"What business do you have?" Li Chonglou forced himself to calm down and spoke first.
The question was rhetorical.
At past three in the morning, breaking into his shop, sitting and waiting for him, dressed like a street fortune-teller – what good business could it be?
"I am Shen Yishou of the Golden Point. You must be Li Chonglou, the new disciple of Lin Zhendong?" The fortune-teller's voice sounded to be around forty, weathered yet sharp.
It was profoundly unsettling, making him feel nauseous.
"Another one of those motley characters." Li Chonglou's pupils contracted slightly as he walked towards Shen Yishou.
Golden Point was one of the Eight Gates, a general term for street artists who specialized in physiognomy and fortune-telling.
The names varied in different regions: Ya Jin, Ken Zi Jin, Qiang Jin, Dai Zi Jin, Lao Zhou'er, and so on.
Most of those commonly seen in the market were charlatans with no real skill.
But to dare call oneself Golden Point meant one was no ordinary person.
"You have some courage."
Shen Yishou watched Li Chonglou approaching, a smile spreading across his face. "As expected of someone he favors. However, you are still too green."
"You're no match for me."
"Open the safe, give me the item, and I'll spare your life."
As expected, they were after the file bag his senior sister had instructed him to retrieve.
The words were exceedingly arrogant.
And Li Chonglou intensely disliked people who acted so arrogantly in front of him.
He said calmly, "Golden Point, since when did you switch to the Horizontal Gate?"
"To barge in without asking the owner's consent, and then demand the item, aren't you afraid of disgracing your ancestors!"
Theft, pickpocketing, and snatching – that was the business of the Horizontal Gate.
Since ancient times, the Golden Point relied on their mouths, speaking their way through the world. Now, he had entered a shop to act as a thief.
Threatening to take his life was a clear violation of the rules.
"Youngster, I'll give Lin Zhendong face. Don't be ungracious." Shen Yishou's smile faltered.
He hadn't expected Li Chonglou, so young, to be someone who understood the rules and dared to retort.
Having navigated the martial world for decades, he had never lost a verbal sparring match. But today, he couldn't argue back, as he was clearly in the wrong.
However, in the face of profit, rules were negotiable.
"What are you, to deserve giving my master face?" Li Chonglou pressed on, his eyes subtly darting towards a fire poker on the antique shelf in the shop.
It was what his senior sister used to tend to the olive charcoal when she drank tea.
He was too lazy to use charcoal and usually used an electric heater, so he had never used the poker.
But now, it was an excellent means of self-preservation.
This Golden Point named Shen Yishou knew his master and dared to stand before him so boldly; he must have some skill.
He couldn't be too careful.
"You impudent brat, even your senior sister Lin Ying wouldn't dare be so insolent to me!" Shen Yishou seemed angered by Li Chonglou's dismissiveness, his tone becoming overbearing. He took off his sunglasses and stared at Li Chonglou.
His left eye was completely white, appearing to be damaged.
The remaining right eye glinted with ferocity.
An ordinary person, seeing him like this in the middle of the night, would likely have been so terrified they'd wet themselves and flee.
Unfortunately, Li Chonglou was no ordinary person. Few in this world could match the resilience of his will.
Meeting Shen Yishou's gaze, he showed no fear.
"You keep calling me 'youngster.' If you have the guts, go find my senior sister or my master," Li Chonglou said with a cold smile, deliberately speaking crudely. "People like you, peddling feudal superstition, should all be arrested. Let you taste prison food, so you stop acting so high and mighty."
"You won't get the item today. If you have any real skill, show it."
"If you don't defeat me today, tomorrow all of Qin Zhou will know that a Golden Point has allied with the Horizontal Gate."
As he spoke, Li Chonglou lunged towards the antique shelf, grabbed the fire poker, and felt a surge of confidence.
It seemed a fierce battle was inevitable tonight.
Although he had practiced the sheepskin scroll technique and his strength had greatly increased, it had been too short a time. He could handle ordinary people.
Against such an experienced veteran of the martial world, the outcome was uncertain.
"You court death!" Shen Yishou finally couldn't suppress the rage burning within him.
His eyes filled with killing intent. He took three rapid strides, each covering two meters.
In an instant, he was in front of Li Chonglou, swinging the flat-headed pole he held.
With a whoosh, the banner rustled, and an eerie wind swept towards him.
Some decorative items on the antique shelf were swept to the floor with a clatter.
Seeing this, Li Chonglou quickly held the fire poker with both hands to block.
Clang!
The poker and the flag pole collided, emitting a metallic screech.
Li Chonglou felt as if he had been hit by a speeding car. His hand went numb instantly, and he lost his grip on the poker. It flew out of his hands, smashing against the wall.
It bent on impact.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
Li Chonglou's eyes flickered, but his expression remained unchanged. Internally, however, he was in turmoil.
How could this old charlatan possess such great strength? His strength had long surpassed that of ordinary people since he began practicing the sheepskin scroll technique these past few days.
Yet, he couldn't even withstand one of his blows and nearly got injured.
This disparity could not be compensated for by a mere weapon.
It looked like tonight would be dangerous.
"Senior Sister, oh Senior Sister, I'm not afraid of ten perverted old men when it comes to words, but I'm no match for him in a fight."
In his previous life, he had only interacted with people from high society, either wealthy merchants or scholars.
His experience in fighting was pathetically little, let alone his knowledge of it.
Only in this life had he begun to encounter such situations.
And in just a few days, he had encountered such a terrifying freak. Even with his iron will, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
At this moment, he truly missed Xu Lie. If Xu Lie were here, he wouldn't be so passive.
"Youngster, I want the item, not your life. Don't force me to kill you." Shen Yishou's expression turned ferocious. He retracted his banner, stepped forward, and kicked Li Chonglou directly in the abdomen.
This kick didn't use his full strength, but it still sent Li Chonglou flying two to three meters away. He landed on the ground, gasping in pain.
Gritting his teeth and meeting the gaze, he showed no weakness. "If you have the guts, kill me. The shop's cameras are uploading in real-time. If you kill me, wait for my master to come out and wipe out your entire clan!"
He was gambling. Shen Yishou's words clearly showed a great deal of apprehension towards his master.
If that were the case, he certainly wouldn't kill him easily.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be spouting so much nonsense.
Hearing this, Shen Yishou narrowed his single eye into a slit. He crouched down in front of Li Chonglou, grabbed his chin, and sneered, "No matter how ruthless Lin Zhendong is, he wouldn't dare claim to wipe out the entire Golden Point lineage."
"Are you trying to bluff me?"
"Tell me the password, otherwise, even if I don't kill you, you'll lose a layer of skin."
Although his words were tough, anyone could detect his feigned bravado.
"Aren't you a fortune-teller? Calculate it yourself." Li Chonglou endured the pain, trying to get up from the ground.
But the next moment, Shen Yishou's foot was already on his shoulder.
It felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him, rendering him unable to move even an inch.
His shoulder bone emitted an intense pain, as if it were about to shatter. The agony caused Li Chonglou to break out in a cold sweat.
"What should I do?"
Countless thoughts collided in Li Chonglou's mind. The current situation was completely beyond his control.
In the face of an experienced martial artist like Shen Yishou, all his strategies had become useless.