"Double the price?"
Upon hearing this, the fat man's eyes immediately lit up.
The rosary had been acquired unintentionally and was said to be the work of Sun Yide from Wuxin Hall, but even their own people weren't sure about its authenticity.
It had been on display here for some years, and though many had inquired, no one was willing to buy.
Not everyone possessed Xiao Chen's capabilities; others couldn't prove whether the rosary was genuine!
The defensive effect of the rosary could only be triggered once; once activated, it would become like junk, losing all its value, so it couldn't be used for experiments.
Without the ability to test, unable to verify its authenticity, nobody felt at ease, and as a result, it had yet to be sold.
The initial asking price for the rosary was over a hundred thousand, which kept dropping, and now they just wanted to sell it for any amount in the tens of thousands, hoping to make any little profit.
But hearing that the young man was willing to pay double the price, how could the fat man not be tempted?
"Young master, you said you would pay double. Are you serious?"
The young man snorted, "I always mean what I say."
"Alright, I'll sell it to you!" The fat man became excited—this was a chance to make a good profit.
"Wait a minute!" At that moment, Xiao Chen interrupted the two, snorting lightly, "Talking so animatedly, as if I don't exist?"
The tall young man looked at Xiao Chen with a smile that was not really a smile, "Are you also willing to pay double?"
"No!"
Xiao Chen shook his head. Although Xiao Yufei had given him a card with seventy thousand yuan in it, he could afford double the price, but there was no need to waste it recklessly.
"Before you arrived, the item was already in my hands. First come, first served, so it belongs to me. Plus, the price I heard was thirty thousand, so I am only willing to pay thirty thousand."
Upon hearing this, the fat man became anxious, "You haven't paid yet, our transaction isn't complete, it doesn't count!"
Xiao Chen glanced at him and said indifferently, "From the moment the item reached my hands, it was already mine."
The fat man retorted angrily, "That's robber logic!"
The young man also displayed a sarcastic smile, "Kid, if you can't afford it, don't put on airs. Look at you, you're obviously poor!"
"Li Bin, shut up!"
A woman beside the young man spoke up to scold him.
The woman was in her twenties, beautiful and elegant, with a refined demeanor. Dressed in a white knitted sweater and dark blue jeans, she had the grace of a young lady but also a simplicity in her style.
"Since he was here first, he naturally has the priority!"
The woman reprimanded Li Bin, then nodded slightly towards Xiao Chen to express politeness.
This act raised Xiao Chen's opinion of her somewhat.
Li Bin, not understanding and feeling somewhat wronged, said, "Xuanying, didn't you have your eye on that? Why don't you want it now?"
"I certainly want the item, but we must clarify things with him!"
Lin Xuanying felt that Li Bin was too arrogant; to put it unpleasantly, he lacked manners, and she regretted letting him accompany her today.
Ignoring Li Bin, Lin Xuanying stepped forward towards Xiao Chen, "This fellow student, even though you were here earlier, I wonder if you could be gracious and let me have the rosary?"
"No!"
Xiao Chen was decisive, with only a two-word reply, flatly refusing.
Lin Xuanying: "..."
She had expected that by lowering her stance and giving him enough face, Xiao Chen would agree, or at the very least there would be room to negotiate. But she never expected to be rebuffed so straightforwardly.
"Kid, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" Li Bin stared at Xiao Chen with an unsatisfied look.
"Li Bin, can't you just stay out of it?"
Lin Xuanying pushed Li Bin aside and continued to reason with Xiao Chen, appealing to his emotions and logic.
"Fellow student, that item is of great importance to me; please let me have it. I can pay you!"
"Of great importance?" Xiao Chen's expression shifted slightly as he asked, "Do you know its origin?"
Lin Xuanying nodded, "Of course, it's just that the details are inconvenient to divulge."
"If you can't speak of it, that settles it. I cannot give you the item because it also has a special significance to me."
Lin Xuanying was at a loss for words—she had never met someone like Xiao Chen who was so stubborn over a rosary.
Seeing that Xiao Chen was impervious to both soft and hard tactics, Li Bin began to signal the fat man with his eyes, "Boss, it's your turn to speak. Who are you going to sell the item to?"
