Chapter 557: Conflict
Jian Chen and the others walked downstairs. The inn was serving plenty of local delicacies, so they decided to sit down at a table to eat. Although there were no heavenly resources for the tiger cub to eat, the smell of the food was extremely delectable. Seated right next to Jian Chen, the tiger devoured a platter of roasted meat — much to the curiosity of everyone else around them.
“Xiao Bai, come eat this! It’s delicious!” The delicate and jade-like hand of You Yue lifted a piece of roasted meat toward the cub as if to coax it. Her limpid eyes stared unwaveringly at the cub with an expression of love that was all too noticeable.
The cub didn’t even bother to look up as it continued to eat the platter of food in front him with gusto. The rate at which the food was devoured was almost as if the tiger cub had been starved for several days.
With the cub completely ignoring her, the princess let out a depressed sigh. She propped her chin on her left hand as she stared at the hungry tiger with worry.
“Jian Chen, just what in the world did you do to capture Xiao Bai’s heart? Why is it so attached to you while it ignores me completely? What do I have to do in order to get Xiao Bai to accept me?” You Yue pleaded with Jian Chen.
Shaking his head with a small smile, Jian Chen replied, “I really don’t know either. However, if you like Xiao Bai so much, then I can only assume that after some time, Xiao Bai will slowly come to accept you.”
By now, the cub had completely finished the platter. With eyes that were as equally as pitiful as You Yue’s eyes, the cub stared at Jian Chen as if it wanted more.
Laughing, Jian Chen scratched at the cub’s head gently. “Waiter, another platter of five spice roast meat. Make it a big platter!”
“Got it!” Came the enthusiastic response of the waiter who quickly reappeared with another platter of meat for the cub. With the aroma of the scent being so deliciously tempting, the tiger cub could resist no longer and began to eat the meat.
“Waiter, prepare your biggest private room! The second master of the Heiming clan will be dining with the third lady from the Yun family!” Suddenly, a resonating cry could be heard from outside the inn as a single middle-aged man came striding in with a voice that demanded respect.
“Ye-yes! I will prepare a room right away!” The Heiming clan and the Yun family were both very well known names in Fengyang City, so the waiter immediately dropped his other tasks and went off to prepare a room.
After the waiter retreated, the soldier turned around. He gave a smile to the people outside the door. “Second lord, third lady, if you would please!” A twenty something year old male with a haughty face could be seen walking in. He was dressed in white robes to to give off a handsome look. His eyes swept across the inn with an expression that hinted everyone else was beneath him.
Right by his side was a pink-skirt wearing young woman. Refined and quiet, her age was slightly younger than him — around eighteen — but she was exceedingly beautiful. With skin as white as cotton, her jet-black eyes would sometimes flash with light of intelligence.
“Yun Lian, let us head upstairs!” The handsome man beckoned to the young woman with a gentle voice. His eyes hid nothing but admiration for the woman.
Giving a gentle word of agreement, the woman prepared to follow the man upstairs. Within her bright and intelligent eyes, a nearly imperceivable glint of boredom and helplessness could be seen.
As the group walked by Jian Chen’s table, the sight of the tiger cub eating the roasted meat on the table had suddenly caught the young woman’s eye. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “What an adorable little animal!”
The surprised cry of the woman caused the man she was with to suddenly turn around. Looking at the tiger cub in question, he smiled, “This little thing is indeed quite cute. Yun Lian, it’ll be your birthday in three days, why don’t I gift you this pet as your birthday present? Would you like that?” The man was exceedingly arrogant; without even consulting the owner for negotiations, the man had already assumed that the pet was his own personal property.
In his eyes, everyone that was eating within the common area of the inn were men with no status. Only those who ordered their own personal rooms were of status. So taking a little pet from these people would be an easy task. He could simply drop a few purple coins for them to enjoy and everyone would be happy.
The words of this youth made Jian Chen’s group narrow their eyes.
“Xiao Bai belongs to us. We did not even consent. Why do you think we would give him to you?” Tie Ta sharply responded. The way this youth talked made Tie Ta feel quite unforgiving toward him.
Tie Ta’s words caused the young man’s face to darken as the glint in his eyes grew nefarious. A smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes could be seen on his face. “I can see that this little pet of yours is worth some money. It seems to happen that I am a young man with plenty of wealth. Are you afraid that I won’t pay you? Speak your price and we can be on our way.”
As he spoke, the young man’s eyes quickly swept over the people at the table with eyes full of disdain. Although the clothes they wore weren’t that bad, they just weren’t even of any defensive value, which meant they wear no one of importance.
However, the young man’s eyes flew wide open when they landed upon You Yue. Dazed at the penultimate beauty that was You Yue, he did not speak for a long while.
Beautiful! Truly too beautiful! She was a beauty that would leave any male breathless where he stood. He could swear that since his birth, he had never seen a single woman as beautiful as she was. Even the princess of the Blue Wind Kingdom didn’t possess a beauty as great as hers.
The sudden loss of composure from the man had caught the attention of the young woman next to him. She discovered You Yue’s existence at that point as well. When she saw the fairy-like beauty of You Yue’s face, she too was stunned. However, there was some envy aside from her shock.
She took pride in being the absolute beauty of Fengyang City. Even in the entire Blue Wind Kingdom, there were very few women that could outrank her in beauty. With the arrival of princess You Yue, no matter how much faith she had in herself, she would definitely have to step down.
The light in her eyes flashed brilliantly and clearly as if they could see through the darkness within a person. Carefully studying the group, she began to observe their calm nature before growing pensive.
Quickly realizing where he was, the man didn’t even notice the look on the woman with him. He continued to stare at You Yue. Feigning to be a man of honor, he cupped his hands in salute, “This one is the second master of the Heiming Clan in Fengyang City. If I might ask for the name of this beautiful lady. Oh, it is truly a disgrace for such a beautiful woman to be sitting in such an area to eat. This one has already ordered a private room upstairs with plenty of delicious and exotic food. If this beautiful lady might feel so inclined to do me the honor, please come upstairs with us to wine and dine,”
Before Jian Chen could even speak, Ming Dong responded. Slamming his hand on the table with anger, he growled, “You’re being gutsy kid. You’re asking for trouble by trying to flirt with the fiancée of my brother here.”
Hearing herself referred to as Jian Chen’s fiancée, You Yue couldn’t help but blush and feel bashful. When her eyes moved to Jian Chen and saw that he was as calm as ever, her heart couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
Ming Dong’s words had caused the entire inn to grow silent. Even a crow or peacock would refuse to make a sound in this tense environment. Pausing mid-speech in their conversations, every diner in the inn stared at the table where Ming Dong was. Many of them sighed to themselves when they realized the situation. Within Fengyang City, no one could handle the consequences of fighting the Heiming clan.
The young man’s face hardened with fury. As the second master of the Heiming clan, his status was majestically high. Standing within this inn and being scolded by such an insignificant person was an unbearable shame to him.
“Men! Come and take away this sharp-tongued fool. Then carve out his tongue!” The man barked out for his soldiers to hear.
“Yes, second master!” Several doughty guards spoke in quick succession before moving to grab Ming Dong.
“Come and die then!” Ming Dong’s eyes coldly flashed. His right hand shot forth with a burst of Saint Force. It flew forward and struck the nearby soldiers, causing them to fly away with blood coming from their mouths.
Ming Dong’s actions stunned the entire inn into silence. Their opinion of Ming Dong drastically changed after this display, and no one dared to belittle him now.
The young man was wide-eyed at this display of strength as well. He didn’t think that the strong guards he brought with him would be so easily thrown back. A strength like that was quite unbelievable.
The man had not been cowed just yet. Barking at Ming Dong, he yelled, “You dare strike at my Heiming clan! Aren’t you the one asking for trouble?”
Sneering, Ming Dong replied, “You’re the one seeking trouble. Go ahead and get lost!” Ming Dong pulled at the robes of the man and threw him mercilessly through the window and into the streets. Ming Dong’s strength had been so massive that the man tumbled across the ground with enough force to shatter the marble beneath him.
With a miserable scream, the young man’s face grew deathly pale, but he did not crawl up from his position. After being tossed by Ming Dong, his entire body had been broken in several places.
The people in the streets quickly began to talk in a large hubbub as they pointed at the young man. When they realized just who the youth was, their mouths instantly snapped shut. They spoke no more. Despite this, some of them looked gleefully at the miserable state of the man.
Under the stares of the crowd, the young man’s anger reached a boiling point. Glaring angrily at Ming Dong, he growled beneath his breath, “Just you wait. I’ll definitely remember this!” The affairs that happened today would become an unwashable shame that he would never be rid of. This was the biggest humiliation that he had ever experienced within Fengyang City.