"I understand that it was Bai Zhu’s mistake. He will apologize, and we can end this matter here. From what he said, he only touched your shoulder to get your attention. There was no malicious intent."
The girl in question, "Sister Lian," the one with green eyes and braids, stared at Bai Zhu with pure hatred, but when Kyrian spoke, her gaze landed on him with a mix of anger and newly born apprehension. She did not look satisfied in the slightest and opened her mouth to protest.
But the silver-haired young man placed his arm in front of her, physically preventing her from speaking. His eyes, however, were fixed on Kyrian, asuring him.
Kyrian then looked at Bai Zhu with an expression that left no room for negotiation. Bai Zhu understood. With his scowl deeper than ever, but with a slight nod of resignation, he took a step forward, avoiding looking directly at the girl.
"Sorry. I was wrong." The words ca out like rolling stones. Rough and forced, but spoken loudly.
The girl seed to want to spit out a refusal, but an intense and accusing look from the silver-haired young man made her swallow the words. She crossed her arms, turning her face away with a disdainful "humph!" but accepted the apology reluctantly.
Kyrian gave a brief nod.
"Let’s return to the mansion."
He turned to leave, considering the matter settled. But before he could take a step, the silver-haired young man’s voice sounded again, now restrained but filled with intense curiosity.
"What is your na?"
Kyrian stopped but did not turn around. The answer ca over his shoulder, clear and without emotion.
"Kyrian."
And then he began to walk, disappearing into the crowd that was starting to disperse, now disappointed at not having witnessed a bigger fight. Bai Zhu cast one last look of disgust mixed with frustration at the girl and followed Kyrian, his heavy steps echoing on the stones of the square.
In the square, the five young people remained. The crowd dissipated, leaving them alone under the lantern of the luxurious restaurant.
Imdiately, the girl, Lian, exploded.
"How can you let them leave so easily?!" "Why did you stay silent against that low-cultivation brat? He hasn’t even reached the peak of liberation!"
"Shut up, Lian." The silver-haired young man, whose na was Luo Feng, said, his voice low but laden with an authority that made her tremble.
"I know you can’t stand being touched. But you always exaggerate, thinking that anyone who dares to touch you needs to be killed or mutilated. This matter ends here. Now."
At that mont, the thin young man with the jade fan stepped forward. His sharp eyes were slightly widened.
"Luo Feng, what did you think of that Kyrian? Even with his cultivation seemingly at the 6° stage of the Qi Liberation realm, sothing about him... when he looked at us, I felt that I would not be his opponent. He gave the sa feeling as facing the principal disciple of the Cloud Empire."
Luo Feng nodded slowly, his fingers still touching the sheath of his sword.
"Yes. You’re not wrong to feel that. If I’m not mistaken... those eyes. And that absolute control over another’s blood with a single look. It is definitely a special blood physique and probably a high-tier one. That alone already places him in another category."
"That alone is no reason to be afraid!" Lian insisted, still burning with humiliation.
That was when the fifth mber of the group, the cold and quiet young woman with the bamboo flute at her waist, spoke for the first ti. Her voice was soft as the wind, but each word was a blade of ice.
"If you are so desperate to die, then go deal with your ’affairs’ alone. Don’t involve us." Her emotionless eyes fixed on Lian.
"Did you feel it, or are you an idiot beyond asure? With just one look from him, he managed to disrupt the blood flow of all five of us simultaneously. If he wanted to, he could have made our hearts explode right there when we were not protected by our Qi, in front of the crowd. Stupidity is one thing, Lian. Suicide is another."
She continued without pausing or letting the words sink in.
"Besides, they are from the Blood Court. You should have taken that into account before escalating the conflict. This pride of yours, of always ignoring others and relying on Luo Feng to clean up your ss, will still get us killed, or worse, cause an incident that our master will have to resolve."
Lian turned pale, fury giving way to delayed shock. The other three beca serious. The ntion of the Blood Court was a severe reminder.
They were from a powerful force, a respected 4° tier sect, but the Blood Court was a different entity, especially its well-known leader, infamous for his dark past and notoriously less patient with insults.
Luo Feng looked toward the direction where Kyrian had disappeared, his eyes narrowing.
"Kyrian... of the Blood Court. Rember that na. He will probably participate in the auction just like us. It’s better not to enter into conflict unless necessary. And Lian, stay away from them."
His sharp gaze landed on the braided girl, who finally lowered her head.
anwhile, Kyrian and Bai Zhu walked back to the Liang mansion in silence. The air between them was heavy, but not hostile.
"Thank you, leader." Bai Zhu muttered after a long while, the words coming out reluctantly, now realizing that he definitely would not be a match for all five together.
"That was stupid." Kyrian replied, without looking at him.
"Do not make the sa mistake. Our objective is the auction, not street brawls."
"Yes."
They entered the silent pavilion. The others had already returned as well. Kyrian headed for his door.
"Sleep. We leave at dawn."
He entered his room, closing the door. The incident had been an annoyance, but it was fine. He lay down on the tatami, staring at the dark ceiling.
The bell tolled one last ti, announcing the final hour of the day. The City of the Iron Bell fell asleep.
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