of destruction inside. Pei Ye had seen no one here who knew martial arts; whoever had come had deliberately unleashed this violence before a group of unarmed ordinary people.
"What happened?" Pei Ye asked.
"...You, you are...?" After a moment of silence, someone spoke in a low, bewildered voice.
Pei Ye lowered his head and lifted the script in his hand. "I came here after noon to buy White Snake Romance from an old man. I haven't paid yet; we agreed to talk again tonight. I think... he must be your Sun the Great Green-Clad Performer."
"..." Grief immediately spread over their faces. One of the older men swallowed and said hoarsely, "Whatever price Master quoted you, just leave it here. By our rules, when someone properly buys a script, we send an actor to help their theater get the production on its feet. Come back in three days and find-"
"Where is Sun Qingyi?" Pei Ye interrupted.
Another silence.
"Where is he?!" Pei Ye pressed, frowning.
The actor finally lost his composure. Covering his face with both hands, he choked silently. "Master... refused to sell them the theater, so they... dragged him off to Dragon Gate Tower!"
"..." Pei Ye actually felt relieved. After a brief silence, he said, "When I left, Sun Qingyi said he had some business to discuss. Was it with those two gang leaders...?"
Another actor, pale-faced and dazed, said in a trembling voice, "When they came, they said they wanted to talk too... but as soon as the talks fell through,