The appearance of Li Yu, Monk Jingshi, and Lu Fan, along with their clean and neat attire, was completely out of place in this gloomy and dilapidated scene.
Seeing the three people approaching from a distance, the old woman lowered her head and shrank back into the garage almost the instant their gaze swept over her, closing the door behind her and not daring to meet their eyes.
For someone like her, looking directly at these important figures is an act of presumption, and even a single glance is a dangerous act that could bring disaster.
Some people are not people like them who can look up to them.
Choosing to silently back down isn't out of fear of trouble, but out of fear of death; it's the only rule they can use to survive in this quagmire.
However, the old woman did not expect that the three people were not just passing by, but had stopped at the entrance of her corner garage.
Li Yu and his two companions went straight to the garage door, which smelled damp and musty.
Just as Li Yu was about to step forward to ask, a man with an arrogant expression suddenly rushed out from the side and beat her to it.
"Bang--!!!"
The man violently kicked open the already dilapidated garage door:
"You old geezer! Are you pretending to be dead in there?!"
The man yelled at the old woman inside in a hoarse, raspy voice, his words reeking of alcohol and malice, his spittle almost landing on the face of the huddled old woman.
"Tomorrow! We agreed to pay rent tomorrow, then tomorrow, and then tomorrow again, how many tomorrows has it been?!"
The man, spitting as he spoke, strode into the garage, his finger almost poking the old woman's nose.
"Where's your son? Is he dead out there? Or did he pack up and run away, abandoning you, this old coffin?!"
Li Yu frowned and looked at him coldly. She saw that the man was wearing a shiny leather jacket, had a face full of fat, and had a ferocious man-eating beast tattooed on his thick arm, which added to his fierce appearance.
The man completely ignored the three "uninvited guests" at the door, his eyes only fixed on the weak person in front of him whom he could bully at will.
"Let me tell you, the rent here is due every month, not a single day late. Even if your son runs away, he still has to pay me the full rent!"
He roughly fiddled with a large bunch of jingling keys at his waist, making a jarring noise.
Then, he pulled out a wad of Zhongzhou coins from his bulging wallet, slapping them defiantly in his hand while glaring fiercely at the old woman huddled in the corner of the garage, trembling with fear.
"See that?! Look at this! Look at this! I've collected rent from hundreds of households, and I'm stuck with this one!"
His eyes were fierce, as if he wanted to devour someone.
"You old bastard, you've got some nerve! You're the first person to dare delay my rent payment! You really think I wouldn't dare lay a hand on you?"
"I..." The old woman began to speak tremblingly, but was interrupted by the man's rough, angry voice:
"Stop! Don't tell me you don't have money!" The man suddenly raised his voice and pointed to the door:
"If you don't have money, get the hell out of here right now! The line of people wanting to rent this doghouse stretches from the east end to the west end!"
"Believe it or not, if I shout out loud, countless people will rush to move in!"
The man stomped his foot on the ground: "There are plenty of people who want to live here, who do you think you are?!"
Faced with the man's barrage of insults and threats, the old woman could only bury her head even lower, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind, and her coughing becoming even more violent.
Her hoarse voice was incredibly humble, pleading with terror, "Landlord, please have mercy... please have mercy..."
“My son might be working overtime these days. He often works overtime... He will definitely come back, and he will make up for the rent when he does.”
"Make up for it? What will you use to make up for it?" The landlord scoffed, his greasy face full of mean contempt.
But then, as if remembering something, the image of Luo Fei from his memory surfaced in his mind:
"Oh! I remember now, your son is an Awakened One, the one who runs errands and delivers goods?"
"With your son's pathetic delivery skills, he couldn't even pay my rent by selling his blood!"
Although he spoke disparagingly, he thought that Luo Fei was at least an Awakened One, even if it was a low-level one, so he could still afford the rent.
The landlord's expression softened slightly, but his threat remained undiminished:
"However, you better pray that your good-for-nothing son can make a little extra money by working overtime, or don't blame me for being ruthless and calling the law enforcement to arrest you!"
"Hehe..." He grinned maliciously, extending his short, stubby fingers and gesturing with the air to indicate the shackles:
"When the enforcement team asks you to leave, it won't be as simple as just getting out. I'll make sure you regret it!"
Li Yu, who was standing at the door, finally couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to push the man away.
"Ouch! You..."
Li Yu's icy gaze, like a shard of ice in winter, abruptly cut off the landlord's roar. She then turned to the somewhat frightened old woman and asked:
"Excuse me, are you Luo Fei's mother?"
Upon hearing her son's name, the old woman abruptly looked up, a glimmer of light instantly appearing in her cloudy eyes as she stared excitedly at Li Yu.
"Yes! Yes! I am Luo Fei's mother, and my son's name is Luo Fei. You...have seen him? Where is my son? How is he? I haven't heard from him for several days."
The old woman asked a series of urgent questions, her tone full of worry for Luo Fei.
The landlord, who had been pushed aside, glared angrily at Li Yu, but suddenly an idea struck him.
Before Li Yu could answer, he immediately grabbed a large bunch of keys and blocked the way, a fake smile plastered on his greasy face, his thieving eyes scanning Li Yu and the other two up and down, especially their clothes.
"Oh ho? There's a monk too."
"Since you all know that kid Luo Fei, it seems you're all his 'good brothers'?"
He deliberately emphasized the words "good brother," his face completely devoid of any fear as he mocked:
"Perfect! Now that I've caught you, I'll save myself the trouble of running away!"
The landlord deliberately extended his hand, adopting an attitude of entitlement and having the debt collectors completely under his control.
“You good brothers of Luo Fei, please pay the rent for him first, a total of two thousand eight hundred including principal and interest!”
"Hurry up and pay for him! Have some shame, don't fucking drag it out any longer! Right?"
"Cough...cough, didn't we agree on two thousand before?" The old woman said, her face flushed with excitement, as she tried to step forward to explain.
"Shut up! You old hag! Who gave you the right to speak?!" The landlord turned around abruptly, his fierce gaze silencing the old woman's next words.
Lu Fan walked in, glanced around, frowned as he looked at the dark and damp warehouse, and asked in a questioning tone, "You want rent for a place like this?"
"Bullshit!"
The landlord, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristled and pointed at Lu Fan's nose, launching into a tirade of abuse:
"Land is free?! I'm asking you, is land in Tiancheng free?!"
He became extremely agitated and kept shouting:
"This land, passed down through five generations of my family, is going to be given to you to live on for free?! Who do you think you are?"
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