The young martial artist's expression darkened.
"Are you afraid of them?"
The man in charge: "..."
The problem wasn't whether they were afraid of anyone else. It was that they were clearly in the wrong. But he had always known how badly this ancestor behaved; arguing with him or patiently lecturing him wouldn't work. He had to learn to act meek, plead his case, and make himself seem pitiful. The man in charge had plenty of experience with that. He leaned close to the young martial artist's ear and whispered a few words. The young man's expression shifted several times, but in the end, he chose to back down.
"I was in the wrong first. I'll come by and apologize another day." He gave a half-hearted, reluctant fist-and-palm salute, then turned and left. The man in charge could only flash Qi Shan and the others an ingratiating smile and apologize before hurrying after his ancestor.
The onlookers gradually dispersed as well.
Pushing the wheelchair forward, Yu Hai asked, "What did he say? How did he make that firecracker of a fellow back off?"
Qi Shan said, "I'm not Gu Wangchao. How would I know?"
The man in charge wasn't ordinary. He'd used a technique similar to Secret Sound Transmission. Unless someone deliberately eavesdropped, it was hard to know what had been said. Qi Shan first asked whether Qi Miao had been frightened. Only then did he crouch down to meet Tan Qu's eyes. "You're back."
Tan Qu smiled, his eyes crinkling. "Mm."
That simple syllable was enough to make Qi Shan breathe a long sigh of relief.
He made an excuse and slipped away for a while.
Yu Hai thought the excuse sounded a little forced.
He teased, "Didn't he just run off somewhere to cry tears of joy?"
"Yuan