Liu Sanbian finally moved. His knees bent, and he dropped to them.
This president of the Green Willow Association, a Bone Forging martial artist renowned for his deep and inscrutable mind, bowed so low that his forehead nearly touched the shattered floor tiles.
Seeing their president kneel, the Green Willow Association disciples followed suit. Weapons clattered across the ground, ringing out in a chaotic chorus.
Qi Bainian slumped on the ground. When he saw Liu Sanbian kneel, he hurriedly spun around, scrambling and crawling as he desperately kowtowed toward Wang Yuan. His forehead was soon smeared with dust and fragments of tile. "Dao Heir, spare my life! Dao Heir, spare my life!"
"Qi Yun Manor was dragged here by them! I never wanted to come! This was all Tie Hengshan and Liu Sanbian's idea."
"Qi Bainian."
Liu Sanbian remained prostrate on the ground, his muffled voice carrying over:
"Isn't it too late to say that now?"
Qi Bainian choked, then knocked his head against the ground even more fiercely.
Wang Yuan stood at the top of the stone steps, looking down at the people kneeling all across the front hall. There was little expression on his face.
The autumn wind poured in through the main gates, stirring the hem of his blue robe and dispersing the bloody stench hanging in the air.
He was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking, his voice neither loud nor soft. "Raise your heads."
Liu Sanbian and Qi Bainian raised their heads at the same time. Both men were pale as ghosts, their eyes filled with terror.
Wang Yuan took two tiny white porcelain bottles from his sleeve and casually tossed them before the pair.
The bottles rolled twice across the floor before stopping in front of Liu Sanbian and Qi Bainian's knees.
"Each