Dragon Coffin

Chapter 2 reverse scaling

Su Bo nodded and stepped inside, immediately seeing a man sitting in an armchair, leisurely playing with a snuff bottle, gently swaying it under his nose with an air of enjoyment. Seeing someone enter, the man put down the snuff bottle. "Su Bo? Have a seat."

Looking around, there were quite a few chairs. Su Bo chose one that was a bit further away and sat down. With a loud crack, the chair immediately collapsed. Su Bo's butt was poked painfully, but he couldn't worry about the pain. His face turned as red as a monkey's bottom from embarrassment, and he jumped up like a monkey, quickly bending down. "I'm sorry!"

"It's fine, it's fine, just a huanghuali wood chair, at most five hundred thousand."

Five hundred thousand... Su Bo's face crumpled. That one seat just cost him a lifetime. He stammered, "Well, five hundred thousand, I'll find a way. If I really can't, can I pay in installments, just leaving me enough for living expenses each month? I'll also ask my parents for help..."

"Are you done?" The man stood up and extended his hand. "Let's introduce ourselves first. My name is Tang Sancheng, one of the bosses."

One of the bosses, so there are many bosses, thought Su Bo, feeling even more uneasy. "Do all the bosses need to discuss together to decide the compensation method?"

"No, I want to remind you that you should sit in this chair." Tang Sancheng pointed to a chair next to the pile of fragments, then pointed at the fragments. "Don't worry about that."

Su Bo looked carefully and saw another chair right in front of Tang Sancheng, which he hadn't noticed before. It had a Bagua diagram drawn under it. When he sat down, the diagram surrounded him, a silver light flickering in his throat. Tang Sancheng took note and said, "We are hiring a*****e manager. How much do you know about antiques?"

"I don't know much, but I usually watch *Treasure Appraisal*." Su Bo wanted to hit himself. This was a sure failure. Thinking about facing his parents' disappointed faces at home, he felt like the sky was falling.

"Oh, it's okay. You can learn slowly." Tang Sancheng said. "With an IQ of 180, learning shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"You even know that?" Mentioning his IQ brought back Su Bo's confidence. He patted his chest and said, "Trust me, I can do it."

"Three months probation, food and lodging included, four thousand yuan. After the probation, the salary will be determined." Tang Sancheng looked at Su Bo with a sideways glance. "Can you start tomorrow?"

This far exceeded his expectations. Su Bo felt like he was on a roller coaster today, but the ending was perfect. Hearing the last sentence, Su Bo almost cried. "Am I really going to be the store manager?"

"Yes, but please sign the contract." Tang Sancheng took out a piece of paper. Su Bo looked it over and, seeing no issues, signed it excitedly. As he was leaving, he bumped into the screen again, making his heart jump. He hastily bowed to the beauty, "Sorry, sorry."

The beauty actually smiled, her smile like a spring breeze that could melt an icy peak. "Be careful next time."

"Ah." Su Bo felt reluctant to leave. Even after exiting the two heavy black doors, he still puzzled over 104. "Strange, how did it suddenly appear?"

Tang Sancheng watched Su Bo leave, then moved the chair aside. The Bagua diagram, drawn with Tang Sancheng's blood, glowed red. "Such strong energy. Was the silver light in his throat the reverse scale?"

"What reverse scale?" A hidden door in the wall suddenly opened, and a man and woman stepped out. They were Bai Yi and Fu Yu.

"Dragons have a crescent-shaped scale on their throats called the reverse scale. It's the source of the dragon's immense energy, but touching it can cause uncontrollable rage." Tang Sancheng explained. "This young man far exceeded my expectations."

"Ah, you also exceeded my expectations." Bai Yi stared at Tang Sancheng, who was still sitting in the boss's chair. "You played the boss quite convincingly just now."

Tang Sancheng chuckled and slid off the chair. "I was just imitating you. You usually act like this. It's called style. Besides, I am one of the bosses. But only you have the business acumen among us."

"Alright, let's not talk about that. Is this Su Bo the person we're looking for?"

"It seems he doesn't know the mystery within him. He could break my illusion spell and indeed has dragon energy." Tang Sancheng said. "The Bagua diagram also lit up. Yes, it's him."

Su Bo walked out of the antique shop, jumping three feet high in excitement. The first thing he did was call his mom. The heavy burden of being unemployed had finally disappeared. After the call, he looked up to find the sky had already darkened. The bus stop was quite far from here, so Su Bo started running. Just as he was about to reach the bus stop, he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck. Puzzled, Su Bo turned around but saw no one. He touched his neck and felt it was damp.

"What the heck, must be sweat," Su Bo muttered, twisting his neck. As he turned back, he saw a young man standing in front of him. The boy had an extremely delicate appearance, with pale skin and slightly drooping eyes that gave him a sickly look. But did a man really need to be this pretty? Su Bo, who prided himself on being a strong man, felt a sense of disdain towards the boy with such delicate features. He clicked his tongue in disapproval and tried to walk past the boy.

The boy suddenly grabbed Su Bo's arm and recited, "The Northern Emperor grants me paper, to write talismans to expel evil spirits. Those who do not submit shall be sent back to Fengdu City, by the order of the law!"

Su Bo was dumbfounded. At that moment, he felt another chill at the back of his neck, as if something was being pulled out of his body. The cold made him shiver, despite it being summer. He shook off the boy's hand. "Crazy!"

The boy finally lifted his drooping eyes and stared hard at Su Bo's face, then grunted, "Ungrateful!"

"Huh?" Su Bo raised his middle finger at the boy. "Kid, what's your name?"

The boy just pursed his lips and smiled disdainfully. Feeling even more annoyed, Su Bo's already bad day seemed to have gotten worse because of this strange boy. "You're quite the character. Fine, I'll introduce myself. I'm Su Bo. Remember that. If we meet on the street again, and you dare act crazy, I'll make you regret it. Do you think I grew to be six feet tall for nothing?"

The boy just smirked and walked away, thinking to himself that he shouldn't have intervened. He had only acted on instinct when he sensed the guy was possessed by an evil spirit without realizing it himself.

Su Bo's tough talk hit a soft nail, leaving him helpless. He turned around to see the bus approaching and quickly got on it to head home. When he arrived at his door, he was greeted by a pleasant aroma. The neighbor's door suddenly opened, and a thirty-year-old shut-in poked his head out. "Su Bo, what's your dad cooking again?"

"I don't know," Su Bo replied. "I'll bring you some later."

Satisfied with this answer, the shut-in retreated back inside. It wasn't surprising that he liked good food, nor that he had a nose for it. Su Bo's father's cooking skills were good; even with just a bowl of leftover rice, he could create a gourmet dish that made people drool... Su Dahong, a national first-class chef, was the executive chef at the city's top hotel, a renowned and highly-paid chef.

As Su Bo opened the door and entered, his mother's face immediately appeared in front of him. His mother's name was Bai Ling, which, along with his father's name, was how he got his name. Originally, he was supposed to be named Su Aibo, but thankfully, his mother thought it was too cheesy and dropped the "Ai" from the middle, or he would've been embarrassed to death. A six-foot-tall guy named Su Aibo? He'd have died of shame.

His mother, Bai Ling, was in her forties but had excellent skin and a dignified face. As she liked to say, with a change of clothes, she could pass for Empress Dowager Cixi. She always spoke with a smile, revealing two sweet dimples. When she walked hand in hand with Su Bo, people often mistook them for siblings, which was Bai Ling's proudest moment.

Bai Ling's eyes fell on the necklace around Su Bo's neck, her face darkening slightly before she quickly regained her composure. "Son, how did the interview go today?"