"Ah! No need." Shang Huaitong smiled and waved a hand. "It was nothing."
"Slap yourself!" Xiao Qiu barked.
Zheng Dong stared at this second brother of his with reddened eyes, then lowered his head. Smack! Smack! With those two blows, his cheeks swelled, streaked with blood.
"Young Master Shang?" Xiao Qiu looked toward the man.
Shang Huaitong smiled. "I already said it was fine. Why quibble with a child?"
He shook his head, turned back to retrieve his cloak from the pavilion, and walked past them toward the door without a sideways glance.
As it turned out, he had never intended to attend this Pill Auction.
This was Pei Ye's first real encounter with this "favorite to take the crown." Setting aside their respective allegiances, there was nothing particularly objectionable about this Seven Flood Dragons True Disciple. On the contrary, he could be called measured in his conduct and graceful in his bearing.
Pei Ye remembered Li Piaoqing mentioning this senior brother's response to provocation when she spoke about Bai Yuliang two days earlier-he had merely glanced at the man before whipping his sword sheath across his face, sending him flying over ten feet and knocking out nearly half a mouthful of teeth.
By comparison, Shang Huaitong's treatment of Zheng Dong could practically be called patient.
Pei Ye watched the man head toward the door, but his gaze was drawn to Zhang Junxue, who was still standing there. Broad of build, she stood alone. Pei Ye's clothes had at least just been washed, whereas several days of training had left hers dirty and worn, neither gray nor white. She looked like an ostrich with its gray feathers soaked through.
She lowered her head and edged a step inside, then seemed to notice how much mud clung to her shoes. She