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He stood well over two meters tall, blocking the doorway like half an iron tower.
His entire body was knotted with muscles, stretching his originally loose gray robes to their absolute limits.
This man had extremely rugged features, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a face full of flesh. What was even more eye-catching was his unmasked arrogance.
He walked with an overbearing, swaggering posture, his nostrils practically pointing up at the sky.
Such a crude and wild-spirited person was completely out of place in Moon Pavilion, a place dedicated to teaching aristocratic etiquette and filled with an elegant artistic atmosphere.
Luo Nan frowned slightly, instinctively stepping aside to let this bull-like fellow pass first.
However, when the burly man reached Luo Nan's side, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He lowered his head slightly, sizing Luo Nan up and down with a condescending gaze.
Seeing Luo Nan's handsome face and the faint aura of composure radiating from him, a flash of disdain crossed the burly man's eyes.
"Hmph! Pretty boy."
The burly man muttered in an extremely low voice.
Although the voice was soft, to Luo Nan's sharp hearing—comparable to a Titled Douluo—it was heard crystal clear.
Afterwards, the burly man swaggered down the steps and melted into the crowd on the street.
Luo Nan stood in place, raising an eyebrow as he watched the burly man's retreating figure, his heart filled with bewilderment and absurdity.
"Who the hell is this brat? So arrogant?"
Luo Nan quickly searched his mind and confirmed that he had absolutely never seen such a person.
He knew all the guards of Moon Pavilion, and those people were strictly trained. It was absolutely impossible for them to have a breeding-less bandit-like fellow like this.
Luo Nan did not flare up immediately; after all, this was the front entrance of Moon Pavilion, and there were many eyes around.
He suppressed the doubts in his heart and walked briskly into Moon Pavilion.
Along the way, the attendants and students of Moon Pavilion respectfully bowed when they saw Luo Nan.
Luo Nan merely nodded slightly in response and headed straight for Tang Yuehua's private office on the top floor.
Pushing open the thick, soundproof wooden door of the office, Luo Nan's initially smiling face instantly darkened the moment he saw the scene inside.
Inside the spacious and bright office, there was none of the usual relaxing tranquility.
Tang Yuehua was sitting behind that large mahogany desk, her hands painfully massaging her temples.
Her peerless face, which always carried an elegant and composed smile, was now covered with deep sorrow and undisguised exhaustion.
Her eye sockets were slightly red, as if she had just experienced an extremely intense emotional fluctuation.
Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, Tang Yuehua abruptly raised her head, a trace of vigilance flashing in her eyes.
But when she saw clearly that the newcomer was Luo Nan, that hard disguise instantly collapsed.
"Luo Nan..."
Tang Yuehua's voice was somewhat hoarse, carrying a trace of unnoticeable grievance.
She stood up, wanting to greet him, but her body swayed slightly, clearly exhausted to the extreme.
Seeing this, Luo Nan rushed forward in a single stride, supporting her with heartache and naturally pulling her into his embrace.
"What's wrong? Yuehua, what happened? Why is your complexion so poor?"
Luo Nan gently stroked her soft, smooth long hair and asked softly.
Tang Yuehua leaned against Luo Nan's solid chest, feeling the familiar aura and astonishing heat radiating from him. Her nerves, which had been taut for the past few days, finally relaxed a fraction.
She took a deep breath, but couldn't help letting out a sigh.
"I'm fine, just... a bit upset." Tang Yuehua closed her eyes, her voice tinged with deep helplessness.
A flash of inspiration crossed Luo Nan's mind, and he remembered the arrogant burly man he had met at the entrance just now.
"Right, Yuehua, just now at the entrance, I happened to run into an extremely robust man with an arrogant face, walking out of Moon Pavilion like a barbarian."
"When he saw me, he inexplicably huffed at me. Just what kind of person is that?"
"I remember our Moon Pavilion doesn't have guards of such low quality." Luo Nan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Hearing Luo Nan mention that person, Tang Yuehua's body stiffened visibly.
She raised her head from Luo Nan's embrace, the sorrow in her eyes transforming into thick bitterness and anger.
"You ran into him?" Tang Yuehua gave a bitter smile.
"Of course he's not a Moon Pavilion guard. He is... someone sent down from the Sect."
"The Sect? Clear Sky Sect?" Luo Nan frowned.
"Yes." Tang Yuehua sat back down in her chair, leaning limply against the backrest.
"I don't know who it was that passed the news back to the Clear Sky Sect about how well Moon Pavilion has been doing in Heaven Dou City over the past few years, raking in gold daily."
"After learning about it, the Sect sent this person over. His name is Tang Hu, he's a middle-level figure in the Sect who used to be in charge of resource coordination."
"What is he here for? To visit relatives?" Luo Nan sneered.
"Visit relatives? If only it were just visiting relatives." A trace of humiliation and anger flashed in Tang Yuehua's eyes.
"He came over today, barged straight into my office without even a greeting, and demanded money from me right off the bat!"
"Money? How much?"
"One million gold coins!" Tang Yuehua spat out this number through gritted teeth.
"One million?!"
Luo Nan was stunned for a moment, then almost laughed in anger.
One million gold coins—this was by no means a small sum!
Even some middle-tier nobles of the Heaven Dou Empire might not be able to scrape together this much cash even if they bankrupted their entire families.
Although Moon Pavilion made money, over the past few years, in order to expand its scale and socialize with powerful nobles, its expenses had also been astronomical.
One million gold coins was practically all the liquid capital Moon Pavilion could currently pull out!
The Clear Sky Sect was simply demanding an exorbitant price, outright robbing her!
"By what right?" Luo Nan's eyes turned completely cold.
Tang Yuehua's emotions could finally no longer be suppressed at this moment. She slammed her hand onto the table, her eye sockets red as she said:
"He told me that because of Spirit Hall's comprehensive suppression, the Sect has closed its mountains and shut its doors, losing all sources of economy and living a harder and harder life."
"As the Sect Master's sister, since I've managed Moon Pavilion so well outside and made so much money, it is only natural for me to provide support to the Sect!"
"He also said this is the unanimous decision of the Sect's Elder Council. He is giving me two days to raise this one million gold coins. Two days later, he will come to collect it in person."
"If I can't produce the money, or dare to shirk it, then don't blame the Sect for being impolite to me, an out-married... to me, a woman who disregards the bigger picture!"
Speaking to this point, Tang Yuehua's tears finally spilled from her eyes uncontrollably. She wasn't heartbroken over the money; her heart had turned cold!
"By what right?! Luo Nan, tell me, by what right?!"
Tang Yuehua's emotions became extremely agitated, and her voice was trembling.
"Back then, because of my Spirit mutation, I was unable to break through level nine for the rest of my life. I was regarded as trash and a disgrace by those Elders in the Sect!"
"If it weren't for Big Brother and Second Brother protecting me, I would have been driven out of the Sect long ago!"
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