In the private room, Lan Jin feels frustrated just talking to the young nobles. He remembers how Sun Meirong called them all fools, and he can’t help but agree with her assessment after spending even a short amount of time with them. He thinks they are all a bunch of bigots, and though he doesn’t like Qiang Yu or even want anything to do with her, he at least has the bare minimum of common decency to not dehumanize her.
But these guys? All of them want to marry her but all they think of her as is a breeding tool. And in the same breath they claim they want to have children with her, they insult her and start talking up Lulu— a girl Lan Jin is pretty sure Qiang Yu views as her sister.
He doesn’t even know how it is that Qiang Yu is so different from them that they think she looks like a barbarian, and with his limited outlook on the city and its culture, the only thing he can think of is her tanned skin. But even that doesn’t make much sense to him because her skin isn’t too different from their own. If anything, she just looks like she got a bit of sun.
Shaking his head, all he can do is feel confused, frustrated, and disgusted as they continue talking about Qiang Yu’s faults as though she weren’t just downstairs. And everything boils down to her being a barbarian somehow.
He starts wishing he had had more time to work on his cultivation so he could treat these guys how the City Lord treated him. At the time, getting smacked across the head sucked. But even the City Lord’s daughter hit him harder than the City Lord did, so he knows he wasn’t actually trying to hurt him. Unfortunately, as he is, unless he wants to resort to sacrificing himself just to murder more than a dozen men who are probably only a small part of a much larger problem, he can’t do anything about it.
His own weakness infuriates him, and he can’t help but wonder what his dad would say to him if he discovered that he sat by as something fucked up was happening right in front of him.
Lan Jin thinks he’d probably say something along the lines of, ‘You’re not weak, you’re afraid. Overcome that fear and act.’
But the problem is that he really is just too weak. None of these people are something he can deal with without resorting to dropping the two big names he knows or relying on scorched earth tactics; he’s certain of that much. If they’re anything like Qiang Yu and the young master of the Feng Clan, then they’re practically superhuman. And that’s ignoring the families behind them.
And though he wants to do something, he doesn’t know what he can do without putting himself in danger.
With a terrible, gnawing feeling digging into his heart, Lan Jin only pays half a mind to the conversation being directed at him. It isn’t until someone directly comments on the City Lord that he starts paying attention again.
“Qiang Dashan never should have been allowed to rule a city. Not only can he not maintain it without the help of his wife, but even his daughter is beginning to make a mess within the city! The Southern Border City and all of its inhabitants are viewed as a massive joke by the rest of the kingdom, and all of it is because we have a barbarian as a city lord rather than a proper noble.”
“It’s a shame,” someone else agrees.
Several more people voice their agreement, but finally, Lan Jin has had enough.
“He’s probably earned it,” Lan Jin spits out before picking up his glass and downing all of the liquid inside. “Even now, he is probably out there working his ass off while we’re all sitting here, drinking wine, and slinging shit about some girl none of us are ever going to have anything to do with. So it’s no wonder he became the City Lord, because even if he’s a barbarian, he’s at least better than the rest of us who aren’t doing shit!”
A bunch of dumbfounded expressions appear on the faces of everyone in the room. But even as time passes and rage begins to slowly take its place, Lan Jin doesn’t feel a trace of fear. Instead, as glares begin to train on him, he does his best to meet each and every one of them.
“What did you just say?” He’s asked in a cold whisper.
“Did I fucking stutter?” Lan Jin hisses back, furious that a man who at least treated him fairly is being insulted so openly by a bunch of guys who want to marry that same man’s daughter.
A dense, oppressive atmosphere begins filling the room as Lan Jin stares down dozens of people, and for several long seconds, nobody says a word.
Then, somebody pulls out a dagger from their robe and starts twirling it between their fingers.
“You know what I think?” He looks at Lan Jin. “You’d probably be better off without a tongue.”
Looking the man in the eyes, Lan Jin summons the Auspicious Tri-Colored Flame and has it cover both of his hands as he lays them flat on the table.
“I think you’d be better off without a face,” he retorts.
