"Please step back, sir," Mei Fang requested as the young man attempted to bypass her.
Unexpectedly, the young man exerted force against Mei Fang's hand, causing her to stagger backwards.
Despite Mei Fang's status as a system user, much like the young man, her modest position as an attendant at a subsidiary branch of the medicine pavilion hinted at her lesser strength.
The young man's audacious shove plunged the onlookers into a state of disbelief.
"He dared to lay hands on her!" someone in the crowd whispered, shocked.
The room was abuzz with surprise, including Li Chen, who was taken aback by the young man's brazen act.
While Mei Fang's role was that of an attendant in the medicine pavilion and not of high status, the young man's shove was an affront not just to her, but to the pavilion's honor itself.
Li Chen knew well that the medicine pavilion would not overlook such a slight.