A War of Words at the Negotiating Table?! No One Here Gets Any Respect!

He didn't seem to feel as miserable as he used to.

Images of Xu Sanshi and Dai Huabin flashed unbidden through Bei Bei's mind. The three of them standing shoulder to shoulder was clearer to him now than any romantic image.

Fuck! The kids have ruined me!

Startled by his own thoughts, he shook his head hard, trying to fling the whole mess out of his mind.

"All right, let's get down to business."

Tang Qi suddenly spoke.

Bei Bei came back to himself and spread his hands, trying to look businesslike. "We're here today to discuss the Tang Sect.

"Yes, the Iron Blood Sect was in the wrong back then.

"But Xia—Tang Ya broke the laws of the Heaven Dou Empire and slaughtered the entire Iron Blood Sect without authorization. That's hard to justify—"

"She can't justify it."

Tang Qi cut him off, his tone cold.

"But she's one of mine. She acted under the Tang Sect's name. Anyone who dares touch her is showing me no respect."

Tang Qi raised his eyes and fixed his dark gaze on Bei Bei's startled face.

"Are you drunk? Who the hell do you think you are, calling this meeting?"

Bei Bei's face stiffened. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Don't think you can spout nonsense at me just because we're both from Shrek."

Tang Qi leaned forward slightly, tapped a finger against the negotiating table, and swept the room with an icy gaze.

"What do you mean, 'the Iron Blood Sect was in the wrong'? Those bastards deserved to die! Didn't they slaughter the Tang Sect back then? What's wrong with us slaughtering them in return?"

Tenderness flickered in Tang Ya's eyes as she stared straight at Tang Qi's profile.

"If I don't like what someone says, they