Sharp-tongued

Several middle-aged men in the robes of Xiao Clan elders marched angrily into the courtyard, surrounding an old man with a dark expression. The old man at their head swept his hawklike gaze over the wrecked courtyard before fixing it on Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi, who stood together. His powerful aura instantly enveloped the entire space. Clearly, the boys who had just fled had gone to tattle.

The arrivals were the Xiao Clan's Third Elder and several stewards. As though he had suffered the greatest injustice under heaven, Xiao Ning scrambled and stumbled over to the Third Elder. Pointing at Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan, he launched into a tearful accusation, adding oil to the flames with every word.

"Third Elder! You have to uphold justice for us! This wild brat from who knows where and that useless Xiao Yan joined forces to ambush us! Look at my face, and my leg! He... he actually dared to hit me! He even forced me to kneel! He has no respect for his elders, no regard for any law!" As Xiao Ning spoke, he deliberately grimaced, making himself out to be a pitiful wreck. He never once mentioned that they had provoked the pair first and used their numbers to bully them.

The lackeys behind him chimed in all at once, accusing Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan of their "atrocities" and portraying themselves as innocent victims, as though they had not been the ones beaten into a headlong retreat moments earlier. For a time, the courtyard rang with accusations that turned black into white.

The Third Elder's face turned livid, and his gaze scraped over Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi like a knife. He valued rules above all else, and hearing Xiao Ning and the others describe their "miserable" ordeal, particularly the deeply humiliating act of "forcing someone to kneel," had already set his anger ablaze. He snorted coldly, pressing his powerful aura down on the two without restraint. "Xiao Yan! And you, the new boy! You have some nerve! How dare you fight within the clan and strike so viciously, injuring your own clansmen?! Do the clan rules mean nothing to you?!"

Under the Third Elder's oppressive aura and interrogation, Xiao Yan instinctively shrank back a little. Faced with an elder's wrath, he could not help feeling afraid. Yet Xiao Yi seemed not to feel the pressure at all. Instead, he stepped forward, meeting the Third Elder's gaze with a faint, irreverent smile.

"Now, Elder, that's not quite right." Xiao Yi's voice was clear and calm, without the slightest hint of fear. "The two of us were standing here in the courtyard, enjoying the sunshine and chatting, when this whole crowd suddenly charged in. Every one of them looked like a fiend, ready to attack without a word. Tell me, who was breaking the rules, and who started the trouble?"

Xiao Yi's words immediately bolstered Xiao Yan's confidence. That's right, this was my courtyard! Xiao Ning and the others barged in first! He straightened his back and spoke up as well. "Third Elder, Xiao Yi is right! Xiao Ning brought these people into my courtyard first. They insulted us and even tried to attack us!"

Hearing their coordinated, clearly reasoned rebuttal, the Third Elder and the stewards accompanying him paused in surprise. They glanced at the tearfully protesting Xiao Ning and his companions, then at Xiao Yi, who looked perfectly at ease and even a little amused, and Xiao Yan, whose eyes were resolute despite his nervousness. Then they surveyed the courtyard again: there really were only Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi on this side, while the other side had an entire crowd... Things did not seem quite as simple as Xiao Ning and the others had claimed.

The Third Elder knitted his brows and stared coldly at the two youths before him. "Even if they were at fault first, you still went too far!" he said in a low voice.

Rather than backing down at the Third Elder's plainly biased accusation, Xiao Yi scoffed, spread his hands, and gave an exaggerated shrug. "You're mistaken, Elder! What do you mean, we went too far? We never fought them at all!"

Not only did the Third Elder and the stewards freeze at those words, but even Xiao Yan turned to Xiao Yi in astonishment. He quickly caught on, however, and nodded in agreement, putting on an expression that said, "That's exactly right." Xiao Ning and the others grew frantic, stamping their feet as they protested. "You're lying! You did hit us! You even kicked me!" "Exactly! He's the one who dislocated my arm!"

Xiao Yi ignored their shouting entirely. Instead, he turned to the Third Elder with an expression that said, "See? They really are lying," and calmly laid out his reasoning. "Think about it, Elder. All these people followed me and stormed into Yanzi's courtyard, bristling with hostility. They were obviously looking for trouble, trying to bully the newcomer."

As he spoke, he pointed at himself, then at Xiao Yan. "Then they discovered Xiao Yan was here too. They probably figured that since he has no Dou Qi now, they might as well bully both of us at once. What a grand show of might!"

"But," Xiao Yi shifted his tone, a trace of cunning appearing on his face, "they were also a little scared. After all, Xiao Yan used to be the youngest Dou Zhe in our Xiao Clan, with quite a fearsome reputation. His Dou Qi may be temporarily gone, but who knows whether it might return one day? What if it does, and he remembers how this whole crowd cornered him in his courtyard to bully him today? What would they do if he came to give them a little 'special attention,' one by one?"

Xiao Yan immediately grasped his meaning and chimed in. "Exactly! I did warn them just now. Don't judge me by how I am today. Once my Dou Qi returns, I'll remember this debt! They must have been scared and didn't dare actually attack us!"

Xiao Yi nodded in satisfaction and continued his "deduction." "So, Elder, this bunch wanted to cause trouble and drive me away, but they were also afraid of offending Xiao Yan, a future powerhouse. Caught between the two, they came up with this 'brilliant move'!"

At that point, Xiao Yi deliberately drew out his words, looking at the bruised and battered Xiao Ke and the others with contempt in his eyes. "They shoved each other around at the edge of this courtyard to give themselves a few injuries, then hurried off to complain to you. They cooked up their story together and splashed all that filthy water onto us! That way, they could use your hand to drive out this 'thorn in their side' without offending Little Yanzi, while making themselves look terribly wronged. Three birds with one arrow! Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a clever scheme!"

This analysis turned black into white, yet seemed to contain a faint trace of "logic." Xiao Yi laid it out so convincingly that Xiao Ning and the others became a pack of cowardly, malicious, scheming little men. They trembled with rage and tried to argue, but his barrage left them stumbling over their words. All they could do was insist over and over, "He's lying! We didn't!"

As the Third Elder listened to this sophistry, his aged face shifted between light and shadow. He looked at Xiao Yi, whose face was full of "innocence" and "grievance," then at Xiao Yan, who was a little nervous but remained firm-eyed and played along seamlessly, and finally at Xiao Ning and his companions, who were beside themselves with anger yet seemed unable to offer a coherent explanation. For a moment, even he could not be certain. These two boys were young, but their tongues were so formidable they could talk the dead back to life! He gave a heavy snort and forced the words through clenched teeth. "What a pair of... sharp-tongued brats!"