"What's wrong?" Pei Ye asked with a smile.
"Well, I've been keeping him company here these past two days, so I haven't been to the Martial Arts Hall." Zhang Dingyun pointed at the scholar beside him and pinched his chin. "Has something been happening at the hall these past two days? Something in the city feels a little off."
Pei Ye looked at him thoughtfully.
"Things have felt a little strange on the business side, too." Zhang Dingyun looked at Pei Ye. "My father asked me to make some inquiries. Of course, I know someone's working hard to keep this news under wraps. If you can't talk about it, that's fine. Just pretend you don't know-no, pretend I never asked."
"I know."
"Oh?!" Zhang Dingyun abruptly straightened. In truth, his own curiosity outweighed his concern over the effects on his family's business.
"Give me just a tiny bit of news." He held two pudgy fingers a hair's breadth apart in front of Pei Ye.
"Here's my sincere advice." Pei Ye smiled, lowered his head, and leaned closer, imitating the little fatty's solemn tone from that day. "This might offend people, but we do have this friendship between us-while there's still time, hurry up and distance yourself from the Seven Flood Dragons. You should cozy up to our Jade Feather instead."
"Hiss-" Zhang Dingyun sucked in a cold breath. Though he had vaguely noticed some signs, he truly hadn't dared think in that direction. Normally, even if Jade Feather suddenly got the better of the Seven Flood Dragons, it would only carve out a little breathing room beneath their crushing weight. How could heaven and earth have turned upside down in just a few days?
Zhang Dingyun grabbed Pei Ye's sleeve. "Don't joke around. Are you serious?"
Pei Ye smiled, then