Xiaolin's expression grew unsightly as she heard Han Xiao. That wasn't just her. Even Wang Li and the mayor's daughter were in similar positions.
Gale could feel the indignation Xiaolin was feeling through the bond. It was making him irritated as well. How the hell did this halfwit have the gall to talk to his disciple like this, that too, in this bright spirit of the festival?
It simply soured the mood of festivity.
Sadly, Xiaolin wasn't eloquent enough to confront Han Xiao on her own. So it was Gale who would have to deal with this young master, even though he wasn't a fan of throwing his weight around.
"It seemed you forgot what happened the last time you let your mouth run wild," Gale said, narrowing his eyes at Han Xiao. He barely did anything, but Han Xiao's swallowed his breath as his throat dried. "You barely made it to regard yourself as a practitioner. Who gave you the gall to talk like that to my disciple?"
Han Xiao opened his mouth to answer, but as he was taking too much time to answer, someone else did it in his place.
"The Han Clan." The shadowy assassin of the Han family came out from the back to stand next to Han Xiao, providing him enough courage to the young master to continue on.
"What does a single gold ranker of no affiliation amount to the Great Han Clan?" Assassin Hao said, his voice full of jeer. "Young Master, do you know the answer?"
Han Xiao looked at the old assassin questioningly.
"Only fertilisers," Assassin Hao said, his grin spreading wide.
The air in the surroundings stilled in the next moment as time seemed to halt for Gale. He was about to do something terrible that he might regret doing on this occasion, but he had a terrible urge to go back to the days of brutality again, no matter how much he hated it. . .
Gale was about to continue with his intention, but suddenly a soft pair of palms caught his arm.
Gale turned to find it wasn't his disciple, but the innkeeper, who wasn't caught off guard like everyone else around.
"Don't," she said simply, her voice pleading.
Gale blinked, putting a check on his wild emotions. Somehow, it flared out of his depth unwittingly after hearing the Oldman's taunting words.
He felt a tinge of pain in his chest and his left arm, and found himself harbouring onto all of the power he had accessed too. Gale calmed his breathing, wondering how he got out of control so easily. He thought his mental health was developing well, spending good times with his disciple and everyone else.
"Thank you," Gale said. But Wang Li didn't draw back her palms from his arm. "I can handle it from here."
Wang Li narrowed her eyes at him and finally nodded. Although Gale could take a murderous look easily in her eyes, the expression a moment ago was the real deal. She intuitively believed if she hadn't stopped it, he might have killed that Oldman for running his mouth wild. Well, she might be overreacting, but it was better that he stopped.
Of course, Gale might have got away with it after dealing with some annoying stuff, but as far as she knew the foreigner, she was sure he didn't like the path of violence all the time. Well, most of the time.
According to Xiaolin, Vale was a Spirit of Guardian. No spirit creature of such a nature would bond with someone who'd give in to wanton violence.
"Master, are you alright?" Xiaolin looked at Gale worriedly.
"Yes," Gale said. "I have spent great length to keep my emotions in check for years. It would be real inconvenience for me, if I gave in to it, listening to such a fool."
Gale released most of his grasp over his power as the grin came back to his lips. He tilted his head to look at Assassin Hao.
"What did you say just now?" Gale asked, walking slow steps towards the other party. "A good ranker amount of only fertiliser to the Han Family?"
Gale kept on coming for the old assassin, who found his legs swaying. "I wonder what's a silver ranker amount to the Han Family?"
Gale put his hand on the old assassin's shoulder, clutching tight so that the Oldman didn't run away.
"Oi, Young master Han, do you know what is the worth of a silver ranker to your family?" Gale asked, turning to Han Xiao, who clearly appeared troubled.
"What?" Han Xiao stuttered. "What are you intending to do?"
"Nothing, just some simple mathematics on fertilisers," Gale said with a brilliant smile, "you know how poor of a farmer I am. Anyway, this old bastard was saying something about your family running a fertiliser business. Care to explain that?"
"You won't get away with this!"
"Get away with what?" Gale asked, curious. "Did I just misinterpret the whole fertiliser business? Oldman, care to explain what you said just a moment ago with that great zeal?"
Gale waited with great expectation for the Oldman to come up with anything. It was really easy to give quip comments on gold rankers under the shelter of a great family, but definitely not when that gold ranker was looming over you with his arms clutched to your shoulders.
One wrong word and his neck might get cracked.
Gale hadn't had his fun yet when a voice entered his ears
"That's enough, Gale," the noble son of the Sun clan, Sun Ziang, to the rescue of this poor Oldman. And it seemed he was called by none other than Luo Qing'e. Well, he should be around here nearby to get here quickly.
"Already?" Gale asked, drawing back his arm from the cold-sweating Oldman. "Maybe I'll never know about fertilisers again."
Sun Ziang simply snorted as he turned to face the young lord of the Han family and his entourage. "Do you know what accords your father agreed to with Gale?"
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Thank you, everyone, this book won the best newcomer award in the fantasy carnival. This wouldn't have been possible without you.
To celebrate this, I'll drop 5 bonus chapters this week.
Thank you, you guys are the best.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com