Shao and Ren walked forward, interposing themselves between the three approaching men and the rest of the group. Shao gripped his staff in preparation for a fight, and Ren reached for a pouch at his hip.

Seeing the two groups approaching one another, a nearby outer disciple shouted at them. “Hey! No fighting!”

Gao Tan Linyu held two hands out toward the outer disciple in a placating gesture and, in a slimy tone of voice, said, “There’s no need to be concerned, honorable disciple. We’re just going to talk. My kinsmen and I have no intention of fighting in the Field of Ceremonies.”

The wording of the slimy Gao man was clearly intentional. They wouldn’t start a fight in the ceremonial field, but that didn’t stop them from attacking Shao’s group as soon as they left the field.

The outer disciple’s hand did not move away from the hilt of his katana as he said, “You may speak, but only if I hear all of you swear on your lives that you will not raise a hand in anger while you stand upon this field.”

With an easy smile, Xiahou Ren immediately said, “I swear on my life that I won’t throw the first punch. Though, I reserve the right to impugn the honor of the Gao Clan, whatever is left of it.”

Clear annoyance appeared on the face of the outer disciple. “Cut the shit, Xiahou! At least wait until I’m out of earshot before you start antagonizing one another! Now, I want all of you to say, ‘I swear on my life that I won’t start a fight in the Field of Ceremonies,’ and nothing else. Got it!?”

One by one, everyone muttered the words demanded by the outer disciple. Shao briefly considered adding a dig against the Gao Clan at the end of his promise. He thought about obliquely referencing the four demonic cultivators he killed or the earlier fight he and Ren had against Gao Linyu, but the two red bands on the outer disciple’s sword made him decide against it.

“I swear on my life that I won’t start a fight in the Field of Ceremonies,” Shao muttered angrily as his grip on his staff tightened and the iron within creaked in pain.

“Good enough,” the outer disciple sighed. “Remember your oaths. If I see any of you start a fight here, I’ll kill all five of you myself.”

The unnamed outer disciple turned away from the five aggressive cultivators as several of them took efforts to calm themselves. Shao jabbed his iron staff into the ground, causing it to stand up straight out of the ground. With his hands now free, he crossed his arms in an attempt to prevent any violent outbursts.

As soon as the outer disciple was gone, Gao Linyu’s expression turned to anger. “You’re safe for now, honorless bastards. As soon as we run into you on the path to the temple…”

“Silence, cousin,” the nine-star Gao interjected. “Your weakness brings dishonor to our clan, and I have no choice but to rectify your failure. You two - Xiahou and unknown seven-star - I would like to know your names. I am Gao Min Long.”

“Xiahou Bian Ren.”

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“Yang Lin Shao.”

Inwardly, Shao cringed when he heard the nine-star’s name. He had played a large part in the death of Gao Min Bo who was undoubtedly a close relative of Gao Min Long, and it was possible that one of the other unnamed demonic cultivators was a member of the Gao Min family. In his core, Shao knew that he would have to kill Gao Min Long eventually.

“You have dishonored the Gao Clan with your words and deeds,” Gao Long began to say. “As such, when we next meet on neutral territory, we will meet as enemies. If you apologize to my foolish cousin and provide fair payment, I will consider the debt of honor repaid.”

“All you have to do is kiss the dirt and…” Gao Linyu began to say.

In an offended tone, Shao cut him off. “Apologize!? That weakling should be thanking me for not killing him in an alleyway!”

Xiahou Ren cleared his throat. “Honorable Gao Min Long, I assume this isn’t a blood debt, so there’s no reason for anyone to die over this.”

“Yes.”

“I wouldn’t be able to convince you to wait until after the Rite of Initiation is over, would I?” Ren said, but his tone was not hopeful.

“No. Honor demands a swift resolution to this transgression.”

“Okay,” Ren sighed. “I’ll see you on the field of combat, then.”

Ren delivered this line with an air of finality, indicating that the conversation was over. Shao, however, was not in the mood to end the conversation so amenably.

“Why is every Gao I meet such an asshole! Seriously! How do you expect your clan to survive if you escalate every conflict until one side is dead!?”

“How indeed?” Gao Long whispered philosophically as a look of deep sadness colored his expression. Shao thought it was deeply unfair that someone could look so cool while acting so unreasonably.

Without enhanced hearing, Gao Linyu did not hear his cousin’s statement. As he backed away from Yang Shao, he shouted back at him. “You will pay for your words in blood, you bastard!”

Almost automatically, Shao’s body moved a step toward Gao Linyu. He might have taken another step, but a firm hand on his shoulder held him in place.

“Save it for later,” Xiahou Ren said from Shao’s blind spot. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk when they ambush us on the path to the temple.”

Shao sighed and returned to the group. With anger still motivating his body, he yanked his iron staff out of the ground and rested it on his shoulder.

“It’s inevitable, Ren. I’m going to kill him eventually.”

“I wouldn’t rob you of the satisfaction, Shao. Just try to make sure there are no witnesses when you do it. How about this? If we all make it through the Rite, you and I can follow him into the forest and kill him together.”

The quiet sound of uneven breathing drew Shao’s attention back toward the others. Xu Fei’s hand was over her mouth, and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“I-I’m so sorry. This is all because of me,” she sobbed.

Since Xu Fei’s breathing technique had been interrupted, the effects of her Curse of Jade was especially strong at that moment. Shao had to resist the urge to go over to the Gao cousins and start a fight that would certainly end with him getting bisected by a Zhouji of the Shigong Sect.

“No, it’s not,” Xiahou Ren said with a firmness that left no doubt as to the words' authenticity. “We gave him the chance to let the issue drop and look the other way. Now, it’s a personal grudge between us and a moron with powerful relatives. When we kill him, he’ll be the only person at fault.”