Ruan Fengshan entered the back courtyard of the Yuan Shun Escort Agency through the side door at the alley entrance, then followed a small path of flower stones towards his residence.

He furrowed his brows at the sound of birdsong, bypassed a patch of bamboo, and suddenly saw Xiao Yu pacing anxiously at the entrance to his courtyard...

Ruan Fengshan’s eyes moved slightly as he walked slowly towards Xiao Yu...

In the back courtyard account room, Xu Shouxian stood at the entrance to the hall, also looking anxious...

Xu Shouxian was deep in thought when he saw Wang De’an and Luan Bao stride in together.

Upon seeing Xu Shouxian, Wang De’an immediately said, "Mr. Luan, the Chief Leader, is not here, so I brought Deputy Commander Luan along."

After achieving a Minor Success in the Third Level of Inner Breath, Luan Bao was promoted from guard captain to Deputy Commander of the Yuan Shun Escort Agency. His benefits were higher than Escort Masters of the same realm and he didn’t have to go on escort missions, sparing him the hardship of journeying through wind and rain, making his situation quite comfortable.

Xu Shouxian looked at Luan Bao, and said, "Deputy Commander Luan, someone is blocking the door to the Document Library and not allowing us to enter or exit! This is disrupting the normal operation of my account room."

Xu Shouxian directly addressed him by title, hoping he would exert his authority.

"Who’s so bold? Where is the Document Library?" Luan Bao asked.

Seeing Xu Shouxian, who usually looked down on others, showing such respect towards him now gave Luan Bao a bit of pride.

Xu Shouxian pointed to the corridor on the west side, and Luan Bao strode in.

Entering the corridor, Luan Bao immediately saw Duan Rong, sitting there with his legs crossed and holding a lantern.

At the sight of Duan Rong, Luan Bao’s eyes flickered slightly. Despite having old grievances with him, Luan Bao knew that Duan Rong was specifically appointed by the Shopkeeper to check the accounts in the back courtyard account room.

Luan Bao felt something was amiss and didn’t confront Duan Rong directly, but instead turned to Xu Shouxian behind him and asked, "Wasn’t he appointed by the Shopkeeper to check the accounts?"

Xu Shouxian thought for a moment and said, "The account checking period is five days, and it ended yesterday."

Luan Bao blinked and calculated the days in his mind. The account checking period indeed had ended.

Xu Shouxian continued, "Even during the account checking period, one cannot block account room people from entering or exiting the Document Library due to it!"

"The Document Library is a critical place for storing ledgers; all sorts of materials are compiled within. We often need the materials from the Document Library for daily accounting work."

"Duan Rong, after all, is merely an Escort Master, and yet he’s here, locking the library and blocking the door!"

"Who gave him such authority?" Xu Shouxian spoke quite indignantly, spitting in Luan Bao’s face.

Luan Bao wiped the spit from his face, feeling Xu Shouxian’s words were quite reasonable.

Luan Bao looked at Duan Rong, sitting at the document library’s door, and shouted, "Duan Rong, did you hear what Chief Accountant Xu said? Aren’t you going to move aside?"

When Duan Rong saw Luan Bao appear, his heart began to pound. He wondered if Xiao Yu had encountered some issue, why hadn’t he brought the Shopkeeper over yet?

As Luan Bao questioned Duan Rong, Duan Rong was lost in his thoughts, and seemingly didn’t hear Luan Bao’s words.

Seeing Duan Rong ignore his words, Luan Bao immediately became enraged, stepped forward, and shouted, "Duan Rong, I’m talking to you!"

Duan Rong then lifted his head and looked at Luan Bao with an irritated expression.

Luan Bao, being Luan Jingfu’s son, was considered to have a good family background and himself had decent martial arts talent. Those who often associated with him regarded him quite highly.

Because of this, Duan Rong’s look, as if he were viewing an idiot, stung Luan Bao, leaving him somewhat hurt.

Duan Rong said, "What does the account room matter have to do with you?"

Luan Bao replied, "I am the Deputy Commander of the guards, today’s my duty day. You, a martial artist, are here bullying in front of these non-martial accounting people, interfering with the account room’s normal operations. This is precisely my responsibility to manage!"

Luan Bao believed he spoke well, feeling a bit proud, and glanced at Xu Shouxian beside him. Seeing Xu Shouxian looking at him with an appreciative gaze, he felt quite gratified.

Duan Rong sighed; he really wasn’t in the mood to argue with Luan Bao. At this moment, he too was getting anxious—if the Shopkeeper didn’t come soon, this great drama might end up ruined by him.

Even though Duan Rong wasn’t speaking, he clearly had no intention of moving aside.

Luan Bao furrowed his brows; he didn’t want to clash physically with Duan Rong.

He knew Duan Rong had also achieved a Minor Success in the Third Level of Inner Breath, and at the previous assembly in Juyi Hall, despite his realm then far surpassing Duan Rong’s, in terms of moves, Duan Rong didn’t give him any advantage due to his adaptive methods.

To this day, should they fight again, he wasn’t confident he’d definitely win.

Luan Bao’s gaze skipped over Duan Rong, looking at the document library’s door behind him, noticing a lock hanging on the door.

Luan Bao’s eyes flickered, he raised his hand to point at the lock and asked Xu Shouxian, "Where are the keys to the door lock?"

Xu Shouxian quickly pulled a large bunch of keys from his waist, picked out the key to the document library, and handed it to Luan Bao.

Luan Bao took the key and cast a probing glance at Duan Rong, then slowly walked to the side of the document library door, stepping diagonally, reaching for the door lock.

If Duan Rong didn’t stop him, Luan Bao thought, he’d be able to open the document library door, allowing the account room people to enter from the side, rendering Duan Rong’s blockade meaningless.

But just as Luan Bao was about to reach for the door lock with the keys, Duan Rong suddenly stood up from his chair, took a step forward, and blocked Luan Bao.

Instantly, the two faced each other eye-to-eye.

Luan Bao, having believed Duan Rong had realized his rashness after his prior speech, thought that if Duan Rong didn’t stop him now, the matter would be settled.

He believed he used his brain to resolve this issue, leaving Duan Rong a way out, considering Duan Rong was appointed by the Shopkeeper for checking accounts, and even if there was discord with the account room, it shouldn’t interfere with its normal operations—a thoughtful step to peace.

Luan Jingfu had often taught him in recent years to resolve conflicts within the agency not through force but by using his mind.

Thinking he’d done well today, when Duan Rong unexpectedly stood up and blocked him, he was surprised.

However, Duan Rong had a cold expression, reached out and snatched the key from Luan Bao’s hand.

Luan Bao was immediately furious, having already tried to avoid confrontation with Duan Rong, yet Duan Rong showed no appreciation, but rather took the key away.

Under the humiliation and anger, Luan Bao’s Inner Breath surged, and he slammed a fist at Duan Rong’s chest.

Luan Bao didn’t clearly see how Duan Rong moved, only watching him slightly sidestep to avoid his fist, then he was sent flying!

In midair, Luan Bao was shocked because he found his Inner Breath mostly disbanded!

Though the Inner Breath punched into his body by Duan Rong was powerful, after disbanding his own Inner Breath, it too scattered, leaving only the aftermath of their Inner Breaths clashing, vibrating his organs!

Unbalanced in midair, with his organs shaken, Luan Bao vomited the breakfast he’d eaten!

Immediately, while flying out, the foul vomit dispersed with his body!

Luan Bao’s body flew to the corridor entrance, when suddenly a large hand pressed against his back, steadying his landing. Luan Bao turned his head in surprise, seeing Ruan Fengshan’s gloomy face standing behind him.