Immediately following, two figures descended the stairs: an elderly man and a younger woman. The elder resembled a servant, trailing respectfully behind the younger one. The woman in front exuded an air of high nobility, dressed in a blue qipao with white floral patterns, her figure tall and exquisitely proportioned. Her face, upon closer inspection, was no less stunning than that of a popular celebrity.
As she approached, the surrounding staff members hurried over and lined up in a row, bowing in unison and respectfully saying, "Good afternoon, Young Mistress! Good afternoon, Elder Ge!"
Elder Ge glanced around, instructed those without tasks to attend to the guests, then looked at Du Tianyu before turning back to the young woman and whispering something to her.
The young woman smiled and asked Du Tianyu, "Sir, my name is Yang Lu'er, and I am the manager of the Pavilion of Myriad Treasures!"
"Oh! If you hadn't come out, I would have thought this young lady owned the Pavilion of Myriad Treasures," Du Tianyu said, gesturing towards Sister Liu.
"Young Mistress, please let me explain! He's just here to cause trouble! Look at him, does he look like he has money? I was just..."
"Silence!" Yang Lu'er said angrily, "My Pavilion of Myriad Treasures is open for business. Anyone who enters is a guest! What are you to dare insult a guest?"
"Young Mistress, I..."
"Elder Ge, a mere team leader has become like this. My Pavilion of Myriad Treasures has lost all face. It's time for some rectification!"
"Yes, Young Mistress!"
"You are fired! Someone, throw her out!"
Sister Liu's face changed drastically upon hearing this. She immediately knelt on the ground, crying and begging, "Young Mistress, I know I was wrong, please, please don't fire me, I..."
The two security guards didn't care about any of this. They immediately stepped forward, one on each side, and dragged Sister Liu out of the Pavilion of Myriad Treasures.
Yang Lu'er turned and walked up to Du Tianyu, smiling and bowing respectfully. "Sir, to express our apologies, please come to the VIP room on the second floor. I will personally attend to you, our distinguished guest! This way, please!"
Du Tianyu pointed at the young receptionist from before and said, "The service should be like this young lady's attitude. Otherwise, you won't even know when the shop goes bankrupt."
Yang Lu'er suppressed her anger and said, "We will take the esteemed guest's opinion very seriously. Elder Ge, temporarily promote her to team leader, with double her salary!"
Du Tianyu didn't say much more, just smiled slightly at the stunned girl and followed Yang Lu'er upstairs.
The VIP room on the second floor was decorated quite luxuriously. Elder Ge waved his hand, instructing someone to serve tea. Yang Lu'er bowed again and said, "Sir, we will bring the desired collectibles according to your needs for you to choose from!"
"May I ask what the esteemed guest is looking for?"
Elder Ge stood beside Yang Lu'er, his eyes slightly narrowed as he stared intently at Du Tianyu.
Du Tianyu inwardly praised Yang Lu'er. Despite her young age, she was very shrewd. If he didn't give a clear reason, it would be easy to come up but difficult to leave.
"Oh! Miss Yang, may I ask what kind of business your esteemed pavilion engages in?"
"Of course, we deal in valuable antiques and treasures, renowned collections!"
"Since it's a business, I wonder if your esteemed pavilion recognizes this item?" With that, Du Tianyu took out a jade pendant and placed it on the table.
Yang Lu'er picked up the jade pendant, glanced at it briefly, and lost interest. Her expression also darkened.
Elder Ge beside her didn't seem to recognize anything either and whispered a few words to Yang Lu'er.
"This is just an ordinary jade pendant, although it is quite old," Yang Lu'er said, still forcefully suppressing her anger.
"Hahaha!" Du Tianyu laughed loudly.
"May I ask what is so amusing?"
"I laugh at the Pavilion of Myriad Treasures being nothing more than this, a mere reputation! Farewell!" With that, he picked up the jade pendant and stood up to leave.
"How audacious! First you cause trouble in my Pavilion of Myriad Treasures, then you insult it with your words! Where do you think you're going!" Elder Ge's attack was as swift as lightning, a palm striking towards Du Tianyu's chest.
Du Tianyu had long seen that this person was no ordinary individual, his skill far surpassing Qi Jiuzhou's. However, he didn't take him seriously at all. With a Shadowless Step, he was already behind Yang Lu'er.
The speed was too fast. Elder Ge's palm missed, and he quickly turned around, his face filled with shock!
Du Tianyu simply stood smiling behind Yang Lu'er.
The surroundings were so quiet that the sound of nervous heartbeats could be heard. For a full minute or more, none of the three moved.
