The hall instantly fell silent. Yan Zhenhua was about to step forward when the Daoist shot him a sharp glance and shouted, "I speak only with your elders, keep quiet, Yan juniors!"
Under the glaring gaze of the Daoist, an inexplicable fear arose in Yan Zhenhua's heart. He had just taken a step forward but then abruptly withdrew it.
All the others in the hall, including Zhang Yan, were guests and did not know the relationship between this Daoist and the Yan family, so they all remained silent.
At this point, Elder Yan had yet to arrive, and the guests had yet to begin offering their toasts. Yan Duo, who was inside entertaining a few elders, hurried over upon hearing the commotion outside. Seeing the scene before him, he frowned, waved a hand to order a maid to lower the curtain in the front hall, glanced at the youth lying on the ground, stepped forward two paces, and clasped his hands, saying solemnly, "Your Excellency, who are you? Grabbing my nephew—what do you intend to do?"
