The coachman finally realized something was wrong, but at this moment, his body was completely immobilized.

The only part of him that could move was his eyes, which were darting around.

A fear of death had just appeared in his mind when suddenly, his body could move again.

At this time, Yun Ran’s voice timely broke the silence, providing him with an explanation.

"If you want to drink tea, feel free; I have plenty here. But isn’t it a bit much to lay your hands on my people?"

Yun Ran’s voice was very calm, with no trace of anger audible.

But it made the middle-aged man’s hand pause slightly; he looked directly at Yun Ran.

At the same time, he noticed that the aura of intimidation he had used on the people around had been cut off.

"No need to be upset, young friend. I just didn’t want us to be interrupted while chatting."

The middle-aged man explained rare as it was, because he sensed that Yun Ran’s strength was not weak.

Otherwise, not only would he not apologize verbally, but Yun Ran herself would be dreaming if she thought she could leave safely.

Yun Ran glanced at the coachman, "Go boil another pot of water."

The owner of the tea stall, at the moment when the middle-aged man appeared, was directly knocked unconscious and lay limp on the ground.

The coachman nodded and immediately went to boil water, also picking up the tea stall owner and taking him along to the stove.

"Your tea is really quite good, young friend, and your people are sensible, but I wonder, what brings you here?"

Yun Ran lifted the teacup, took a sip, without sparing even a glance at the middle-aged man.

The atmosphere turned awkward immediately.

After a good while, the middle-aged man continued, "I was indeed impolite, not introducing myself earlier. I’m the Fifth Elder of the Mei Family, Mei Zhang."

Yun Ran put down the teacup, turned her head to look at him; the golden mask gave an unapproachable feeling.

"Mei Family? Never heard of it."

Mei Zhang’s gaze turned somewhat dangerous upon hearing Yun Ran’s words; their Mei Family was not just any ordinary family.

This woman in front of him, who clearly seemed to have an unusual identity, claimed she hadn’t heard of the Mei Family.

Either her identity was truly extraordinary, or she was not aligned with the Mei Family.

Mei Zhang clenched his hand, and one of the cups from the tea set Yun Ran had bought at high price at an auction just shattered.

Yun Ran: ...

For crying out loud, this tea set is the first time I’m using it, and the damage rate is way too high!

"Has anyone told you that you might run into misfortune soon, and it’s best not to go out?"

Mei Zhang intended to provoke the woman in front of him to see what her cards were.

When he crushed the teacup, his body’s defense mechanism had already surged to the highest level, just waiting for Yun Ran to make a move.

But he never expected Yun Ran to utter something completely irrelevant.

Just in that moment of distraction, Mei Zhang suddenly felt a pain on his forehead.

A stream of hot liquid, mixed with the fragrance of tea and the metallic smell of blood, wafted around his nose.

Yun Ran’s hand still maintained the cup-throwing posture, the golden mask obscuring her expression.

But, Mei Zhang could still see the schadenfreude in Yun Ran’s eyes.

His ears caught Yun Ran’s voice, tinged with obvious regret, "See, I told you, the dark aura on your forehead predicted misfortune, and now it has come true."

In just a few minutes, two cups from the fine tea set had been broken; it seemed a bit of an inauspicious start.

"Oh, what a shame, such an expensive tea set, and I just started using it."

Mei Zhang was in shock, bewilderment, embarrassment, rage— a jumble of emotions.

"You..."

Yun Ran’s voice continued, going over what Mei Zhang was about to say: "Your Mei Family compensating me with a tea set of equal value shouldn’t be an issue, right?"

This time, the tone had noticeable fluctuations, directly altering the meaning in Mei Zhang’s ears.

If the Mei Family couldn’t even afford to compensate with a similar tea set, then it’s no wonder she hadn’t heard of them.

A suppressed rage built up in Mei Zhang’s chest.

At that moment, he clearly realized he was no match for the woman in front of him.

If he wanted to learn anything further from Yun Ran, he would need something tangible, as combat power was useless.

After a long silence, Mei Zhang finally said, "Apologies for the disturbance."

Saying this, Mei Zhang stood up, intending to leave despite his head injury.

The Mei Family could produce a tea set of equivalent quality, but he felt that this woman wasn’t someone who could be placated with just a tea set.

He feared bringing a wolf into his house; after all, a young woman of considerable strength traveling with just a coachman didn’t seem harmless.

He needed to promptly return and consult with the other family elders, as the presence of such a person near the Mei Family was concerning.

Mei Zhang had always succeeded in suppressing others; this was his first time yielding to someone.

"Did I say you could leave?"

Mei Zhang thought he had backed down enough, not minding his head injury, expecting the woman to let it go.

"What do you mean?"

Yun Ran was amused, "Is this how the Mei Family usually treats others?"

Mei Zhang’s face changed abruptly.

Of course not; usually, if a power or family offended the Mei Family, not being severely punished meant the Mei Family was in a good mood.

Yun Ran’s gaze fixated on Mei Zhang’s changing expressions: "I said it, your dark forehead predicts misfortune. Don’t think a minor head injury counts as that."

The Mei Family was always overbearing, controlling others’ fates, but now held by someone else, they realized how uncomfortable it was.

"What do you want!"

Just then, the coachman returned with the freshly boiled water.

"Young Master, the boiling water is ready."

Yun Ran nodded, gesturing for the coachman to set down the water before looking at Mei Zhang again.

"Elder Mei had some of my tea; shouldn’t it now be returned?"

Yun Ran considered herself generous, not indulging in torment, only asking for an equivalent price in return.

But Mei Zhang was incensed, as the Mei Family’s Fifth Elder, being reduced by this woman to a servant!?!