The fat man got the hint. Xiao Chen didn't seem like a person of status, whereas Li Bin was arrogant and seemed to have a strong background, willing to pay double the price. Was there even a need to consider?
"Kid, I'm not selling it to you. Give it back to me!"
The chubby man's tone had become extremely unfriendly, a stark contrast to his initial demeanor.
"What if I say I won't return it?" Xiao Chen replied with a cold look in his brows.
Truth be told, while the rosary beads had a connection with him, he wasn't particularly attached to them; it all depended on his mood.
Unfortunately, his mood wasn't very good right now.
"Not return it?" The chubby man sneered, "Do you know where you are? How dare you cause trouble here?"
Xiao Chen indifferently said, "I'm used to making trouble without picking a place."
Upon these words, the chubby man, Li Bin, and Lin Xuanying were all momentarily stunned.
Used to making trouble without picking a place?
Was this shamelessness or was it arrogance?
Pa pa pa!
A round of applause arose, seemingly in praise of Xiao Chen's admirable courage.
Following that, people saw a middle-aged man dressed in plain clothes, striding over majestically.
When the chubby man saw the newcomer, he quickly went up to greet him, saying respectfully, "Lord Feng, your timing is perfect, this kid..."
Feng Qian waved his hand to interrupt, "Although he's just a brat, since I've come across him, it's only right that I deal with him. Step aside."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Lord!" The chubby man stepped aside.
People inside Renbao Pavilion's second floor had all taken notice of the disturbance here and could see Feng Qian as well, their expressions involuntarily changed.
"With Feng Qian here, this matter won't end well."
"That kid really doesn't know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is. Out of all the places to cause trouble, he had to do it here."
"Yes, I've heard that Feng Qian is immensely strong due to his horizontal training and is both ruthless and harsh. Those troublemakers in the past who encountered him ended up with broken bones and tendons."
Li Bin also looked at Feng Qian a few times, gleefully said to Lin Xuanying beside him, "Xuanying, this man's footsteps are steady, and his arms are strong and powerful. Clearly, he's an expert who has taken external martial arts to the extreme. That kid is going to suffer."
Li Bin could see it, and naturally, Lin Xuanying could too, which inevitably caused her to worry about Xiao Chen.
Feng Qian approached, looking directly at Xiao Chen with interest, "Brat, I can't deny that you're arrogant, but you're also very unfortunate, for you've encountered me today."
"Who are you?" Xiao Chen asked.
Feng Qian replied with a haughty air, "I am Feng Qian, and I'm in charge here. Normally, dealing with a brat like you wouldn't require my intervention, but you just had bad luck—I happened to be nearby today."
"It might be someone else's bad luck!"
Xiao Chen said disdainfully, before putting away the rosary beads in his hand.
Such an action was without a doubt a provocation.
"Impudence, hand over the item!"
Feng Qian bellowed and reached out towards Xiao Chen's arm.
"Be careful!"
Lin Xuanying subconsciously cautioned, but she didn't step forward to stop him.
It happened in less time than it takes to breathe.
Before Feng Qian's hand could touch Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen's own hand swiftly intercepted and grabbed Feng Qian's fingers instead.
"Huh, a mere neophyte?"
With a mocking smile, Xiao Chen twisted his hand forcefully.
Crack!
The sound of breaking finger bones was crisp to the ear.
"Ahh..."
Five of Feng Qian's fingers were twisted cruelly, prompting a pig-like scream; he was shocked and enraged as he stared at Xiao Chen, "You're a martial artist too?"
"A disgrace!"
Xiao Chen snorted coldly and struck heavily in front of Feng Qian's body with the back of his hand.
Bam!
Struck as if by lightning, Feng Qian flew three yards away and spewed a mouthful of fresh blood before passing out.
Suddenly, the whole second floor of Renbao Pavilion fell silent.
The exchange between the two men lasted only for a short span of breaths. The onlookers had initially thought that Xiao Chen would end up being severely taught a lesson, never expecting such a swift reversal, and were utterly unable to react for a moment.