"Get them!" Hagord didn't waste any more words and ordered his men to trash the shop.
Two strong men swung their fists, but before they could even touch a single hair of their opponent, Gordan sent them flying out of the shop with a single palm strike. The two wooden doors shattered into pieces on the spot.
Several customers outside, who couldn't dodge in time, were knocked down and pinned under the fallen men, crying out in pain.
Most of the onlookers were sturdy porters. They jumped up and surrounded the two men but hesitated to fight because of Hagord's notorious status. With no other choice, they cursed silently and backed away.
"You're asking for it!" Hagord snapped his fan shut and charged at Gordan.
"What's going on?" Sasha came out from the back room carrying a bundle of firewood and rushed out as soon as she heard the commotion.
Hagord's eyes widened. Mid-air, he twisted his body and landed smoothly back on the ground.
A girl?
The voice was soft and sweet, instantly calming half of his anger.
"You're this pretty boy's wife?" he asked, stunned.
A sheer veil covered her face, her figure tall and graceful like a lotus rising from water. She looked elegant and ethereal. Even among the men, her height didn't make her seem small.
Since when did Wu'an Street have such a stunning beauty?
His gaze locked onto her clear, watery eyes. He stood frozen, completely forgetting what he was supposed to do.
"Why did you come out? Go back inside," Gordan quickly stepped in front of her to shield her.
Sasha saw the shattered door and the two strong men behind the young man in red. Fear instantly rose in her chest. She anxiously pulled Gordan aside and whispered, "Did they come to cause trouble?"
She'd always heard that small businesses might run into local bullies, but she never thought it would happen to her. She had no experience with this and didn't know what to do. Suddenly, she noticed Yuno still standing foolishly at the front, less than half a meter from the three men. She quickly stepped forward and pulled him behind her.
"Sasha," Yuno was stunned at first, but then deeply moved from the bottom of his heart.
Sasha actually risked her safety with her fragile body to protect him.
Her strong sense of brokenness and the panic in her eyes stirred Yuno's protective instincts. He no longer pretended to be weak. He moved his ten knuckles and got ready to fight.
If these guys wanted to step on the head of the General's house, they must have a death wish!
But — suddenly he felt like they didn't want to fight anymore.
The man in the red robe turned his back and quietly adjusted his clothes. When he turned again, his face had completely changed.
"Miss, it's a misunderstanding. It's meal time now, and I came with my two servants just to eat. I heard Mingyue Restaurant's…" Hagord paused and looked up at the big wooden sign hanging above, then said, "The braised pork here is famous, so I came to try it. What do you all think?" He spread his arms and slowly turned, staring coldly at the crowd outside as a clear warning.
Whoever dares to offend me, Hagord, today will have their face trampled to death.
"Yes yes, Master Hagord came to eat," voices outside echoed in agreement.
"Then why are you still outside? Come in and eat," Hagord smiled with his folding fan, but his smile did not reach his eyes. He asked everyone to go back to their places.
Sasha noticed that the cold look in Gordan's eyes had not faded. She quickly took a big bowl, put a pound of braised pork in it, and scooped a big spoonful of soup to hand to the man in red. She didn't mention money and treated it as if she was paying for peace.
"How much is it, miss?" Hagord looked at the braised pork in his hand and lowered his head to smell it. The strong aroma of meat mixed with herbs made his lips move as he handed over one or two silver coins.
"No need for that much. Our new shop is having a 20% discount for the first three days. This pound of braised meat is only eighty coins. Young master, would you like to order anything else?" Sasha said, then gave Gordan a look. But his eyes stayed fixed on the man in the red robe, not paying attention to anything else.
Gordan was very unhappy now. The man's intentions were obvious, and Gordan knew it.
"Sasha, leave this to me," he said, taking back the ladle from her hand. His voice showed no clear emotion as he asked, "Young master, would you like anything else?"
Hagord did not glance at Gordan at all. He smiled as he looked at the masked beauty. "So your family name is Lin. I am Hagord, the manager of this street." Then he suddenly changed what he said.
What was a manager?
Sasha's knowledge of classical words was limited. She had no idea what this word meant and looked at Gordan and Yuno.
"Lin sister, this whole street belongs to him," Yuno whispered quickly into her ear.
A big official!
"Hagord, do you want to buy anything else?" Sasha started calculating the change she needed to give. Nine hundred and twenty coins in small change was not a small amount. She had not counted carefully yesterday; the coins were not strung together. She had to count each one.
The beauty spoke, so she had to be polite.
Hagord looked at the seven big pots on the stove, quickly read the wooden signs, then ordered three of the most expensive meals and added three pounds of braised meat.
This made counting the change much easier.
Gordan reluctantly packed the food and pushed it to him.
Yuno and Sasha hurried to count the coins and put them in a small jar to give him.
Hagord had not seen so much change in a long time. He weighed it in his hand and found it heavy.
"Keep the copper coins here. Next time you come, just deduct from this," he said to the two bodyguards and took all the food away. Before leaving, he also cleared the two broken doors.
Sasha watched everything carefully and thought Hagord handled things well.
The crowd saw the small boss of Misty Peace Street walk far away and started lining up again.
Sasha chatted with them casually and learned more about Hagord.
He was the son of the county governor of Misty Water Town. No wonder he acted so proudly and carried his own aura wherever he went.
"Miss, Hagord is not easy to deal with. Today he stopped only because of you," an old man kindly warned.
"Me?" Sasha asked confused. She was just a common citizen. How could she have any influence?
"Anyway, you are the lucky star of Bright Moon Restaurant. With you around, don't worry about him causing trouble," the old man smiled and stopped talking.
Gordan listened to their conversation the whole time and lost the will to work.
He thought he could not stay here any longer. He needed to find a new place to do business or take Sasha home. But how could he bring her home? What if he scared her away?
Gordan felt he should take things slowly with Sasha and not rush. But things seemed to be getting harder to control.