Upon hearing her grandfather's words, Dou Qi's expression shifted.
"Grandpa! I told you, I don't want to marry right now," Dou Qi pouted, her cheeks puffed slightly in protest.
"Alright, alright, I won't nag you anymore," Doun chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender.
"Though, there is sothing else," Dou Qi added, her tone growing serious.
"What is it?" Doun asked, his brows furrowing.
"There's been a rather peculiar custor… He's been here for seven days straight and hasn't left the book house," Dou Qi reported.
"Seven days?" The old man's surprise was evident. "Don't tell he's freeloading, is he?" Doun narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"No, no," Dou Qi quickly shook her head. "He's already bought over fifty pots of tea," she explained.
"Fifty pots? At least he's a paying custor," Doun muttered, his tone softening.
It wasn't common to see soone linger in the book house for an entire week. They had regular patrons who visited daily, so even staying for over twelve hours at a ti, sipping tea and reading. However, soone staying for seven consecutive days was unusual.
After all, the book house wasn't known for its rare or valuable texts. Its appeal lay in the quality of its tea rather than its modest collection of books, which could be found in most other shops or libraries. For soone to dedicate so much ti here was highly unexpected.
"Is he searching for sothing specific?" Doun wondered aloud. "Maybe sothing he can't find elsewhere?"
"It's possible. The last ti I checked, he was engrossed in geography books and maps," Dou Qi replied.
"Hmm… Where is he now?" Doun asked, glancing at the empty first floor.
"He's upstairs," Dou Qi inford him.
"I'll go have a look myself," Doun decided, heading up the stairs.
When he reached the second floor, he scanned the room but didn't imdiately see Lin Mu. Peering through the shelves, he finally spotted him at the far end of the room, standing by the travelogue section.
Lin Mu had several books in hand and was in the process of returning them to the shelves. He seed to sense Doun's presence and turned around.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Doun asked, his tone polite. "Though I doubt we have anything rare or extraordinary here."
"Sorry?" Lin Mu asked, a bit puzzled.
"You're not here searching for rare texts?" Doun clarified.
"Oh, no," Lin Mu replied with a small smile. "I've just been reading whatever caught my interest. I'm new to this city—and this world—so I'm trying to learn as much as I can."
"I see. I hope my humble shop has been helpful to you," the old man said warmly.
"Oh, so you're Doun?" Lin Mu finally connected the dots.
"Haha, indeed," the old man replied with a nod. "I must thank you for being such a good custor. I think we've sold more tea to you alone than to all our custors combined in the past two weeks!" he joked with a hearty laugh.
"Your tea is truly exceptional," Lin Mu praised. "Would it be possible to purchase so to take with ?"
"Ah, I'm sorry, but we only sell brewed tea here," Doun explained apologetically. "We're a small operation, and all our tea cos from our family farm. We only grow enough to serve the tea brewed fresh in the shop."
"That's fine," Lin Mu said, unfazed.
From observing the shop, Lin Mu could tell that Doun's book house was a modest operation. Other than Dou Qi and Doun, there didn't seem to be anyone else running the place. Dou Qi handled the tea, manned the counter, and even served as a waitress—all by herself.
CRASH!
SHATTER!
The sound of sothing breaking echoed from downstairs, cutting through their conversation.
"AH! Leave be, you fiends!" Dou Qi's frantic voice rang out, filled with distress.
"What's happening?" Lin Mu asked, startled.
The old man's face darkened with fury.
"Damn those bastards! They're back again?" Doun shouted, rushing downstairs.
Lin Mu followed quickly, extending his Immortal sense to assess the situation below.
On the first floor, Dou Qi was being held by a man dressed in blue and yellow robes. His sleeves and shoulders bore intricate designs, and on his back, a symbol of a river winding around an axe was prominently displayed.
Six other n accompanied him. Three were clad in servant attire, while the remaining three wore robes bearing the symbol of a branch curving over a pond, clearly signifying a clan.
"Haha! You can't escape this ti, Dou Qi!" one of the n sneered. "We've brought Young Master Chiji Ou with us!"
He had a smug, self-satisfied grin as he spoke.
"So this is the woman you ntioned, Teng Yi?" Chiji Ou, the man in blue and yellow, said, his eyes raking over Dou Qi. "I must say, she's quite the delicate flower."
His sleazy smile grew wider as he ran his hand down Dou Qi's back.
"You should just submit and serve Young Master Chiji Ou," one of the other n jeered, egging him on.
"Never!" Dou Qi cried, her voice trembling as tears welled in her eyes.
"YOU BASTARDS! LEAVE MY GRANDDAUGHTER ALONE!" Doun roared as he charged forward, his fury palpable.
With a clenched fist, he swung at Chiji Ou, aiming to free Dou Qi.
"Hmph! Know your place!" Chiji Ou scoffed, casually flicking his hand.
A whip of water materialized and lashed out, striking Doun with enough force to send him flying across the room.
"Grandpa!" Dou Qi scread, her voice breaking as she watched her grandfather collapse to the ground.
Chiji Ou's grip was far too strong.
Feeling desperate she bit down on the man's hand, making him cry in pain.
"ARGH! You bitch!" Feeling furious at the transgression, Chiji Ou swung his hand, slapping the woman.
Thud
But instead of a crisp slapping sound, a dull thud was heard.
"ARRGH! Who?" Chiji Ou felt like his hand had hit a steel wall instead.
Dou Qi looked through the gaps in her arms that were in a defensive position and saw the long term custor standing there.
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