Li Qingxian looked at the others and said, "I don't agree to give him any more intestines, but since you are all willing, I can hardly stop you. The twelve of you can each take a drop of blood. I'll refine an intestine for you."
Everyone nodded, not daring to say a word.
Zhou Hen drew the blood, while Li Qingxian refined the intestine and had the little maid toss it to the boy in the bellyband.
Just as before, the boy in the bellyband feasted with great relish. After finishing, he patted his slightly bulging belly and pointed at the two maids and the two insect valiants on the ground. "I want those four. And also..."
He raised a hand and pointed at Li Qingxian's hair. "I want that hairpin on your head. Give it to me, and I'll leave at once."
Everyone's expressions changed as they looked toward Li Qingxian.
Han Anbo whispered, "He was probably after the treasures on you from the very beginning."
The little maid shouted, "Don't push your luck! We have returned your gift, and you have eaten your fill. If you continue like this, you are tearing all civility to shreds!"
"You dare?" The boy in the bellyband smiled, his tongue nimbly licking the scraps lodged between his teeth.
Li Qingxian took out the hairpin, weighing it in his hand. "Do you know who its original owner was?"
"What does that have to do with me?" the boy in the bellyband asked.
Li Qingxian said, "This hairpin accompanied its original owner for decades. It witnessed him take the imperial examinations once every ten years, claiming first place in every one. He had once cast out vile evils in plain clothes, and had once suppressed the realm in official robes. He had countless titles: