Having just noticed the news—though it was a little late—I'll still use this Third Watch to offer a prayer for Jiuzhaigou.
The group hurried next door to the Vice Minister's residence, only to find the Mourning Hall packed so tightly not even water could pass through. In the middle, a hulking man was being restrained around the waist and arms by several sturdy servants, yet he still craned his neck, stamped his feet, and hurled curses. Who else could it be but Xue Pan?
As lewd obscenities poured from his mouth, along with filthy insults casually prying into others' private affairs, Jia Zheng's old face became like a general store: red showing through white, white tinged with green, and green mixed with streaks of black.
His fury surged sky-high, somehow lending him several extra measures of strength. In a few strides he parted the crowd, marched up, and slapped Xue Pan across the face. "You sinful creature, shut your mouth at once!"
The blow left Xue Pan somewhat dazed. Without thinking, he raised his fist—but when he saw that it was his own uncle by marriage, he hastily pressed that fist to his own head and stammered, "Uncle, y-you... why are you here?"
"Must I report to you in advance wherever I intend to go?"
Jia Zheng glared with his eyes wide, his fists clenched until they crackled. He wished for nothing more than to devour this disgraceful wretch alive right before the Mourning Hall.
Xue Pan shrank his neck, but recalling what had just happened, he immediately straightened up again and protested aggrievedly, "Uncle, when I bully others, it's only right for you to lecture me a little. But today, I was the one being bullied—why did you hit me too?"
"You can be bullied?"
"Of course I can!"