Having spent day and night with Xueyi and Qiong Rong, he knew them both as well as anyone could, so the Four Seas Hall Master, whose temples kept beading with sweat, had not yet stopped to ponder their exchange.
The blazing sun overhead had baked Xing Yan into listlessness. All he wanted was to find some shade to rest in, and some water to drink while he was at it.
While the two girls behind him chattered in whispers, Xing Yan suddenly spotted the hazy outline of a village not far ahead. Overjoyed, he called to them and quickened his steps toward it.
As they drew closer to the densely clustered houses, they saw two stout willows beside the road into the village, their bushy crowns spreading wide. Perhaps because of the drought, however, the drooping branches that should have danced with green leaves now bore only a scattering of scorched, curled foliage. A skinny dog lay in the meager shade beneath them, its red tongue hanging out as it panted heavily.
"Looks like this place has been suffering from drought for more than a day or two."
The sight made Xing Yan frown.
Not long after entering the village, he saw a man arguing with a young village woman beside the road. Tilting his head to listen, he caught the man's aggrieved words drifting over on the wind:
"Miss, you've wronged me!"
"Heaven above is my witness! A whirlwind really did blow your veil off. It had nothing to do with me. I just happened to be passing by..."
Before long, Xing Yan found a thatched cottage and asked the old man inside for some water.
The old fellow was hospitable enough. He invited all three inside, then went to the kitchen, ladled out three small bowls of water,