All of a sudden, everyone in the room jumps up from the table and takes several steps back before looking at Lan Jin warily.
“Who are you?” Someone calls out.
With a scoff, Lan Jin says, “To you? Lan Jin. But you should already know that.”
He receives several more glares, but nobody else does anything as they watch the flames burning on his hands.
Finally, after several seconds pass, someone says, “This is pointless. I’ve already learned what I wanted to learn. If the rest of you want to fight with an Alchemist, so be it!”
Then, one person departs. And after one person leaves, several other people come up with excuses to leave. Finally, the only two people in the room are Lan Jin and the man who had drawn a blade, but even he starts looking anxious to leave when he sees Lan Jin’s hands burning a hole through the table without any sign of pain showing on his face.
“Forget it! I’m not about to get into a fight over that barbarian! I’ll just treat today like it never happened!”
With that, the final person leaves the room and Lan Jin looks down at his hands that would be shaking were they not pressed firmly against the wood of the table. Though the flame surrounding them isn’t massive, it has come a long way since he first arrived in this world and it is easily able to obscure both of his hands up to his wrists. And, it seems, it’s also very good at scaring people who brought a knife to a firefight.
Chuckling contemptibly, Lan Jin wonders just how stupid that decision of his was, but before he can decide, he’s interrupted by a soft voice speaking, “Pretty!”
Turning his head, Lan Jin sees Qiang Yu and Lulu standing by the door and both of them are watching the flames covering his hands closely, but he’s not sure which one called them pretty.
However, their arrival reminds him that he is still burning someone else’s property, and so Lan Jin calls the Auspicious Tri-Colored Flame into the Omega Browser’s Space before rudely asking, “What do you want?”
Qiang Yu frowns when the flame disappears, but she raises her gaze and meets Lan Jin’s eyes.
She pauses for a minute, but eventually, she says, “I wanted to talk to you.”
“I’m not interested in talking to you, and your mom already told us not to interact— something I’ve already gotten in trouble for doing with Lulu. So, no thanks. I need to find somebody so I can pay for this table.”
Her frown deepening, Qiang Yu says, “I apologize for harming you earlier.”
“Huh?” Lan Jin asks, surprised to hear her apologize. But, before giving her a chance to respond, he says, “Look, I don’t care. Honestly, I don’t forgive you, there’s nothing I can do about it right now, and even if I could, I doubt I’d get away with it with your mom watching over you. So just forget about it.”
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Qiang Yu scowls at him and shifts slightly before hiding something behind her back.
Suspicious, Lan Jin looks at her and asks, “What’s that?”
Pausing again, Qiang Yu looks at him for a minute before pulling out a bottle and saying, “Spirit wine. I intended to drink a cup with you, but I don’t know if it would be appropriate anymore. And it won’t have the same meaning now.”
Confused, both about the fact that she has a bottle of wine and that she intended to drink some with him, Lan Jin asks, “Why would I ever drink with you? And why would you want to drink with me?”
“This…” Qiang Yu looks at a very flustered Lulu and then lowers her head. “I… I came here to settle my grievances with you, but I heard you defending my Papa, and now I don’t know whether I should settle anything with you.”
“That makes no sense… And what’s the point of the wine?”
Looking down at the bottle of wine in her hands, Qiang Yu says, “When people have grievances, they typically settle them by either dueling each other at the Martial Field or by sharing drinks.”
“Uh huh…” Lan Jin narrows his eyes at Qiang Yu and says, “You know, I kind of find it hard to believe you.”
Frowning, Qiang Yu says, “It’s true. I did come here to settle my grievances with you. And the wine is actually meant to settle grievances, but that is only the symbolism behind it. It has a more important reason as well.”
“Really? And what’s that?”
Lowering her head, Qiang Yu says, “By drinking the wine with you and not with those other boys, I intended to direct a slap to their faces for insulting me.”
Scoffing, Lan Jin says, “And let me guess, by me drinking the wine, I’d end up as their target?”
Qiang Yu nods. “But you defended my dad. And it’s no longer appropriate to settle my grievances this way.”
