"Where is Cui Yang?"
"Call him out!"
The leader shouted fiercely.
Cui Yue's face turned cold, and she said angrily, "He's dead!"
Regarding their elder brother, Cui Yue and Cui Fu were both disappointed in his lack of progress.
He never listened to Cui Fu's teachings and spent his days eating, drinking, and gambling outside.
Logically speaking, with the antique collection in the house, the Cui family could have lived comfortably for three generations without worry.
However, Cui Yang was truly a hopeless case. Not only was he uninterested in the self-defense techniques Cui Fu taught him, but he also showed no interest in antiques or secret formations.
After repeated attempts to discipline him failed, Cui Fu stopped managing him and cut off his allowance.
But in this era, especially for young people who frequented the streets, running out of money meant finding it elsewhere.
Since Cui Fu wouldn't give him money, he borrowed from others.
The lenders knew Cui Yang had a father who owned an antique shop, so they weren't worried about him defaulting.
Over the years, Cui Yang had stolen many antiques from the Zhenbao Pavilion to pay off his debts. A month ago, he was caught by Cui Fu trying to sneak out antiques to settle a debt and was severely reprimanded.
Enraged, Cui Yang threw a tantrum and disappeared, not showing his face for a month.
Therefore, when the fierce debt collectors showed up, Cui Yue simply dismissed them with a declaration of his death.
"Dead?"
"Where's the body?"
The leader of the thugs glanced around the room and said with a smile, "My boss's money isn't that easy to escape!"
"Even if he's dead, the money must be repaid!"
"I think these antiques look pretty good. Let's take a few of them to settle the debt!"
As he spoke, the leader of the thugs winked at his subordinates, signaling them to move forward and take the antiques.
"You dare!"
Cui Yue lunged forward and blocked the thugs, assuming a fighting stance.
These antiques were accumulated by her father over twenty years and represented the future livelihood of her family.
Cui Yue absolutely refused to let the thugs take the antiques to settle the debt.
"Hmph!"
"You think you can stop us?"
"Sister, don't forget, it's just you, and there are so many of us. Can you stop us?"
"If we start fighting and break something, we won't be responsible!"
The leader of the thugs acted with impunity, not taking a young girl like Cui Yue seriously at all.
Cui Yue's beautiful eyes narrowed, "You can try. If you break one item, I'll take at least half your lives!"
As the daughter of a grandmaster and having learned various skills from Cui Fu, Cui Yue's strength, though not yet at the master level, was more than enough to deal with these small-time thugs.
"Alright, I'd like to see if you're really that capable!"
The leader of the thugs said, rolling up his sleeves and preparing to act.
Just then, Chu Fan, who had been observing, stepped forward and said coldly, "What kind of men are you, bullying a girl with so many of you?"
"If you're a man, then try me!"
His return to Zhenbao Pavilion was to ask for Cui Fu's help.
The current situation presented him with an opportunity.
He could clearly see that with Cui Yue's strength, it wouldn't be difficult to completely defeat these debt-collecting thugs.
However, there were too many of them, and it was highly unlikely that Cui Yue could prevent damage to the antiques on the shelves during the fight.
Cui Fu hadn't returned yet.
If he could clear out these thugs during this time, wouldn't Cui Fu owe him a favor?
When he asked for help later, would Cui Fu's attitude still be so firm?
Seeing someone unexpectedly intervene, the leader of the thugs narrowed his eyes and threatened, "Kid, I advise you not to meddle. Otherwise, don't blame us for getting angry!"
Chu Fan smiled indifferently, "Sorry, I'm going to meddle in this matter!"
With that, he pressed forward.
Cui Yue hesitated to speak.
It was their family's business, and it should be handled by them.
She felt it wasn't right for an unfamiliar guest like Chu Fan to get involved.
However, she also knew that the shop space was limited. While she could handle these thugs herself, she worried about accidental damage to her father's beloved antiques on the shelves.
Therefore, Cui Yue didn't immediately stop Chu Fan from intervening. Instead, she stood beside him, planning to drive the debt collectors outside first and then deal with them properly.
Under normal circumstances, a group of thugs like these would not be intimidated by the pressure from Chu Fan and Cui Yue.
However, this time, they were facing a demon god.
Just by standing there, the demon god's invisible aura felt like an insurmountable mountain, imposing an unseen pressure on the thugs' minds, causing them to instinctively feel timid.
Under the pressure from the two, the group of thugs retreated outside Zhenbao Pavilion.
"I'll handle it from here!"
"This is my family's business. I appreciate your good intentions!"
With no further worries, Cui Yue stepped forward and stood in front of Chu Fan, not wanting him to interfere further.
His original intention was merely to build goodwill.
Whether to act or not, Chu Fan wasn't particularly concerned, so he nodded and stepped back, leaning against the doorframe of Zhenbao Pavilion.
Because he knew that this matter was far from being as easily resolved as it seemed.
Offering help in times of need would better highlight its importance.
By waiting until Cui Yue needed help to make his move, Cui Fu would have no choice but to accept his request.
"Go!"
Seeing that Chu Fan wasn't going to act, the leader of the thugs waved his hand and immediately ordered his subordinates to deal with Cui Yue.
He truly didn't take a woman like Cui Yue seriously.
The one who made him feel tense was still Chu Fan.
Two thugs immediately lunged at Cui Yue. Cui Yue let out a cold snort, and with a sweeping leg kick, she sent one of the thugs flying. While the other thug was stunned, she landed a punch on his chest.
What?
Seeing that their two brothers were no match for Cui Yue, the remaining thugs were all shocked and, led by their leader, rushed towards Cui Yue.
The result was predictable.
With little effort, Cui Yue knocked all the thugs to the ground.
"The money Cui Yang borrowed, go find him yourselves!"
"If you cause trouble here again, next time it won't end like this!"
Cui Yue glared at the fallen thugs and berated them, exuding an imposing aura.
"Do you really think you're the only one with skills?"
"Sister, since you've said so, then today's matter truly has a conclusion!"
The leader of the thugs, who had been slapped twice, showed no fear of Cui Yue. After issuing a threat, he walked directly towards the car by the roadside.
Before he could reach the car, the door opened, and a middle-aged man got out.
Upon seeing the man, Cui Yue clenched her fists, her expression turning grim.
Her intuition told her that she was no match for this man.
Maintaining a calm facade, her panicked eyes looked into the distance, hoping to see if her father had returned.
Estimating that the man was at least a master, Cui Yue could only place her hopes on Cui Fu.
As for Chu Fan, who was standing behind her, she didn't give it much thought.
Firstly, Chu Fan was just a customer.
Secondly, he was around her age and didn't seem to be on the path of martial arts, let alone capable of facing a master.
Furthermore, even if Chu Fan had some fighting skills, Cui Yue didn't believe he would offend a master for such an unrelated matter.
Soon, the middle-aged man arrived in front of Cui Yue.