The commander-in-chief caught sight of the incense stick, burned down to its end, out of the corner of his eye.
He said, "Time's up."
Shen Tang followed his gaze.
The incense shouldn't have burned down so quickly, but the wind kicked up by their fight had blown without letup. The stick, which should have burned quietly for a full quarter of an hour, hadn't even lasted a third of that time. Shen Tang pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Yet the depths of her eyes still brimmed with battle intent.
The commander-in-chief put away his martial armor. "Let's call it here for today. If we get the chance, we can have a proper bout another time."
Shen Tang looked dissatisfied, but then Chu Yao, her adviser, called from behind her. "My lord."
So she put away her weapon, reluctantly.
She still stared straight at the commander-in-chief.
As if she might charge over and finish him off at any moment.
The commander-in-chief: "..."
"My lord." Chu Yao looked at his lord, who was holding back her anger so fiercely that even the ends of her hair seemed ablaze, and called again. She turned an ear toward him, then seemed to remember she was angry and turned her face away. In short, she was sulking, unhappy. Chu Yao said, "Wu Lang?"
Shen Tang covered both ears with her hands.
Not listening, not listening. The turtle is chanting sutras.
Chu Yao could only laugh helplessly. He knew that covering her ears couldn't block out sound completely, and his lord's hearing was excellent, so he patiently explained, "With your martial prowess, my lord, defeating him wouldn't be difficult. But that's not the purpose of this trip."
Shen Tang's eyes shifted.
Chu Yao continued, "It's enough for my lord to display your strength just