Speaking loudly, Lan Jin asks, “What do you even have to settle with me in the first place? I didn’t do anything to you. You’re the one that grabbed my arm and fell on me, you’re the one that punched me in the face, you’re the reason why I bought my clothes, and you’re the one who got me to shut up when I tried warning you about the spirit stone last night. What the hell did I do to you?”
For a minute, Qiang Yu says nothing, but eventually, she lets out, “You’ve embarrassed me so many times! Last night, I looked like a fool because I didn’t understand what absorbing that purple energy would do to my body or my mind. Earlier today, my name, the name I work so hard to protect, was practically driven through the mud because so many people saw me fall onto you! And even when I was coming to get you just now, I heard you talking about me wearing clothing that would reveal my— my—“ Qiang Yu’s face turns bright red and she shouts, “You were talking about me being exposed! Even if you were opposing their views, you were talking about my breasts and my hips being visible for everyone to see! Do you not know how humiliating that is? And that’s three times that you’ve embarrassed me! And all I did to you was try to pull a small prank on you! I was waiting just outside to make sure the only ones to see you would be me and Lulu, but you…”
“Okay, first off,” Lan Jin interjects, “I did not, ever, talk about you wearing clothes like that. If you listened to the conversation, you should have heard me say that you were the exact opposite of a barbarian…”
“But I was still the topic!” Qiang Yu complains. “I was the person they would apply the description to— even I considered what I would look like in the clothing you described! And because of your words, who knows how many boys are trying to imagine me wearing—“ After a minute, she finishes, “Why would I not be upset with you after that?”
Shaking his head, Lan Jin wants to say that none of them were interested in her for her body, and he thinks it’s unlikely that they would be imagining her like that either. But he also doesn’t know if they would do it, and the only way to tell her that they wouldn’t do it would be to directly assault her self-esteem. And after listening to them insult her for the last fifteen or twenty minutes, he doesn’t have the heart to do that.
“Look, I chose my words poorly. And I will apologize for that. But I’m not about to apologize for what happened earlier today or whatever happened to you last night. Even if you don’t like it, those are on you.”
Lan Jin watches her mouth close tightly, and next to her, Lulu puts her hand on her arm. After a few seconds, Qiang Yu speaks again.
“What happened earlier could be considered my overreaction, and I do remember you trying to talk to me last night. So I will forgive what happened and treat it like a mutual misunderstanding. And since you defended my Papa, I won’t hold what you said to those boys against you, even if I think I should.”
Shaking his head, Lan Jin lets out a sigh. Then, looking at the bottle of wine in her hand, he remembers how he just threatened to burn a guy’s face off with his fire.
“Look, that wine is meant to be a slap for those guys earlier, right?”
Qiang Yu tilts her head slightly at his words before nodding.
“Yes, but… it’s meant to get you in trouble, also. And it wouldn’t be acceptable to use it anymore. If I find that I can’t forgive you for what you said to them, then I will find some other means to get even with you. But this one won’t work anymore.”
Thinking about her trying to get even with him again, Lan Jin can’t help but groan because, one of these days, something will stick. “Yeah, I get that. But I just threatened to burn off a guy’s face and I already insulted all of them. And I’m still not okay with you for what you’ve done to me, but I’m definitely not okay with what those guys were saying about you. So if you can get your mom’s permission, I will drink some of that wine with you so you can vent a bit. Alright?”
Qiang Yu and Lulu both widen their eyes at him.
“Really?” Lulu asks while shaking Qiang Yu’s arm. “Sister Yu already told you that you’d get in trouble if you drink it, and you’re okay with that?”
Thinking that she’s talking about the young men he was dealing with, Lan Jin scoffs. “I couldn’t give a fuck. Those assholes deserve to be slapped in the face, and I’m not strong enough to do it personally.” Looking at Qiang Yu, he adds, “So if you can get your mom’s permission, then I’ll help you out this time.”
Qiang Yu looks uncertain, but when she lowers her eyes to the bottle in her hands, she hesitates a moment. “I’m okay with it, but… asking my mom is a little inappropriate. If she doesn’t stop us, she is already tacitly agreeing to let us do it.”
