Xun Ding had never seen a spectacle like this in his life.
But ever since he'd left home and started doing whatever he pleased, his skin had grown thicker by the day. Then he'd endured endless torment under Gongxi Chou, that damned man, until his thickness and defenses were nothing like they'd been in his youth. "What are you all staring at me for?"
Qiu Cheng didn't answer him directly.
Instead, he spoke up to admonish the man who'd just opened his mouth.
"My Lord has a discerning eye. He recognizes your worth and treats you with the courtesy due a man of exceptional talent. Since that is so, you ought to repay him with the same devotion..."
Xun Ding: "..."
He'd thought his own skin was thick enough.
He hadn't realized the man before him was the true ancestor.
Xun Ding raised a hand to stop him from continuing. "Hold it, hold it—at the end of the day, the two of you and I are nothing more than business partners. Since it's business, it's a willing exchange: money paid, goods delivered. There's no personal bond beyond that. I've conducted this business for years, always sticking to the principle that I do only as much work as I'm paid for. That martial general down there is beyond my ability, and the money Lord Qiu offered isn't enough to make me risk my life for him, let alone merit the treatment due a man of exceptional talent. So there's no need to bring it up again."
The contract spelled out clearly what Xun Ding should do, what he had to do, what he should say, and even where he should stand.
He'd do what was within his duties.
Anything beyond that was out of the question.
He openly admitted he was