If I go, won't that be like a sheep walking into a tiger's den? Not only would I lose the Imperial Green jade I'm holding, but also the four million yuan. If things go wrong, I might even lose my own life.

At this thought, Liu Ergou grew nervous and swallowed hard. He looked at the burly man in the black suit and asked, "May I ask who is inviting me for tea?"

The burly man immediately answered, "Who else could it be? Of course, it's our boss, the owner of Ting Tian Pavilion, Boss Mi!"

After confirming the invitation was from the owner of Ting Tian Pavilion, Liu Ergou became even more resolute in his decision: he would absolutely not go.

With this thought, Liu Ergou grabbed Zhang Man's clothes and started walking in the opposite direction. "I'm just a nobody, not worthy of his time," he said as he walked. "Let's have tea some other time when we get the chance!"

While speaking, Liu Ergou had already pulled Zhang Man a short distance away, nearly reaching her car. However, the burly man in the black suit saw that things were not going as planned and immediately gave chase. In the blink of an eye, they had surrounded Liu Ergou and Zhang Man once more.

Looking at Liu Ergou, the man said, "My friend, whether you go or not is no longer up to you. Our boss has invited you, and you must go. Understand?"

As he spoke, he gestured to the men beside him with his eyes. The men simultaneously took a step forward, tightening their circle around Liu Ergou and Zhang Man.

Seeing their formation, Liu Ergou's expression darkened. "I get it. Judging by your stance, if I don't go, you're planning to get physical, right?"

However, the burly man simply shook his head. "You're a guest invited by our boss. We won't lay a hand on you. But if you refuse to go, we'll have to *ask* you to come with us. And how we ask might not be so pleasant."

As he finished the last sentence, his words dripped with menace. Before Liu Ergou could think further, Zhang Man cautiously tugged at his sleeve again.

"Er Gou, listen to me, just agree to go with them!" she whispered. "The worst that can happen is we return the jade and the money. It's not worth your life. You have to understand..."

Liu Ergou cut her off before she could finish.

What a joke! I earned that money and jade fair and square. Why should I return them? It's not like I used any underhanded tactics.

Thinking this, Liu Ergou couldn't help but sneer. He gripped Zhang Man's arm, preparing to break through their encirclement.

Seeing this, the burly man's expression darkened as well. "You really don't listen, do you? Well, don't blame me for what happens next. The most I can promise is that you two won't get hurt!"

No sooner had he spoken than he reached out, lunging for Liu Ergou's shoulder. The other men made the same move.

Watching their hands approach, Liu Ergou's brow furrowed. Just as their fingers were about to touch him, he dodged with a swift movement, narrowly avoiding their grasp. He even used the momentum to push Zhang Man out of the circle.

The men in black suits froze, their eyes turning serious.

To react like this at such a moment, he's either incredibly quick-witted and calm, or he's a trained martial artist.

However, this was no time for analysis. The priority was to capture the man and take him to their boss. The men exchanged a look, their intentions clear. Then, they stopped trying to grab him and rushed straight at Liu Ergou, their posture suggesting they meant to take him down by force.

Seeing that the situation had escalated, Liu Ergou dropped all pretense of courtesy. He clenched his fist and threw a punch at the man charging in the lead. The man instinctively raised his arms to block, but he never expected Liu Ergou's immense strength. His own power was simply no match for the blow.

With a single punch, Liu Ergou sent the man flying through the air before he crashed to the ground.

The other men stared in shock. In their eyes, although Liu Ergou was well-built, he was nowhere near as imposing as they were. The fact that he could send one of their own flying was utterly inconceivable. Witnessing Liu Ergou's strength, they all grew serious, their casual demeanor vanishing.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Liu Ergou gave them no time to recover. After a few swift dodges to evade their attacks, he closed the distance and unleashed a flurry of punches.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

After a series of muffled thuds, all the men were on their knees, clutching their stomachs. They were in too much pain to even lift their heads.

After finishing them off, Liu Ergou shook out his fists and laid down a harsh warning. "Trying to double-cross me? Sorry, but you're all way too green for that! Do me a favor and give your Boss Mi a message. Tell him if he can't afford to run Ting Tian Pavilion properly, he should just shut it down. He needs to stop playing these shady games!"

Kneeling on the ground, the lead henchman forced himself to speak through the pain. "No, you've misunderstood! You've really misunderstood! Our Boss Mi honestly just wanted to invite you for a cup of tea. He never had any intention of double-crossing you! A mere few million is nothing to Ting Tian Pavilion!"

Liu Ergou didn't believe a word of it. He rolled his eyes and said dismissively, "Inviting someone for tea requires a whole squad of thugs? You really know how to force a man, don't you? Good thing I don't have that kind of hobby."

Without another moment of hesitation, Liu Ergou turned and led Zhang Man away.

「Meanwhile, in an office on the top floor of Ting Tian Pavilion.」

A stunningly beautiful woman with a languid demeanor watched the surveillance footage with great interest. When she saw Liu Ergou leaving, she raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Oh, he's quite impressive. But the more impressive he is, the more interesting this gets!

A breathtaking smile spread across the woman's face.

At that moment, Liu Ergou had already gotten back into the sports car with Zhang Man. The others helped Ding Zhengyang into another vehicle.

Sitting in the car, Zhang Man heaved a long sigh. "Er Gou, you were too impulsive today," she said. "You shouldn't have done that!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.