Chapter 441: Then What Are We Afraid Of?
"Who in the world is he?"
A low voice rumbled over the phone.
"Boss, I didn’t get a clear answer. I just heard that Zhang Rui call him ’Master,’" the lobby manager replied immediately.
"’Master?’"
The man with the low voice sneered. "From what you said, the three women with him are quite attractive. He must be some rich playboy. And since even you don’t recognize him, he’s definitely not a Central State local."
"So you’re saying he’s a college student here in Central State," the lobby manager added.
"That’s the only possibility."
The man with the low voice hesitated for a moment. "As long as he isn’t a rich kid from the Provincial City, he won’t have much power behind him. At best, he’s just some young master from another county or district. You deal with it for now. I’m still on a mission here."
"Boss, from the looks of it, I can only hold them off for half an hour at most," the lobby manager said. He was currently standing in a corner of the second-floor stairwell.
From his position, he could see both the private room on the third floor where Jiang Xinghai was and the group of people in the first-floor lobby.
"I can get back in half an hour. That’ll have to do." The man with the low voice was about to hang up.
"Wait, Boss," the lobby manager added.
"What is it now?" the man with the low voice asked, clearly annoyed.
"I wanted to ask, Boss, if a fight breaks out between the two sides, who should we help?" the lobby manager asked.
"Help the local families, of course. After all, they’re locals. They’ll be giving us business in the future, won’t they?" The man with the low voice hung up.
The lobby manager’s mind was at ease.
He hurried downstairs and gestured with his hands.
"Patriarch Qu, Patriarch Qian, Mrs. Qi, please, everyone, calm down. Let me explain," the lobby manager said with a placating smile, trying to soothe the crowd’s tempers.
"Manager Wang, just tell us straight. Are those bastards coming down to apologize or not?" Mrs. Qi jabbed her cane fiercely at the floor.
Manager Wang shook his head. "They’re too ignorant. They actually told me to have you all go up there. I gave them a stern scolding, and they said they’ll be down right away. Of course, if you can’t wait, you’re welcome to go up yourselves."
"Grandma, we can’t go up there!"
A young man in glasses quickly tried to stop her. "Besides Zhang Rui, the other two women are both practitioners of the Martial Arts. They’re very strong—Grandmasters, at the very least."
"As long as they’re not a Grandmaster, what’s there to be afraid of?"
Patriarch Qu took a step forward. "So what if they are a Grandmaster? My cousin is a Great Venerable, one of Jizhou’s Great Venerables! I’ve already called him. When he heard his nephew got beaten up, he started heading over right away!"
Hearing this, the crowd’s breath hitched. One of Jizhou’s Great Venerables!
The strongest among their own group were only Grandmasters.
And with that level of power, even Zhang Rui alone could easily subdue them.
That was why the crowd had remained rooted to the spot, not daring to go upstairs to confront them. They could only hope to cause a public scene and force the other party to come down.
"Patriarch Qu, when will your cousin get here?"
"Half an hour at most," Patriarch Qu sneered.
"In that case, what the hell do we have to be afraid of?"
Although the crowd was clamoring, not a single person dared to step forward.
Manager Wang couldn’t help but sneer.
’Taken individually, these few families aren’t that powerful.’
’But their combined strength could rival a second-rate family.’
’And a second-rate family was enough to take on the Zhang Family.’
’However, aside from the one person from the Zhang Family upstairs, there were three others whose backgrounds were a complete mystery.’
Even he, Manager Wang, was hesitant to act.
"Why don’t we wait for Patriarch Qu’s cousin to arrive before we go up to confront them?"
"Sounds like a plan!"
"That’s the safest option. Let’s just wait."
The members of the six families stood milling about in the lobby.
Seeing this, Manager Wang had no choice but to wave his hand and say, "Since it has come to this, I have a suggestion."
"Speak freely, Manager Wang."
"As long as it benefits our families, don’t hesitate to say it."
Mrs. Qi and Patriarch Qu said one after the other.
"This is a restaurant, after all. With everyone crowded here, it’s impossible to do business, and I can’t answer to my boss. So, I hope you all can understand. Could you perhaps send the others away and have just the patriarchs remain?" Manager Wang said.
"Alright. We’ll leave just a few core members here. The rest of our clansmen can go home."
"That’s right. The children are injured; it’s best they go to a hospital. There’s no need for everyone to stay here."
After a brief discussion, only the six family patriarchs and a few members whose cultivation had reached the Grandmaster level or higher remained on the scene.
As time passed, the group finally heard footsteps coming from the staircase.
"They’re coming!"
"They’re here!"
"They’re finally coming down!"
Patriarch Qu and Mrs. Qi looked at each other and smiled, but a sense of apprehension grew in their hearts.
’After all, the combined strength of their families was only comparable to the Zhang Family.’
’So, if they had to fight the other party before Patriarch Qu’s cousin arrived, wouldn’t they be in for a world of hurt?’
"Looks like everyone’s here."
Just then, the first person appeared on the stairs. It was Zhang Rui.
Immediately after, Shen Lingyin appeared.
Behind her was Mu Jianni.
The last one to walk down was Jiang Xinghai.