Different people saw the scene in different ways.
Shen Tang was simply curious and annoyed.
She was curious how Gongxi Chou had managed it. How had he fed his Martial Gall Totem until it grew so enormous? If it charged into the middle of an army, wouldn't it leave overturned horses and men and corpses strewn across its path? Even more astonishing, its very species seemed to have changed.
What kind of python had horns like an ox and claws?
And whiskers growing from its tail?
What annoyed her was—
Why did she have to look up at Gongxi Chou?
And why did Gongxi Chou get to look down at her?
But the soldiers on both sides watching the battle felt quite differently.
Xun Zhen thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He raised a hand to rub them, momentarily losing his composure. Before he could get a better look, his eldest son said, "Father, you're not seeing things. That really is Gongxi Chou's Martial Gall Totem. The first time I saw it... I was shocked too."
Of course, he'd been lucky enough to see it not because he'd forced Gongxi Chou into a corner, but simply because Gongxi Lai needed a ride and disliked how bumpy horses were. Gongxi Chou had generously lent his Martial Gall Totem to his little sister as a mount. According to Gongxi Lai, it traveled fast and smoothly, the air up top was fresh, and it offered a wonderful view. It had even made a "road" along the way.
"Is he really only a Fifteenth Rank Shao Shang Zao?"
Xun Zhen asked Xun Ding to confirm once more.
Xun Ding knew what had shocked his father and quipped, "Even if he were a Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao, he couldn't have a Martial