Chapter 31: Just Browsing

Scarface was momentarily stunned. He retrieved his phone and called Tommy, unwilling to let Jared make the call himself, as he didn't know who Jared was.

Tommy answered, his sleepy voice indicating he was still in bed.

"Mr. Lewis," Scarface reported carefully, "someone's causing trouble on Antique Street. He claims to know you and wants me to call you."

"Who is he? What's his name?" Tommy asked.

"I don't know his name, but he's wearing a bronze dragon ring. He even asked if I recognized it," Scarface replied.

"Fuck!" Tommy swore, leaping out of bed. "Scarface, listen closely. Treat him like a king. Offend him, and he'll annihilate your entire family. Remember that."

Tommy ended the call, dressed quickly, and rushed to Antique Street.

Scarface, listening to the dial tone, was stupefied. In over ten years of service, he'd never seen Tommy panic like this. He looked at Jared, trembling violently.

Oblivious, the fat stall owner glared at Jared with contempt. "Scarface, this man's spouting nonsense. How could Mr. Lewis know a fool like him? He's lying; get that jade back!"

Slap!

Scarface slapped him hard. "You bastard! He's not lying! I know about your racket. You're done here!"

The stunned stall owner didn't understand. However, some onlookers realized Jared must have powerful connections.

Scarface apologized ingratiatingly, "Sir, I'm sorry. Please wait; Mr. Lewis will be here soon."

Scarface didn't recognize Jared as the leader of the Dragon Sect, a fact unknown to most members of the Templar Regiment. It was a closely guarded secret.

Knowing Tommy was on his way, Jared decided to wait. He knew searching blindly for the spiritual brush and cinnabar rosary would be fruitless. Tommy, overseeing Antique Street, would likely know about them.

"What are you waiting for? Get a chair for our guest!" Scarface kicked the stall owner.

"Okay!" The baffled stall owner fetched a chair.

More than ten minutes later, a car screeched to a halt. Tommy ran over, the door still swinging open.

The crowd lowered their heads. Panting, Tommy addressed Jared, "My Lord—Mr. Chance, please inform me beforehand next time. I know this place well and can assist you."

"I was just browsing," Jared replied simply.

Tommy turned to Scarface. "What happened?"

Scarface recounted the events. Tommy quickly understood.

"Damn it! He's scamming people in my name!" Tommy raged. "Destroy his stall, break his limbs, and throw him out! He's banned from Antique Street!"

The terrified stall owner collapsed. "Mr. Lewis, please have mercy"

His pleas were ignored. A pained cry followed, and he was carried away.

The remaining shopkeepers, especially those who'd berated Jared, were terrified, some even wetting themselves.

This revised version corrects grammatical errors, improves punctuation, and enhances sentence structure for better flow and clarity. It also removes the awkwardly placed advertisement.