It was Yang Lu'er who finally couldn't help but speak, "This gentleman, I didn't expect you to be a martial artist as well. Let's not let a small matter ruin our harmony. Why don't we sit down and talk?"
"Talk? Haven't we already talked? You don't recognize valuable goods and still want to forcibly keep people here. This is not the way to treat guests!"
"You'd better not have any designs on our young mistress, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what? I really didn't take the Pavilion of Myriad Treasures seriously. But, after looking around inside for so long, aren't you coming out yet?"
"Hahaha! I was unaware of the esteemed guest's arrival. This old one has indeed been impolite." A hidden door appeared on the smooth, flat wall, and an old man with a smiling face walked out.
"This old one is Yang Wanfu. Please forgive my daughter's offense just now!"
Du Tianyu leisurely walked back to the sofa, sat down again, and took a light sip from his teacup. Yang Lu'er stood up and stood to one side.
Yang Wanfu signaled Elder Ge to step aside, then sat down opposite Du Tianyu, cleared his throat lightly, and said, "Young friend, may I ask if this old one could take a look at that jade pendant?"
Du Tianyu took it out and placed it on the table again, without saying a word, just looking at Yang Wanfu.
Yang Wanfu cautiously picked up the jade pendant and examined it repeatedly for a long time. His brow gradually furrowed. After quite a while, he placed the jade pendant back in its original position.
"Young friend, this old one also cannot discern its significance. It is indeed an ancient jade. My Pavilion of Myriad Treasures has been somewhat arrogant. I hope young friend can enlighten us!"
"Sigh! Who would have thought that a treasure would go unrecognized!" Du Tianyu looked at the three of them, seeing only blank and helpless expressions.
"Very well, I won't make things difficult for you! This is indeed an ancient jade, and the quality is also quite ordinary."
Du Tianyu's peripheral vision observed the three of them. Yang Lu'er had a look of disdain, as this was her conclusion as well.
"However, this is a magical artifact!"
"A magical artifact? What do you mean by that?"
"Miss Yang, would you be willing to cooperate?" Du Tianyu looked at Yang Lu'er with a smile.
"How do I cooperate?"
"Just place the jade pendant on your body and stand there." Saying this, he pointed to an empty space to the side.
Without saying another word, Yang Lu'er picked up the jade pendant, tucked it into the collar of her qipao, and stood where Du Tianyu pointed.
Du Tianyu's speed was astonishingly fast. Before the others could react, he picked up the boiling hot kettle from the table and threw it towards Yang Lu'er.
Yang Wanfu and Elder Ge were shocked. It was already too late to intervene and save her. They could only stare with wide eyes. Yang Lu'er was even more stunned, momentarily forgetting to dodge.
A miraculous thing happened. The spilled hot water and the kettle seemed to encounter some kind of barrier, sliding to both sides without a single drop landing on Yang Lu'er!
"What's going on?" Yang Wanfu quickly stepped forward to check.
Elder Ge also hurried forward to ask Yang Lu'er if she was alright.
"Do you have a gun?"
"What do you want to do?" Elder Ge asked.
"If you have a gun, you can try firing a shot!"
"It can withstand bullets?" Yang Wanfu was greatly shocked.
"It should be able to withstand three consecutive shots before the jade breaks."
"This... Forget three shots, one is enough." Yang Wanfu seemed to have discovered a new world. He quickly walked up to Du Tianyu, his excitement undisguised.
"Sir, you are truly a divine being! I wonder if you would be willing to part with this treasure."
"Haha!" Du Tianyu laughed. "I came to the Pavilion of Myriad Treasures precisely to sell it."
"Good! Sir, name your price. No matter how much, Yang Wanfu will buy it."
"Oh! I think Boss Yang has misunderstood. Consider Miss Yang's piece as my introductory gift to the Pavilion of Myriad Treasures."
"This... Such a heavy gift, my Pavilion of Myriad Treasures dares not..."
"It's a gift, no need for formalities." Saying this, he took out three pieces from his pocket and placed them on the table. "These three are the magical artifacts I want to sell."
Yang Lu'er had already taken out the jade pendant from her collar, looking at it with disbelief and repeatedly examining it. Elder Ge had just recovered from his shock. Seeing three more jade artifacts, the two quickly walked closer, their gazes towards the jade on the table now different.
"Are these three also protective magical artifacts?"
"Exactly the same, they can withstand three consecutive bullets." He then looked at Elder Ge. "I believe Elder Ge is at least at the Greater Mastery of Inner Strength realm. It should be able to withstand your five minutes of continuous frontal attacks."
The jaws of the three people simultaneously dropped in shock.