Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World Chapter 1098 573: Testing the Waters Repeatedly

"Don't try to scare me with your Jianghu swagger. This isn't the kind of spot where you can cause chaos!"

The clerk put on a show of boldness, but Gu Sheng just let out a chilly laugh.

"How dare a simple clothing store clerk behave so arrogantly? I bet your establishment doesn't care about keeping its doors open!"

With those words out, Gu Sheng snapped his wrist, his eyes sharpening as a thread of Divine Power shot from his palm, wrapping around the clerk's throat just like a serpent!

As Gu Sheng tugged his hand back a little, the clerk's eyes bulged wide in an instant.

Within mere moments, his complexion drained to a ghostly white tinged with blue, his eyes protruding while he thrashed about wildly, but he couldn't seize the unseen cord choking his airway!

Watching his plight, Lan Yao experienced a surge of deep satisfaction.

"That's what you get! Folks like you are precisely why Gu Sheng needs to step in! Shopkeeper! Hey, shopkeeper, come out now!"

Lan Yao yelled at the top of her voice, and soon others chimed in too.

Gu Sheng eased his hold just a touch, offering the clerk some slight breathing room without fully releasing him.

The noise must have been too much, for a blue-robed woman emerged quickly from the shop's rear.

Catching sight of her employee in such a pitiful condition, her face shifted with unease.

"What's going on here, sirs? Picking on my workers inside my own store—that's going too far, don't you think?"

At her statement, Gu Sheng responded with a frosty grin.

"Your employee disdains customers, hurling insults at us from the start—is this the way your business welcomes guests?"

As she finished, Lan Yao bobbed her head emphatically.

"That's right, we only asked to check out that outfit, and he turned nasty, kept mocking us and claiming we're beneath notice. We're sparing his life as a courtesy to you!"

"So, are you still set on defending your worker?"

Gu Sheng arched his brows and posed the question, prompting the woman to shoot a icy look at her underling.

"Is their account accurate? Is this how you handle the customers in my store?"

Faced with her inquiry, beads of sweat rolled down the clerk's brow, yet with his fate gripped in Gu Sheng's control, he couldn't force out even one syllable despite his racing thoughts.

Observing his state, the shopkeeper turned to Gu Sheng.

"Could the honored guest release him first, so he can explain what happened?"

Gu Sheng whipped his wrist, drawing back the Divine Power and flinging the clerk to the floor, where he doubled over, gripping his neck and hacking fiercely.

Taking in the scene, the shopkeeper advanced and delivered a kick.

"Quit faking it—start talking!"

The impact from the kick had the clerk latching onto her leg right away.

"Shopkeeper, I did nothing wrong! These folks barged in and zeroed in on our priciest robe, insisting on touching it. Given their ragged looks, they're clearly just run-of-the-mill Jianghu wanderers—how could I allow them near something so costly?"

His explanation drew a scornful chuckle from Gu Sheng.

"And so? You insist we fork over payment before even glancing at the wares? Is this your shop's way of serving patrons?"

Once he said that, Gu Sheng fixed his stare on the shopkeeper's features.

"Is this the manner in which you train your employees?"

Under such scrutiny, the shopkeeper's cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment, and she lashed out with a kick to the clerk's gut in irritation.

She held nothing back, catching him off guard; the blow made him spew blood on the spot.

Still, she wasn't done with him, lunging ahead to seize his hair and rain down multiple strikes across his cheeks.

"Since when does my business let you make the rules? You're base-born scum who've picked up bullying habits here—who authorized that? How dare you tarnish my reputation like this; you're fired right now!"

A handful of blows left the clerk's face ballooned and bloody, repulsing anyone who glanced at it.

Even then, he kept pleading, desperate not to depart.

The shopkeeper grew irritated, summoning her helpers to drag him away.

With the area calming at last, before she could utter another word, an employee hurried to the shopkeeper and murmured in her ear.

Upon the report, her demeanor flickered, and she replied in hushed tones.

Right then, Luochuan murmured softly, "The earlier visitor carries traces of Saint Ya's aura, and it seems... King Luo's as well. Though the scent is awfully weak; I can't pinpoint it precisely."

His words prompted exchanged looks among Gu Sheng and the rest.

No one had anticipated uncovering clues about Saint Ya so soon after reaching Ping City.

Shortly, the assistant departed, and the shopkeeper approached with a beaming expression once again.

"I sincerely apologize; it was my employee's foolishness that upset you. Tell you what—anything you pick today, it's on me. Does that work?"

"That's unnecessary; we came to shop and can handle our own payments."

Lan Yao's response drew a sheepish grin from the shopkeeper.

"Please, let me make amends somehow."

To this, Gu Sheng lifted a brow.

"If you're keen on apologizing, why not pass along some details to us?"

"Details? What sort of details are you after, sirs? We're merely a modest outfit; we may not possess what you need."

Noting the sly glint in her gaze, Gu Sheng grinned.

"A manager running a place like this must have real savvy. The knowledge we're after shouldn't stump you."

"What exactly do you wish to learn?"

"I'm curious about the intentions of those who ought not to be present."