Dragon's Origin

"A bunch of useless trash!" Not far away, on the upper floor of a three-story restaurant, sat three young men in their twenties by the window facing the street. The one directly facing the scene cursed under his breath.

"They're just a few local thugs. We only wanted them to annoy Qianshengyuan at first. Did you really expect them to succeed?" Another, who seemed more composed, said with a slight smile.

"They're too weak. A few words scared them off." Another's eyes flashed with a cold light as he coldly said, "Qianshengyuan can hire assassins from Worry-Free City, so why can't we? How many people does Qianshengyuan have? How many times can they die?"

"If Qianshengyuan's people die, who will make money for us?" The composed young man seemed to be in charge. His every word and action exuded an air of authority, and he always wore a warm smile. "We want to control this business, not just kill them for nothing. Guangyuan, you need to change your habit of wanting to kill people at the slightest provocation."

"What the Young Master says is right." Although he was criticized, the young man named Guangyuan didn't seem unhappy at all. Instead, he respectfully accepted the instruction, clearly indicating that his status was lower than the Young Master he addressed.

"Let's go. Since the show is over, let's go down and meet them." The Young Master glanced at Uncle Liu, who was looking in their direction, and stood up to go downstairs. The remaining two young men didn't dare to delay and quickly followed him.

On the second floor of the restaurant were guards and bodyguards. Judging by their demeanor, each one of them was a capable expert. Seeing the Young Master and the two young gentlemen coming down, they silently surrounded the three, quickly descending to the street.

The appearance of these individuals created a much greater stir than the earlier thugs. With a wave of their hands, the guards violently pushed aside the crowd blocking the way, clearing a path in the middle.

Some of the jostled people were about to protest, but when they saw the group of experts, they immediately fell silent, not daring to make a sound. Each of those who had pushed them radiated an aura that made people afraid to meet their eyes. Most of these commoners were only at the entry level of cultivation, so how could they dare to look? They quickly shrank back into the crowd, afraid that these people's gazes would fall on them.

As soon as the Young Master and his companions appeared, the gigolo-like man seemed to see a savior, and his face revealed a look of ecstasy. But then he realized that he had botched things up, and his expression darkened again. His dramatic change in expression was comparable to that of a face-changing master.

With a dozen guards separating the crowd, the Young Master led the way. The three young men walked gracefully, as if strolling and relaxing, until they arrived at the entrance of Qianshengyuan.

The gigolo and his followers had lowered their heads so much that their chins nearly touched their chests. They didn't dare to look directly at the approaching trio. However, the young man other than the Young Master and Guangyuan seemed to remember them. He casually walked up to the gigolo and kicked him, sending him sprawling.

"It's their grand opening, and you come here to cause trouble? Get lost!" He reprimanded, the last 'get lost' spoken with extreme rudeness, as if addressing insects.

The gigolo and his followers felt as if they had been granted amnesty upon hearing the words 'get lost.' The gigolo didn't care about the pain in his body and quickly got up, kowtowing respectfully three times to the noble young man who had kicked him, before fleeing into the crowd.

"Manager, they're just a few insignificant pests. I've taken care of them for you." The noble young man who had kicked the gigolo then turned to Uncle Liu and said with a smile.

"Thank you, Young Master, for speaking righteously." Uncle Liu knew exactly what was going on, but his face and words showed no sign of it. He wore a warm smile and spoke in a friendly tone, as if he were seeing a valued customer.

"Today is your store's opening. I'd like to discuss a business deal with you, Manager. What do you think?" The noble young man also smiled and said to Uncle Liu, "If we reach an agreement, I guarantee that there won't be any trouble like what just happened in the future."

The implication was that if they didn't reach an agreement, there would likely be a lot of similar harassment in the future. The noble young man was familiar with this kind of tactic, and Uncle Liu could also understand it.

"We're here to do business. Why would we refuse a deal?" Uncle Liu responded flawlessly, making a gesture of invitation. "Please come in, everyone. Since you're valued guests, please come to the back hall for tea. We can discuss business while we drink."

"What if the business we want to discuss is buying shares?" The Young Master and Guangyuan hadn't said a word. It was still the noble young man who spoke, smiling and acting as if there was nothing wrong with their desire to buy shares, as if it were only natural.

"Business is business, of course we can talk about it." Uncle Liu's smile didn't diminish in the slightest when he heard the words 'buy shares.' He still maintained his enthusiasm. "Whether we reach an agreement or not is another matter, but we can definitely talk about it. Please come in, valued guests!"

The noble young man didn't move an inch. The Young Master and Guangyuan also remained rooted to the spot, not moving at all.

"We can't reach an agreement?" The noble young man suddenly burst out laughing. After laughing, he looked Uncle Liu up and down with a playful expression and said, "My Young Master has never encountered a deal that he couldn't close."

"Everything is difficult at the beginning!" Uncle Liu's expression didn't change. He maintained the inviting gesture and smiled at the noble young man. "Once you have the first time, you'll slowly get used to it. Please come in, valued guests!"

"Good!" The noble young man's smile became even more sinister. He looked at Uncle Liu as if he were looking at a dead man. "Indeed, this first time is quite difficult. I'm curious to see how you can't reach an agreement."

"Old thing, don't be ungrateful!" Guangyuan, who was beside the Young Master, stepped forward with a murderous look. "I'll give you one chance. My Young Master will offer ten gold coins to buy ninety percent of your business. If you agree, you can slowly manage your business. If you don't, I'm afraid your signboard will be smashed today!"

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding people who heard them were in an uproar. Ten gold coins to forcibly buy ninety percent of such a large store? Wasn't this just blatant coercion? However, looking at the dozens of expert guards who had come with the three men, the crowd dared to be angry but didn't dare to speak out. They could only secretly feel sorry for the store that hadn't even put up its signboard yet.

"Easy, easy!" Uncle Liu's face didn't show any panic at all. He still maintained his enthusiastic smile and invited again, "Whether we agree or not, I'm just a manager and not the owner. I can't make the decision. This matter has to be discussed between the young masters and our owner. Please!"