Chapter 1656 - 1642
The waiter completely lost his temper, practically roaring through gritted teeth.
The strong men around them all had clubs in their hands. Without another word, they surged forward and surrounded Chu Ge.
The instant they closed in, Chu Ge swiftly yanked Feng Luo behind him. He positioned his body in front of her and lowered his voice to say, "Once the fighting starts, just hide to the side and enjoy the show."
Feng Luo let out a disdainful tsk. "I never said I wanted you to protect me."
The corner of Chu Ge’s lips hooked up in a devil-may-care smile. "Yeah, well, those clubs of theirs don’t have eyes. I’d hate for you to get hit by accident."
Feng Luo pouted, then actually moved off to the side and hid.
Seeing that she was out of the way, Chu Ge’s lips curved slightly. He swept a cold gaze around, then said to the waiter, "If anything here gets smashed, who’s paying for it?"
The waiter’s face instantly filled with open mockery. Looking at Chu Ge with arrogant disdain, he said, "If the things here get smashed to bits, of course it goes on your tab!"
What, they were going to blame a mere waiter like him? What a joke! If the furniture here got broken, he’d have to cough up a month’s wages just to cover it.
Chu Ge almost choked on that answer. He gave the waiter an amused look. "I thought you’d puff your chest out and say, ’If anything gets smashed, I’ll cover it!’ Heh, didn’t expect you to pin it on me. If that’s how we’re counting it, then this really isn’t a good deal for me."
"You damn ghost! If you can’t pay, then get lost! Stop getting in the way of our business!"
The onlookers were all ordinary townsfolk. Seeing that things were about to turn serious, they immediately got scared. They stood up and backed far away. Still, there were always a few curious ones craning their necks to watch the commotion.
"You’re not wrong—we are damn ghosts. So if we break anything here, I’m planning to play the rascal and not pay a single coin!"
The moment Chu Ge’s words fell, Feng Luo was still inwardly grumbling about how he’d actually admitted he was broke with zero shame, when suddenly a wretched scream rang out from over there.
Nothing in the teahouse had actually been damaged, but a man was unfortunately sprawled on the floor. Feng Luo watched one of the strong men lying there, face twisted with hoarse, agonized cries, and suddenly clapped her hands in delight. "Nice hit! Nice hit!"
The waiter rubbed his eyes. He stared at Chu Ge in disbelief. He hadn’t expected to run into such a tough nut. Before he could even react, that strong man’s wrist had already been twisted and snapped by Chu Ge, dropping him to the ground.
"So you’re actually trained in the martial arts!" The waiter was starting to get scared. If this blew up, if the shop got smashed and the other guests were affected, he’d not only be kicked out, he might even lose his life.
He swallowed hard and hurriedly ordered the strong man next to him, "What are you standing there for? Go get the Shopkeeper!"
Seeing him run off for reinforcements, Chu Ge simply decided to find a place to sit for a bit. He happened to be tired anyway. He scanned the room; because of the disturbance, a lot of seats had been vacated.
He didn’t stand on ceremony and went straight to a relatively clean table to sit down. Then he pulled out a piece of broken silver from his robe and placed it on the table. "Is this bit of Silver enough for some tea?"
Chu Ge looked at the waiter and asked in a mild tone.
The waiter was a little bewildered by Chu Ge’s antics. What was this supposed to mean? He still wanted to sit there and make him serve him? At this point, even money wouldn’t work!
He glared at Chu Ge in fury. "Tea? No chance! But I’ve got a fist right here—want that?"
As he spoke, he swung his fist in Chu Ge’s direction.
The corners of Chu Ge’s lips curled into a cold smile, as if he’d fully expected the waiter not to serve him. His gaze slid off the waiter and landed on the counter.
The teapots were all lined up on the counter, each one filled with steaming hot tea. With just a slight focusing of his mind, a teapot seemed to grow hands of its own and flew straight toward him.
The instant it reached him, Chu Ge stretched out his hand and caught it. The whole sequence of movements was smooth and fluid as drifting Cloud and flowing water. Everyone around, Feng Luo included, stared, completely dumbfounded.
Feng Luo covered her mouth in astonishment and couldn’t help silently muttering, "This brat can actually retrieve things through the air?"
This was a long-lost martial arts technique! How on earth did this brat know it?
Feng Luo’s heart was full of questions. She even felt that Chu Ge’s martial arts were unfathomable, and that everything he’d shown before was just the tip of the iceberg!
Just judging by how fast he’d struck that man earlier, she was convinced this guy was anything but simple.
Feng Luo rubbed her chin, her sizing gaze roaming up and down Chu Ge’s body. She clicked her tongue. Who would’ve thought—Chu Ge had really been hiding his true strength.
The waiter was even more shocked as he watched. His jaw almost dropped to the floor. It was a long while before he used his hand to push his own mouth shut. "Y-you-you... who the hell are you?"
Even his tongue was tripping over itself. A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind—had he provoked some big shot?
By "big shot," he meant those highly skilled fighters from the world of martial arts. The Princely Heir, son of the Prince, held such martial experts in extreme esteem and often invited people from the Martial Arts world to the teahouse for small gatherings. What if this man was someone the Princely Heir had invited...
While the waiter was letting his imagination run wild, the Shopkeeper hurried back in from outside. "What on earth is going on here?"
He swept his gaze around and finally fixed it on Chu Ge. His brows instinctively drew together. He walked over to the waiter and asked, "What exactly happened?"
The waiter’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He explained in a low voice, "Shopkeeper, a beggar came to make trouble. I was going to drive her out, but this man stepped in for her and even said that if he smashed anything here, he wouldn’t pay."
The Shopkeeper immediately misunderstood. He assumed Chu Ge was the one who’d come to cause trouble, so his expression darkened.
"May I ask which road you walk in the world of martial arts, brother?"
The Shopkeeper walked up to Chu Ge and looked down at him as he questioned him.
Chu Ge lazily lifted his eyes to glance at him, lips faintly curved. He’d heard every word the waiter had said just now. Judging from the Shopkeeper’s expression, even his toes could guess the man had believed it.
He let out a cold laugh. "So the Shopkeeper has chosen to believe the waiter’s version of events?"
The Shopkeeper narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh? And do you have a different story, brother?"
Chu Ge chuckled. He raised his hand and pointed at Feng Luo, who was still hiding in the corner. "I don’t, but she does."
Feng Luo, baffled, pointed at her own nose. "Me?"
What story could she possibly have?
The Shopkeeper caught sight of Feng Luo—especially the beggar’s rags she was wearing—and his brows immediately knit tightly together. "You beggar, get over here."