A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)

Chapter 128 Xing He's Arrogance

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 Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.

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.

However~

"This fish tastes really good. This is no ordinary carp, is it?” Ye Fan was looking at the plate of fish in

front of him, as though he had not noticed the expressions on Xing He's and Li Xue-Qi's faces.

"You~" Xing He's face twisted with rage and he nearly had a stroke right there and then. His body

trembled and the tea he was drinking spurted out of his nostrils. If it were not out of consideration for

Master Li Er, he would have already taught the insolent young man a harsh lesson by slapping him in

the face.

Li Xue-Qi was also enraged by Ye Fan's rudeness, and her face was flushed red with anger.

Her teacher had been humiliated by Ye Fan several times in a row, so it was only natural for her to get

angry. As she glared at Ye Fan, her eyes looked as though they were about to spit fire.

However, from the beginning to the end, Ye Fan had never paid her or her teacher the slightest bit of

attention. All along, it had been their own idea to show off in front of him. Therefore, no blame of any

kind should be attached to Ye Fan.

Li Er's mouth twitched a little, and then he answered Ye Fan's question with a smile. "That's right. This

is a red-tailed carp from the Yellow River, one of the best kinds of carp. Both the taste and nutrition

value are top class."

Li Er chuckled.

At this moment, Xing He interrupted Li Er with an unhappy expression on his face.

"Master Er, we had better get down to business."

Li Er nodded and said, "Since headmaster Xing He has spoken, I will be forthright."

"The main reason I have hosted today's banquet is to give the both of you a send-off."

"Tomorrow, the both of you will represent Jiangdong and set off for Mount Tai to answer Wu He-Rong's

challenge!"

"When the time comes, headmaster Xing He will fight Wu He-Rong first to sap his strength."

"Mr. Chu will appear in the finale to kill Wu He-Rong and cement the victory for Jiangdong!"

Yes. This was the final stratagem thought up by Li Er, Chen Ao and the other Jiangdong leaders after

many days of discussion.

After all, if they wanted to diffuse the risk, they could not afford to keep all their eggs in one basket.

Therefore, after getting Ye Fan on their side, they had also invited the headmaster of the Taiji school to

help them deal with Wu He-Rong.

With twice the insurance, their chances of victory at tomorrow's duel would be even greater.

"If you emerge victorious, the both of you will be the benefactors of all the leaders in Jiangdong"

"Come, Mr. Chu and headmaster Xing. Let us drink a toast to the duel!”

Li Er laughed heartily, stood up from his seat and raised his cup toward Ye Fan and Xing He.

But, to Li Er's surprise, Xing He did not touch his cup, even after a long wait.

"Headmaster Xing He, what are you...?" Li Er asked.

Xing He snorted coldly and said, "Master Er, what do you mean by what you just said?"

"Why am I the warm-up act? Why is a youngster like him in the finale?"

"Perhaps you think that I am weaker than a youngster?!" Xing He asked heavily.

And with a sombre look on his face, he slammed his hand on the table.