Ku Shen's sudden outburst left the others speechless and the entire courtyard was oddly still. Even the light breeze died down as if the wind wanted to see what would happen next. For a moment Ku Shen seemed content to just silently seethe with anger, but Ku Qin Zemin moving to place himself between him and Ming Jia Ying caused him to boil over. “I could tell she knew you from the way she talked about you before the second round. How long have you been working together? Did you plant her on my team? Is she meant to sabotage my tournament performance? I knew something was off when I saw that team name. Are you working with my brother? What's lesson three? WHAT IS IT?” The accusations came rapid fire leaving no time for the others to properly respond. The final question was tinged with more panic than anger as Ku Shen's rage gave way to paranoia.
Ku Shen could feel the eyes of the growing crowd bearing down on him. He began shouting at them to stay back as he circulated his Chi to produce wind blades that scarred the ground in his immediate vicinity, causing several people to jump back. Thankfully the proctors were quick to react and stepped in to subdue his control over the wind elements before anyone was injured.
Captain Fan emerged from the crowd, noting the prince resembled a cornered beast more than a member of the imperial family. “What seems to be the matter, Prince Ku Shen? How can I be of service?” Captain Fan asked with the absolute minimum amount of sincerity needed to hide his disdain.
Hearing the captain's voice Ku Shen wheeled around to face him wild eyed before he finally seemed to catch himself, realization that he'd been making a spectacle of himself setting in. The young prince took a moment to adjust his clothes and run a hand through his hair, steadying himself as he addressed the captain, “Ah, yes, well... Captain Fan I'd like to withdraw my sponsorship of Team Lesson Three, effective immediately.”
Captain Fan gave a slight salute at the command, “As you wish Prince Ku Shen. If you'd like to return to the capital I can have a carriage ready for your immediate departure.”
Dozens of eyes were still on Ku Shen and he felt goosebumps crawl across his skin at their judgment. “Very good captain,” he quickly agreed to Captain Fan's suggestion and two guards stepped forward to escort him as he left.
Captain Fan shook his head disapprovingly and once Ku Shen was out of earshot he made no attempt to hide his voice from the others gathered in the square, “Pathetic!” he spat the word like a curse, “Prince Ku Shen's behavior will be included in my report to Imperial Prince Ku Fu.”
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As the captain retired to his office Tsubame began to step forward when she noticed Lin Liqin stepping back. With an arch of her eyebrow she asked, “Where are you off to?”
“Honestly, I know there's bad blood there, but I feel bad for the brat. This isn't what we came here for and I think things may have gotten a bit out of hand. I'm going to message the kid and see how he wants to handle it. It's his family after all. You look after the little miss for me,” he said as he headed off to a deserted corner where he could use his Encyclopedia page in peace.
Now that the commotion has concluded the crowd began to disperse. Tsubame approached Ku Qin Zemin and Ming Jia Ying with a slight giggle before giving a halfhearted apology, “I'm sorry Jia Ying. I just wanted to get a rise out of him. I had no idea he'd react so badly to the team name when I picked it.”
“That was hardly the only factor. Cousin Xue and I have been making life very difficult for Cousin Shen of late and I suspect seeing me and Ying'er together was the last straw,” Ku Qin Zemin was quick to dismiss Tsubame's apology in his attempt to take on the blame.
Ming Jia Ying shook her head as she refuted them, “This is all Prince Shen's fault. It started with Wei and led here. None of this would have happened if he hadn't acted first.” Then as an after thought she added, “Also, given his position running an intelligence gathering unit, you'd think he'd do the bare minimum of vetting his new team before sponsoring them for a tournament.”
Ming Jia Ying's blunt assessment of the prince elicited a chuckle from both Ku Qin Zemin and Tsubame. The sun was already hiding behind the mountains and after the days excitement the three fell into step with the remnants of the lingering crowd as they made their way to the bunker for some much needed sleep. Not long after they arrived Lin Liqin entered the room and headed for Tsubame's bunk. She gave him a questioning glance and he gave her a brief nod as he climbed into bed beside her. Soon they were fast asleep, comfortable in the knowledge that, at least for the moment, Ku Shen was not there problem.
In the morning the team formally known as Ku Shen's Lesson Three was summoned to the captain's office. Lin Liqin was nonplussed about having his breakfast interrupted and even more annoyed when they arrived to find the captain enjoying a large meal of his own. Captain Fan motioned for them to sit and they did before he began, “So, there's the not insignificant matter of your loss of sponsorship. The rules state that you need a sponsor to be a contestant in the tournament and, unfortunately, there's no viable sponsors available.”
Captain Fan let them sit with that information for a moment in agonizing silence before adding, “However, you've shown promise and have a rapport with the other contestants who I think would find the victory hollow if you were excluded on a technicality. As such, how would you like to work for me in the up coming round? Similar to the guards and proctors, outsiders are allowed to act in an official capacity, but you'd be barred from the leaderboard regardless of your performance. So, what do you think?”
Lin Liqin whistled a happy little tune, his annoyance at missing breakfast fading with each note. Tsubame reclined against the back of her chair, a big mischievous grin plastered across her face. Lastly, Ming Jia Ying leaned forward and, in a tone more serious than Captain Fan thought a nine year old should be capable of, said, “We need to know everything about the upcoming third round.”