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As the saying goes: "A noble man is warm as jade, firm without sharpness, gentle yet principled."
The youth before them certainly lived up to those words. His brows were mild, his bearing courteous and never overstepping propriety, yet the poem on his folding fan was wildly arrogant, adding three parts of unrestrained eccentricity. Upon hearing his introduction, the guards merely clasped their fists in salute. Wang Bai was both furious and afraid, while the other two scions of prestigious families felt somewhat ashamed of themselves.
Only the young lady from the noble family had flushed crimson. She glanced at him, then turned away, only to look back again. Her maidenly shyness was laid bare.
Xiahou Xuan gently waved his folding fan, carrying himself like snow-defying frost, aloof and lonely. In his heart, he sighed:
"Candied Hawthorn, oh, Candied Hawthorn, sometimes I truly envy you."
"After all, you have such a wonderful future husband."
This was not an ordinary self-introduction. When a person of high standing took the initiative to state his name, it was more akin to a declaration among the scions of prestigious families—like a fierce tiger roaring over the mountains, only more composed. Everyone present understood the meaning, and seeing the youth's elegant bearing, no one had the nerve to respond.
The only one who genuinely did not understand the etiquette of noble families was the young man from beneath Great Liang Mountain. Wang Anfeng merely assumed Xiahou Xuan was introducing himself. Since courtesy was the height of human conduct and a gentleman could not cast it aside, he straightened his clothes, clasped his fists, and replied calmly:
"I am Wang Anfeng."
Xiahou Xuan's folding fan paused slightly. His eyes turned toward the youth in astonishment, and the people around them were also faintly startled. By then, however, Wang Anfeng had already continued:
"Many thanks, Brother Xiahou, for speaking up on my behalf just now. I am deeply grateful."
Xiahou Xuan looked at him twice, then withdrew his gaze, only to abruptly lift it again and fix it on the youth's face. After confirming that he could find no hint of challenging authority—not even at the corners of the youth's eyes, brows, or mouth—he muttered inwardly. At the same time, he gently returned the salute and said:
"No need... This young lady just said that a certain gentleman had stepped in on her behalf. I imagine that must have been Brother Wang. Your medical skills appear extraordinary. Perhaps you and I might find an opportunity to spar."
By then, the young lady had already run several steps to Wang Anfeng. The blush still lingered on her face. She first bowed deeply, then offered him the bundle with both hands and said gratefully, "Thank you for your great kindness, Young Master. I will never forget it."
Wang Anfeng accepted the bundle. "It was merely a small effort. There is no need to say more. Just wait here for a moment." With that, he walked several steps to stand before Wang Bai and extended his hand again. His meaning was self-evident. Wang Bai gritted his teeth, seething inwardly, but after everything that had happened, he no longer had the nerve to make trouble. He could only take out the hairpin and hand it over, saying bitterly:
"Here's your hairpin. You—you're not allowed to take my Snow away."
Seeing his unwilling expression, Wang Anfeng shook his head. "Rest assured. I won't do that."
"If I forcibly took your horse, wouldn't I end up looking just like you?"
Wang Bai relaxed slightly at the first sentence, but the second made contempt rush at him from Wang Anfeng's words. It was not explicitly saying that Wang Anfeng looked down on him, yet that disdain rising from the very depths of the other's heart made him even more stifled and furious. Even the relief he felt at recovering his strange steed was crushed beneath that suffocating frustration.
He glared bitterly at Wang Anfeng, but Xiahou Xuan, gently waving his folding fan with a mild smile on his face, made his spine turn cold. Wang Bai did not dare utter a single threat. He struggled to his feet and nearly dragged the Mad Lion Treading Cloud Steed away by sheer force. The latter still gazed back at Wang Anfeng with deep reluctance, but the youth did not even look at it. It could only resign itself to being led away.
Wang Anfeng returned the hairpin to the gray-robed girl. After thanking him profusely, she followed the two guards toward another direction.
Willow Catkin Villa had many rules and did not allow people to be brought in casually. Fortunately, there was another small estate nearby, where the many people serving the guards gathered. There were even excellent physicians there. Wang Anfeng watched the group depart, and Xiahou Xuan stepped forward, passing half a shoulder's breadth beyond him. With a smile, he said:
"Who would have thought Brother Wang was such a cold-hearted, heartless man."
Wang Anfeng paused faintly. "A heartless man? Where did that come from?"
Xiahou Xuan gently waved his folding fan. He intended to suppress Wang Anfeng by a head, yet his expression remained mild as he said:
"That Mad Lion Treading Cloud Steed was so attached to you just now. All you had to do was say one word, and Wang Bai certainly would not have dared say another. The price would have been no more than a few rumors. Yet even for such a trifling cost, Brother Wang remained unmoved. One spot reveals the whole leopard—if something requiring a far greater price came along in the future, even with a beauty in tears, I fear Brother Wang would still preserve his own reputation and remain indifferent, wouldn't you?"
"With such a nature, can you be called heartless?"
Wang Anfeng slightly raised his eyes to look at the proud young scion. He did not answer, merely saying:
"Brother Xiahou, may I ask: between man and horse, which is noble, and which is base?"
Xiahou Xuan replied with a smile, "The people are most noble, the state comes next, and a horse is beneath them both."
These were the words of a worthy sage from the previous dynasty. Wang Anfeng's father had also mentioned them several times while he was alive, so he was not surprised. He asked again:
"Then, Brother Xiahou, would you be willing to abandon the Way against your conscience for another person?"
The smile on Xiahou Xuan's face gradually vanished. He slowly shook his head.
"I would not."
Wang Anfeng straightened his body and looked at Xiahou Xuan with an indifferent expression.
"Man is noble and the horse is base. Brother Xiahou is unwilling to go against his conscience for another person, yet you want me to abandon the Way for a mere strange beast. You would impose upon others what you yourself are unwilling to endure, and go even further."
His voice paused slightly before he continued in an unhurried tone:
"Can such conduct be called gentlemanly?"
One question and one answer. The atmosphere around them froze in an instant. A guard in his thirties broke out in tiny beads of cold sweat. Unlike the other guards, he had studied a little in his youth and had traveled far and wide, encountering all kinds of people. He could better appreciate the danger hidden within this brief clash of words.
He looked at the mild-faced Xiahou Xuan on his left, then at the calm and composed Wang Anfeng on his right. Cold sweat continued to bead on his forehead. For the first time, he truly understood why their pay was so much higher than that of ordinary gate guards.
You got what you paid for.
Just then, Xiahou Xuan suddenly snapped his folding fan shut and lightly tapped it against his palm. He laughed aloud, gave Wang Anfeng a slight bow, and said:
"Brother Wang's wit is truly swift. I am utterly impressed. Those were merely jokes just now—please don't take them to heart."
His expression and movements were impeccable, and his smile remained mild at the corners of his lips. Yet inwardly, he was already gnashing his teeth, flipping over tables, and throwing punches until the handsome youth before him had a bruised and battered face.
His fists were reserved for the face, and his feet only kicked below the belt.
Good lad. Interesting—very interesting. Not one of those useless fools in the commandery city was this interesting.
This is the second time in my life I've been made to swallow my pride!
Wang Anfeng gently shook his head. He bore no great malice toward the youth before him. Rather, this was the first time since his father's death that he had debated someone, and Xiahou Xuan's earlier conduct had contained a measure of goodwill. He clasped his fists and replied:
"That was merely a debate; it has no bearing on our personal friendship. Brother Xiahou, what do you think?"
"Of course... naturally."
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