The stall owner, who initially had the upper hand, was momentarily stunned when Yan Shouyi, like a rogue element, suddenly intervened.
He then angrily shouted, "Who is this punk? Get out of the way!"
Zhu Huansi was also taken aback. She realized that the person stepping up for her was Yan Shouyi, whom she had previously looked down upon. While feeling awkward, she also seemed to have found someone to rely on.
After all, he was someone she had interacted with before, unlike this fierce-looking stall owner.
"Let go. At your age, you're grabbing onto a young girl. Aren't you afraid your wife won't let you sleep in bed tonight?" Yan Shouyi said coldly.
The onlookers nearby burst into laughter, mocking the stall owner.
Being a person who cared about his reputation, the stall owner quickly released his hand, but not before glaring fiercely at Yan Shouyi:
"I'm telling you, everyone here is my people. If you break something, you have to pay. You can't escape!"
Zhu Huansi quickly hid behind Yan Shouyi and timidly explained to him, "They're framing me. It wasn't me who broke their antique at all..."
Yan Shouyi shook his head helplessly, realizing she was still too inexperienced in social matters.
In the antique appraisal business, there was an old saying: "When viewing treasures, never pass them hand to hand." This meant that when an antique was transferred from one party to another, the former must first place it on the table, and the latter would then pick it up from the table. This way, if the antique were accidentally dropped and broken, responsibility would be clear.
The stall owner in front of them had clearly spotted Zhu Huansi's youth and inexperience and deliberately set a trap. He wanted Zhu Huansi to "accidentally" break this antique ornament and then force her to buy it at an exorbitant price!
Such incidents were common occurrences on antique streets, with only the victims changing from one batch to another.
Yan Shouyi took the antique ornament from the owner's hand, glanced at it casually, and said, "Fake. Here are thirty, now scram."
The stall owner was enraged upon hearing this: "What do you know? These two treasures are from the Song Dynasty, unique. I have certificates here, genuine and authentic!"
"Is that so?"
Yan Shouyi snorted coldly, walked directly to the back of the stall, and casually pulled open a drawer.
The drawer was filled to the brim with identical antique ornaments!
"Didn't you just say they were unique and authentic?" Yan Shouyi sneered. "So your ancestors opened a factory in the Song Dynasty, is that it?"
The stall owner's expression changed. He fumbled to push the drawer shut, realizing he had encountered a tough opponent today.
The onlookers exclaimed in surprise, especially the tourists. Having witnessed a scam firsthand, they were indignant. If it weren't for Yan Shouyi today, they might have been the next victims!
Zhu Huansi was also stunned. Until moments ago, she still felt some guilt, but after realizing she had been deceived, she was filled with anger.
Yan Shouyi specifically observed Zhu Ling's reaction and found that the old man was smiling at him.
Well then, he intended to do Fengyixuan a favor, and Fengyixuan was also trying to get on his good side.
If he had known this, Yan Shouyi wouldn't have needed to step in to help Zhu Huansi. He could have simply sent Wang Jixu or Long Feicheng.
Zhu Huansi, unaware that her grandfather was secretly observing her in the crowd, stepped forward and said to Yan Shouyi:
"Thank you for helping me out. I spoke to you like that earlier..."
Her apology was sincere. It seemed Zhu Huansi wasn't entirely unreasonable; her previous annoyance was likely due to Zhu Ling's attitude.
Yan Shouyi waved his hand.
Zhu Huansi immediately said, "Let's go back quickly."
This was still their territory, and Yan Shouyi had exposed the stall owner's scam in public. It was possible the stall owner might retaliate in a fit of rage.
Zhu Huansi's guess proved correct. Once the stall owner recovered, he was so furious he could have spat blood. He let out a roar, and soon several burly thugs emerged from the crowd.
Some of them had already been eyeing Yan Shouyi and his companions.
Yan Shouyi sighed, thinking that in such traditional places, the dregs of the old era were often unavoidable.
Even now, they still resorted to street brawls and thuggery?
"There are too many of them. W-we should run, shouldn't we?" Zhu Huansi said fearfully.
"Run? The entire Xiao Dong Men district is my territory. Do you think you can escape?" the stall owner sneered.
Having had his good deed spoiled and been embarrassed in front of his peers, how could this stall owner let Yan Shouyi and Zhu Huansi leave easily?
In his eyes, they were just two outsiders whom he could bully at will.
Yan Shouyi rubbed his wrist.
With his abilities, fighting these ordinary people felt like overkill.
If he wasn't careful, he could even cause fatalities.
However, it seemed he had no choice but to act.
Without a word, Yan Shouyi turned and threw a punch at the stall owner's facade!
The stall owner, who had been dominating Xiao Dong Men for years and bullying outsiders who were often unfamiliar with the area and thus more likely to back down, never expected to encounter a tough character like Yan Shouyi, who would resort to violence so readily!
With a single punch, the stall owner was stunned. After a dizzying spin, he collapsed in front of his stall. Reaching up to touch his face, he found his nose crooked and his face covered in blood.
"Ah!!! Ah!!!" the stall owner screamed uncontrollably.
The nerves in the nose were abundant. Even popping a pimple could cause immense pain, let alone Yan Shouyi's punch, which had directly shattered the stall owner's nasal bridge!
Seeing this, the thugs were somewhat taken aback, but it also successfully enraged them. Several thugs immediately swarmed forward.
At this moment, Long Feicheng and his group were not idle either; they stepped forward to block the thugs:
"Bullying the few with the many, are we? Local bullies picking on outsiders? If you're unhappy, let's have a spar!"
Long Feicheng had experienced many challenges. While his fighting skills might not match a ghost king, he was more than capable of dealing with ordinary people.
Just as both sides were about to clash, a voice suddenly commanded, "Stop!"
Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng showed no reaction, but the thugs shivered and straightened up obediently, seemingly no longer intending to fight.
A group of people emerged from the crowd. Leading them was a long-bearded old man, whose beard was even braided into a small pigtail, making him easily recognizable.
However, what caught Yan Shouyi's attention was not the old man, but Ma Jinxuan, who was beside him.
"Jinxuan?" Lin Zhitong asked doubtfully, "What is this..."
Ma Jinxuan looked distressed. "Are you guys alright? How did it get so chaotic?"
The fraudulent stall owner and the thugs, upon seeing the long-bearded old man, immediately lowered their stances, bowing their heads in silence.
The old man glanced once and understood what had happened.
He said calmly, "It seems you don't want to continue this business. Pack up and get out of Xiao Dong Men."
Upon hearing this, the stall owner could no longer maintain his composure. He knelt before the old man and cried profusely, begging for leniency.
However, the old man merely snorted. His subordinates then dragged the stall owner away and began packing up the stall's contents.
Yan Shouyi clicked his tongue, thinking to himself: This old man's status is also not simple...