Chapter 23: Young Master and the Typical Cliché
As these words fell, Shen was about to get up when he heard an annoyed voice behind Luke.
"Shut up, Luke. What my interests are is none of your business."
With a sweating forehead and distressed eyes, Any appeared behind Luke. Her gaze quickly scanned the pavilion from outside before finally landing on her target.
"Shen, you damnable, ungrateful brother! You beat me here to take the mission in case one appeared, didn’t you?!"
Worried about a potential mission appearing, Any quickly stepped inside the pavilion after saying so and looked at her brother with venomous eyes.
’Here we go with the typical cliché of the beautiful girl being chased by some young master with a superiority complex...’
Bitterly smiling, Darius had already started walking toward the entrance the moment he heard Luke’s voice.
"Shop owner, rent me the cultivation room for a week, and whatever Any gets will be on me."
As Luke saw what appeared to be a young man behind the receptionist’s desk heading toward him, he quickly figured that he was coming to welcome him and added another sentence proudly.
If these words were spoken inside an ordinary shop with various cultivation rooms, the owner would probably jump in joy. However, in Darius’s pavilion, he was not the slightest bit delighted after hearing them.
In fact, Darius felt a headache coming on as he realized trouble was already brewing. Ever since arriving in this world, one of the things he had been most wary of—aside from his own safety—was the typical cliché of arrogant young masters.
Darius briefly looked at Any and noticed the apologetic expression on her face. He then turned toward Luke, who wore colorful robes, and solemnly said,
"Sir, our pavilion only rents cultivation rooms to each customer for one hour per day. You can complete missions and kill demons to extend your usage time... Oh, and you may also rent the advanced cultivation room if you wish."
He paused for a moment before adding,
"As for reserving rooms for an entire week in advance, we do not conduct such business here. Everything works on a first-come, first-served basis."
Clarifying further, he pointed toward the rules board, where the second rule clearly stated that advance reservations were forbidden.
Luke was first shocked, then surprised. He had never expected to be rejected in such a way before.
He looked at Darius as though he were staring at an idiot who did not understand what was best for him. Pointing his paper fan toward him, he said with a grin,
"Do you not know who I am?"
He was one of the three famous playboys of Dragon City and the son of one of the four generals, Luke Shield. There was practically no one in Dragon City who did not know his name.
For the owner of a tiny store to reject him so directly was no different from seeking death.
Darius inwardly rolled his eyes and almost slapped his forehead on the spot, but he quickly controlled himself.
’Did he really just say the most cliché line in every young master novel ever written?’
Truthfully, even Darius felt a strange sense of excitement hearing those words. After failing in his father’s business back on Earth, he had immersed himself in games and novels, and one of the things he secretly enjoyed the most were face-slapping scenes involving arrogant young masters.
While he disliked repetitive writing, experiencing such a scene in real life for the first time somehow felt rather amusing.
’Is the novel reader inside me finally waking up and demanding entertainment?’
Chuckling inwardly, Darius quickly focused again and pushed those thoughts aside.
On the surface, however, he merely knitted his brows and carefully observed Luke.
The man had sunken eyes, pouty lips, and monkey-like cheeks. Although he was not ugly, he was far from handsome as well. Most importantly...
Darius truly did not recognize him.
"I don’t know who you are. However, these are the rules of the Immortal Pavilion. If you’re dissatisfied, then you may leave."
Darius’s tone remained calm from beginning to end.
"Oh my, how interesting! I enjoy breaking rules the most!" Luke laughed loudly.
"If you don’t rent me the cultivation room for an entire week starting from this very moment, I’ll smash this tiny store apart! How dare a place like this speak to me about rules?!"
Rules?
Since when did rules apply to the powerful and influential?
’This really is turning into a headache, just as I expected...’
Darius calmly looked at Luke again, but seeing no special reaction from the system panel, he immediately understood that Luke was merely arrogant and spoiled rather than truly evil.
Failing to find a proper reason to throw him out immediately, Darius could only wait for him to cross the line further.
’System, if he keeps forcing the issue, I’m allowed to act, right?’
Darius wanted confirmation because he felt this matter would not end with mere words.
[Host is correct. If he repeatedly disrupts the pavilion while refusing to follow the rules, you are allowed to expel him and blacklist him for one year.]
[However, if he attacks you or damages the pavilion, the host may deal with him freely.]
Darius found the answer extremely pleasing and patiently waited for more trouble before another voice suddenly interrupted.
Any could no longer stand by silently.
She had never expected to encounter Luke on her way here, much less have him follow her directly to the pavilion. If anything happened to the place, she would inevitably feel responsible.
"Luke, you’d better watch yourself! If you’re here to cultivate, then act properly. Do you really want me to personally throw you out?!"
A trace of coldness appeared in Any’s voice as she glared at him.
Although she personally lacked the strength to do so, with Shen standing here beside her, things would not be too difficult.
Shen himself had already been staring coldly at Luke from the moment he entered.
As for Darius, he remained expressionless after hearing Luke’s threats. From the very beginning, he had not cared much about them.
Rubbing his palms together, he casually glanced at Luke and calmly said,
"Smash my pavilion apart? I don’t think you’re capable of that."
"If you wish to cultivate, then hurry up and become a member before renting a room. The services and prices are displayed on the wall."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"If you continue wasting my time, I will permanently blacklist you from the Immortal Pavilion."
Any froze after hearing those words.
Even Luke himself was stunned.
Neither of them could understand where Darius’s confidence came from. Luke was the son of a general and infamous throughout Dragon City for destroying whatever displeased him.
Even the largest elixir shop in the outer city would not casually offend him.
So where exactly did Darius get the confidence to speak this way?
Luke angrily smiled.
For the owner of a tiny store to act so arrogantly in front of him, today truly taught him something new.