Lan Jin lets out a single, loud burst of laughter. “Yeah, no. That’s not going to work for me. I don’t know if there is a legal age that allows someone to drink around here, but you just saying that your mom is okay with it because she doesn’t stop it is not going to fly. Unless I get her permission, I’m not drinking anything with you.”
Qiang Yu and Lulu look at each other before they both turn back to Lan Jin.
“And you’re okay with getting in trouble?” Qiang Yu asks him.
“Yeah, as long as your mom is okay with it. I don’t plan on leaving your house until things cool down or your mom makes me, anyways. That or until the Great Physician comes and grabs me. This city is just nuts, and I do not want to have to resort to burning someone just so everyone else gets the message to leave me alone.”
Looking at each other again, Qiang Yu and Lulu both nod their heads.
“Okay,” Qiang Yu agrees. "We will go to her.
***
The three of them return to the main dining room together, but Lan Jin trails behind the two girls because he still doesn’t want to be seen as associating with them unless Qiang Yu’s mom gives them the okay.
It is a bit stressful for him as they head downstairs, though, as numerous gazes begin crawling over him the second he arrives on the ground floor of the building. What makes it worse is that, though many of the younger people look angry, the older people just look like they are examining a slab of meat.
Apparently, what happened got their attention. But from the looks of things, they are either hiding their emotions really well or they haven’t decided to take offense yet.
He doesn’t like so many people looking at him, especially not with such dead eyes. But he can’t do anything about it as he continues following Qiang Yu and Lulu until they arrive back at their table in the far back corner of the restaurant.
With one look at her, Lan Jin realizes that Sun Meirong is annoyed. And the first thing she says as gets close enough to hear her is, “If you want my permission to drink with my daughter, I will allow you to share one cup. But that is it, and it will be under my supervision. And it is solely to allow you two to reconcile and settle my daughter’s frustrations. Are we clear?”
“Lady Sun!” one man shouts. “You can’t be serious!”
“That is unacceptable!” shouts another.
“She is unmarried!” shouts a third.
Numerous calls begin coming from the surroundings and Lan Jin notices Sun Meirong’s face darkening. However, instead of responding to their calls, she waits for him to nod his head and then grabs the bottle from her daughter, pulls off the top, and personally fills the three tea cups he, Qiang Yu, and Lulu had been using earlier.
“I’m drinking also?” Lulu asks, her voice uncertain and her eyes wide.
“Since it’s your idea, you can share the burden,” Sun Meirong sniffs at the short girl.
With a sigh, Lulu says, “Yes, Mistress.”
Then, Lulu grabs the cup she had used earlier and hands Qiang Yu her own, but as Lan Jin makes to grab his cup, Qiang Yu grabs it and hands it to him before cradling her cup in her palms.
Resting his cup on his palm, Lan Jin looks at Sun Meirong and asks, “You’re really okay with her drinking?”
“Of course not,” Sun Meirong huffs. “But as you said, I’m even more not okay with what those young men said about her. So enjoy.”
Lan Jin nods his head as he easily accepts her words, but then he pauses and his face begins to pale. Turning back to Sun Meirong, she has a smile on her face.
“And I’m also not okay with a young man commenting on my appearance to a bunch of other young men, but in place of punishing you for that, I will accept punishing you for drinking with my daughter. So, as I said, enjoy.”
Cursing himself inwardly for having a big mouth, Lan Jin trembles slightly and he can’t help but swallow as he quickly turns his face back to Qiang Yu and Lulu.
Both of them look unsurprised by Sun Meirong having overheard his conversation with the men upstairs, and Lan Jin can’t help but wonder how she would have overheard anything if she had sent Qiang Yu and Lulu to get him.
However, with Qiang Yu and Lulu both looking at him expectantly, Lan Jin chooses to worry about it later as he extends his cup to them.
With dozens of people shouting at them from the background, their cups make soft clinking sounds as Qiang Yu and Lulu replicate his action, and then the three of them drink their wine to the outrage of others.