After he had gotten the cold shoulder from Ye Fan, it was only natural for the old man in the Tang jacket to get angry. He snorted coldly and his displeasure with Ye Fan grew even stronger.
Li Xue-Qi also frowned and looked unhappily at Ye Fan.
"My teacher was talking to you. Did you not hear him?"
"Xue-Qi, how could you talk to Mr. Chu like this? Quick, apologize to him right now.” Li Er scolded his sister right away, when he heard her talking so rudely to Ye Fan. And he demanded that she apologize to Ye Fan at once.
But Li Xue-Qi remained recalcitrant. She turned to her brother and asked angrily: "Why are you telling me to apologize to him? Did I say anything wrong?"
"Did you not see what happened just now? My teacher has honored this fellow by deigning to speak to him. But look at what he just did. He actually ignored my teacher even though he is just a junior. He should be the one to apologize," Li Xue-Qi said bluntly.
Li Er flew into a panic when he heard this and he admonished his sister angrily: "Xue-Qi, shut your mouth!"
"Mr. Chu is our guest. How dare you cause him offence?"
"He is a guest. But what about my teacher? Is he not our guest too? Brother, if you show favoritism like this, you will disappoint my teacher." However, Li Xue-Qi continued to argue with her brother and speak up for her teacher.
"You~" For a while, Li Er found himself at a loss for words. He was so angry that he did not know what to say to his sister.
He could afford to offend neither Ye Fan nor the old man.
After all, the survival of Jiangdong depended on the both of them.
"Xue-Qi, there is no need to blame your brother. This is not Master Er's fault. He has always been a benevolent and righteous man. He treats everyone with kindness. If you want to blame someone, blame that arrogant person who does not know how to behave like a human being." Although the old man did not name anyone, even an idiot could tell that he was talking about Ye Fan.
The "arrogant person" said nothing in response. After chatting with Jin Bao and Yin Bao, Ye Fan sat down to drink his tea. He paid no attention to either Li Xue-Qi or the old man in the Tang jacket.
For a moment, the atmosphere at the table felt a bit awkward.
And so Li Er hurriedly laughed to break the ice. "Well, since you all do not know each other yet, please allow me to make the introductions."
"Headmaster Xing, this is the person I told you about before. He is the person who defeated Wu He-Rong's fellow disciple with a single punch." Li Er pointed at Ye Fan and introduced him to Xing He, the old man in the Tang jacket.
Before Xing He could say anything, Li Xue-Qi snorted disdainfully and said under her breath: "He defeated Wu He-Rong's fellow disciple with a single punch? I think he simply got lucky. He is only a few years older than me. How strong can he be?"
Li Er glared at his sister and she promptly shut up. But her disdain for Ye Fan was still clearly obvious.
And then it was the old man's turn to be introduced. Li Er turned to Ye Fan and said: "Mr. Chu, this is Mr. Xing He, the headmaster of the Taiji school in Yunzhou.
I don't know if Mr. Chu understands Chinese wushu, but headmaster Xing He is a venerable elder in Yunzhou's wushu community. His Taiji Fist has already reached the acme of perfection."
"Last month, he took part in an international wushu forum as Great China's representative. He has only just returned a few days ago."
"Also, headmaster Xing He is my sister's teacher. Although Xue-Qi is a girl, she is very enthusiastic about the combative arts. And she has been learning Taiji from headmaster Xing He ever since she was a little girl.”
As Li Er said all this, the old man was filled with pride. He sat up a bit straighter, while the look of authority and aloof pride in his eyes grew even more evident.
Xing He felt very confident that his fame would be able to overwhelm the inexperienced young man before him.
And just as expected, the moment Li Er had finished speaking, a change came over Ye Fan's expression and he exclaimed, "That's good!"
When Li Xue-Qi heard this, she immediately lifted her chin and snorted. "Hmph, it is good that you know what a great man my teacher is."
Meanwhile, a proud smile appeared on Xing He's lips. The old man lifted his tea cup and took a sip, as he waited for the respectful compliments to pour forth from Ye Fan.
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