Pei Ye looked at the old man, who had fallen silent after that remark, and asked curiously, "Was I right?"
"Right about what?" The old man smiled. "I'm not testing you. Everyone sees things differently. Often, there's no right or wrong."
Pei Ye seized on that keenly. "Then what do you think of Shang Huaitong?"
"Me?"
"Yes."
"I don't know much about swords, so I can only speak of his character. Would you like to hear it?"
"Of course."
Bai Sibing smiled, then turned his head to look at Pei Ye. His smile faded, his expression grew grave, and the slowness of his voice gave it a solemn weight. "In my view, Shang Huaitong is narrow-minded, repays the smallest slight, vicious and ruthless, false and cunning. Those beneath him, he scorns; those above him, he envies-if you ever cross him, you'd best sleep with one eye open!"
"..."
Pei Ye was too stunned to speak.
"Go on." Suddenly, the clouds dispersed and the rain cleared. The old man smiled again, his expression gentle, just like his measured approach to the world, as though those needle-sharp words had merely been a joke. "Piao Qing will be getting impatient."
The old man raised a hand and pointed. Sure enough, Li Piaoqing was already ahead of them.
"How did the talk go? Have you got a clearer idea now?" the girl asked as they headed back toward the Moon-Catching Tower beneath the willows.
"Yes." Pei Ye nodded, still thinking of the old man's merciless choice of words. "Lord Bai talked to me about Shang Huaitong."
"Oh?"
Pei Ye gathered his words and was about to speak when two green-clad servants came toward them.
They carried clean water and towels, talking as they went. "I heard you saw that murderer?"
"Yes, he had me