Ran Ming had just called himself "presumptuous," but what Tabler said was ten times more presumptuous.
Yet this man showed no such awareness. He smiled with perfect courtesy. "Surely not. I heard that Field Officer Sheng Wu had once faced Shan Long High Priest head-on beyond the Star Gate. The foremost Solo Knight under Great Lord Luande truly lived up to his reputation."
Immediately afterward, Tabler sneered again. "Zhuo Da, whom those beyond the Boundary Curtain are so eager to promote, is utterly insignificant compared to Field Officer Sheng Wu when it comes to real achievements. And they still have the nerve to boast about him."
Ran Ming truly had no way to respond to that, so he could only laugh it off again.
Tabler had temporarily shaken off Ran Ming's attempt to latch onto him, but seeing that he had no intention of leaving, he smiled.
"Fine, then. You parents can talk amongst yourselves. I'll be on my way... Oh, right, Ming Fan. We still need to find a chance to have a proper talk."
His voice gradually lowered. Like an old friend, he reached out to put an arm around Ming Fan's shoulders, as though he intended to say something private in public.
The next second, Tabler's body stiffened slightly. Someone had gotten an arm around his own shoulders first, and a laugh sounded beside his ear.
"You're Mr. Tabler, right? I've heard much about you."
As he spoke, the hand around Tabler's shoulders slid across, brushed down the arm he had extended toward Ming Fan, and pressed it to his side. It even gave him an affectionate pat.
"We should find a chance to have a proper talk too."
Then the man released him, leaving Tabler's instinctive resistance to fall on empty air.
Ran Ming's eyelids twitched