Yet Xu Yi had remained neither servile nor overbearing, leaving not the slightest opening to seize on. It made Xuan Ye Wang look incompetent. With all eyes on them, if he couldn't reclaim the upper hand, his authority as the newly appointed superior would suffer a serious blow.
"Such a sharp tongue. Take a look at the time yourself. Roll call was at a quarter past seven, and look what time it is now. You've disrupted my rules, and you still dare to speak so brazenly?"
Xuan Ye Wang couldn't think of any way to deal with him, so he resorted to making an issue of the time.
Xu Yi cupped his fists. "May I ask, sir, exactly who you are and what your position is? I don't know your identity, so how am I supposed to apologize?"
Missing roll call was only a minor offense. It took repeated offenses before your pay was docked, so Xu Yi had nothing to worry about.
Xuan Ye Wang was left speechless. He couldn't very well stand up and introduce himself; that would be far too lowbrow. At last, someone willing to offer him a step down rose to his feet and introduced Xuan Ye Wang, then the others present as well.
Xu Yi greeted everyone and exchanged a few pleasantries.
At this point, there was no point in Xuan Ye Wang trying to assert his authority with a show of force.
He'd gotten up at the crack of dawn only to arrive after the fair was over, and it left him terribly frustrated.
But he couldn't lose his temper in front of everyone, lest they really look down on him.
After a few perfunctory words, he dismissed the others. The vast hall was left with just him and Xu Yi.
"Should I