"So I'm supposed to do everything you say? Which of us is the master here?"
Tongtian knew he had made a mistake the moment the words left his mouth. He wanted to explain, but Liu Mang gave him no chance.
Liu Mang's face filled with grief. He staggered backward and fell, looking up at Tongtian with eyes full of disappointment, like a puppy abandoned by its owner.
"Master, what... what are you saying?"
He had not spoken loudly, yet everyone who heard him shuddered, as though they had committed some terrible wrong.
Everyone present except the cultivators inside the formation heard him and turned to look at Tongtian.
"Who was I doing all this for? I ran myself ragged trying to mend your relationship with Second Uncle-Master. I thought about it day and night. I haven't had a good night's sleep."
The more Liu Mang spoke, the more worked up he became. His eyes reddened, and he shook his head as his emotions surged.
"You went around beating people up for my sake, and I'm grateful. I truly am."
"But to keep things from turning sour between you, Uncle-Master, and the other seniors, I followed every one of them around apologizing. I served tea, poured water, washed clothes, and cooked meals. Every last thing I did was for you!"
"To find you suitable disciples and make our Interception Sect a great sect of Hong Huang, I lay awake at night. I spent thirty whole years coming up with three relatively gentle tests. And now you think this of me? I'm heartbroken."
By the end, Liu Mang had abandoned all dignity. He wailed as though he had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.
Only Tongtian knew that thirty years was utter nonsense. In the time it took an incense stick