Wei Yanchi sensed Xie De's deliberate distance. He glanced at Wei Jianye a few times, then quietly abandoned his plan to approach.
He smiled calmly. "All right. Honestly, your praise was already the best reward I could ask for, sir."
455 scoffed at him. "( ᖛ ̫ ᖛ )ʃ) He's so good at sucking up, Host."
"...But 455, you're even better at it."
"Am I? ( ´ཀ` )"
"Aren't you?"
The atmosphere was a little awkward. Wei Jianye sat to one side with a grave expression, both hands resting on his cane, saying nothing. Wei Yanchi tilted his head at Xie De as though waiting to be fed, apparently seeing nothing wrong with leaving his granduncle hanging.
Xie De silently looked from one to the other.
He had no choice but to break the stalemate himself. Stroking Coal Ball, he said to Wei Jianye, "Wei Yanchi is a very bright young man. If he pursued mathematics, he would probably accomplish quite a lot."
"Haha, I certainly hope so. If the day comes when we can all settle down and study mathematics in peace, then the world will finally be stable."
Wei Jianye picked up the conversation naturally. Since Wei Yanchi had dared to ignore him, he simply ignored Wei Yanchi in return. Tit for tat. He stood and extended a somewhat refined invitation to Xie De.
"Perhaps I could tell you about the Wei Family's history. After all, these departed souls didn't appear out of thin air. Would you care to take a walk with me, Mr. Xie?"
Xie De looked up at him, then lowered his eyes, letting Coal Ball shift position in his arms.
If I walk with him, wouldn't that mean leaving Wei Yanchi here?
The Ancestral Hall lay ahead. The ghosts might be scattering in flight,