"So that's how it is."
Duan Rui'an lowered his head slightly, speaking toward Chen Yan's direction with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Then, Senior, your intention today is..."
"Xing Zimo."
Chen Yan called out.
"Present."
Xing Zimo, who had been standing in the corner of the private room like a re underling, hurriedly responded.
"Take a seat."
Chen Yan slightly tilted his head, glancing at the chair beside him.
Xing Zimo behind him was montarily stunned, but since the young Immortal Master in gray daoist robes before him was backing him up today, he absolutely could not disgrace the Immortal Master's face no matter what.
So, steeling his heart, Xing Zimo walked over and sat down beside Chen Yan.
From beginning to end, Duan Rui'an hadn't even glanced in Xing Zimo's direction.
"What kind of business is the establishnt in the northern part of the city?"
Chen Yan asked.
"Reporting to the Immortal Master, in the northern part of the city, there are two teahouses, one restaurant, one gambling house, and one martial arts training hall, all of which are the Duan Third Young Master's family's properties. However, starting twenty years ago, they were entrusted to my Xing family to manage and operate on their behalf. The initial profit split was fifty-fifty, but eight years ago it was changed to a seventy-thirty split."
Xing Zimo explained it this way.
Twenty years ago, this should have happened shortly after Xing Ziang was accepted into the Biqiu Sect. At that ti, to win over the Xing family, the Duan family entrusted the northern city's businesses to the Xing family to manage.
The change to a seventy-thirty split eight years ago was likely after the old master of the Xing family passed away.
Now, it seems the Duan family wants to completely kick the Xing family out of the picture.
After all, the teetering Xing family no longer holds any value.
But over these twenty years, the northern city's businesses were entirely managed by the Xing family. The amount of effort and heart's blood the Xing family poured into them is unimaginable.
Those businesses are the Duan family's properties, so wanting to kick the Xing family out is entirely possible.
However, both in terms of sentint and reason, they should give the Xing family so compensation, or at least give advance notice and so buffer ti.
This thod of giving no compensation whatsoever and even withholding last month's profit share is simply too undignified.
"Duan Third Young Master."
Chen Yan called out the na of Duan Rui'an before him.
"Senior, what guidance do you have?"
Duan Rui'an replied with a smile, not bothering to conceal the chill in his eyes in the slightest.
"The Xing family has managed these northern city establishnts for so many years. In my view, even if there's no rit, there's still hard work. I think from now on, the Xing family should continue managing the northern city establishnts, still with a seventy-thirty split. How does that sound?"
Chen Yan said.
"These trivial matters, my Duan family will naturally send soone to discuss with the Xing family later. There's no need for Senior to trouble himself."
Duan Rui'an said with a laugh.
He felt he was already giving enough face to this guy who popped up from who-knows-where, not directly saying "none of your damn business."
"Could it be that Duan Third Young Master's words don't carry enough weight to make decisions here?"
Chen Yan continued calmly.
"Who manages the businesses in the northern city and how the profits are split should be my Duan family's private affair, shouldn't it? Senior, aren't you slightly overstepping?"
Duan Rui'an said.
"The Xing family takes seventy percent, the Duan family takes thirty percent."
Chen Yan continued speaking calmly.
"I don't have ti to fool around with you here, Senior..."
The words had just left his mouth halfway when Duan Rui'an suddenly felt he couldn't breathe, as if gripped by an invisible giant hand.
He tried to struggle. As a peak Body Forging Realm cultivator, Duan Rui'an had abundant qi and blood, capable of easily punching through refined iron plates with one fist.
But no matter how much strength he exerted, he was only gripped tighter and tighter by that invisible hand, even to the point where his bones made creaking sounds from being squeezed and deford.
"Xing family seventy percent, Duan family thirty percent. How about it?"
The cultivator in gray daoist robes just sat there motionless, as if nothing had happened.
Pressure.
Not just the other party's thods, but also the oppressive aura emanating from their casual deanor—all proved that the other party's cultivation was unfathomable.
Definitely not the Qi Circulation Realm.
Could it be... a Martial Spring Realm cultivator?
Duan Rui'an's limited perspective only allowed him to speculate this far. As for higher realms, coming from a small immortal cultivation family in Yunyang City, he simply didn't dare to imagine them.
"All... all according to Senior's arrangent..."
Duan Rui'an, his face flushed purple, forced these words out from his throat with great difficulty.
The imnse pressure applied to Duan Rui'an suddenly vanished. Fresh air rushed into his lungs, making him feel incredibly comfortable, even giving rise to a certain heart-palpitating feeling of having narrowly escaped disaster.
"What needs to be done, you understand."
Chen Yan's fingers lightly tapped the tabletop twice.
On his second tap, several wisps of spiritual energy burst forth from his fingertips and scattered.
Witnessing this action, Duan Rui'an's eyes widened, his whole body trembling, not even daring to breathe.
"Xing Zimo, you discuss with Duan Third Young Master. I'll take my leave first."
Chen Yan stood up, looking completely calm and unruffled as he walked toward the direction outside the private room.
"Yes, Immortal Master..."
Xing Zimo stood up, sowhat trembling as he watched Chen Yan's departing back.
He felt very uneasy.
Although Duan Rui'an was only a Body Forging Realm cultivator, Xing Zimo recognized what had just burst forth from the great senior's fingertips.
Spiritual energy.
Perhaps if it were innate true energy, the short-sighted Duan Rui'an might not have recognized it.
But spiritual energy, he definitely would recognize it.
After all, spiritual energy shares the sa origin as heaven and earth, and absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is the foundation of an immortal cultivator's practice.
"Sp-spiritual energy... above the seventh realm..."
Duan Rui'an's voice trembled.
Even though the story Chen Yan had just told him in the private room about events over a decade ago had many flaws, from the mont he displayed his cultivation realm, whether what he said was true or false had already beco completely unimportant.
No matter what the other person said, Duan Rui'an and the Duan family behind him had to obey one hundred percent.
"Old Xing, sit, sit quickly."
Duan Rui'an smiled as he looked at Xing Zimo, who stood there sowhat awkwardly after Chen Yan's departure.
"Third Young Master."
Xing Zimo standing to the side was clearly very uneasy.
"Sit, sit quickly."
Duan Rui'an said.
"Yes."
Seeing this, Xing Zimo sat down opposite Duan Rui'an.
"I've heard the great senior's instructions just now. I think it's very good, very reasonable. Your Xing family has managed my Duan family's businesses in the northern city for twenty years, with imnse contributions. You absolutely deserve seventy percent of the profits."
Duan Rui'an said:
"It's just that I can't make this decision entirely on my own. No matter, I'll go back and tell my father today. Tomorrow... no, tonight, I'll send soone to deliver last month's seventy percent profit share in full to the Xing family."
"Third Young Master, actually thirty percent is fine..."
"No, no, seventy percent it is, seventy percent! Old Xing, you mustn't be polite with !"
Duan Rui'an hurriedly said. Even now, he hadn't fully recovered. His hands kept trembling uncontrollably, and his back was soaked with sweat.
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