In a dark room somewhere.
Five people sat around a round table.
Starting from the seat of honor and going clockwise were Chong Ming, dressed in an ancient scholar's robe; Marquis Feng, wearing a black cloak; a man and woman who looked almost identical, apparently twins, clad in matching golden armor; and finally, an ordinary young man with a cold, stern expression, dressed in coarse cloth.
The five simply sat there, and no one spoke first. The atmosphere in the room was grim and deathly still.
Bang!
At last, the ordinary young man with the stern expression slammed his palm onto the table, producing a tremendous sound. "I made my position clear from the start—we couldn't indulge those 'breeders'! We absolutely couldn't indulge them! But none of you listened. Well? Are you satisfied now? The Headmaster is punishing us!!"
Marquis Feng shot the stern young man a cold glance. "President Wan, we gathered here to discuss countermeasures, not to assign blame."
"Hmph! Ridiculous." President Wan said coldly, "If you hadn't secretly supported those parasites for your own selfish interests, and secretly set Blackie up, would you even have the nerve to spout this nonsense at me? Let me tell you, I will avenge Blackie. Just you wait."
Marquis Feng said softly, "I'm sitting right here."
"Enough, you two."
Chong Ming suddenly spoke. "Public matters are public matters, and private matters are private matters. If you can't even distinguish between the two, then there's no need to continue this meeting. Everyone can go home."
Then the female twin said, "If that happens, I'm afraid we won't be far from death..."
The man beside her picked up, "At all."
"And it will be a very, very miserable death," the woman added.
"Then..." Chong Ming lit a cigarette, took a drag with narrowed