44 Confrontation

Seth Rydel leaned casually against the entrance to the Healing Bay with an expression that had Yuliang's hackles rising.

"You want something?" Yuliang asked coldly, amber eyes flashing.

Seth straightened up, standing at his full height of 6'3", looking down at Yuliang with steely brown eyes. "Yeah. I want an explanation." he said.

"Yeah? Here for an explanation for why I beat your bitch ass that day?" Yuliang baited, taking pleasure in the furious flush that took over the other man's face.

"You were just lucky that day," Seth grunted, "Caught me off guard. There's no way a Healer could have beaten an Enforcer."

Yuliang scoffed, "What Enforcer? You're not even halfway through your training. Not that it matters. I'd still have beat your punk-ass for what you did."

Then he was hit by the realization that his words were only escalating the situation, not resolving it. Yuliang paused and took a calming breath in hope of taking the edge off his temper.

"Look, Rydel, I ain't looking for a fight with ya. You just mind your own business and not approach my brother again and we're settled."

Seth tsked, crossing his arms over his chest, blocking the door even more with the bulk of his body, "I don't get what the big deal was. Me having sex with him has nothing to do with you."

"The big deal is that my brother asked you whether you knew me, and for whatever reason, you said you didn't," Yuliang snarled.

The words hung heavy in the air between them. Seth looked taken aback by the response, clearly expecting some shovel talk or jealousy driven bullshit from him instead like some other people in the past had.

Honestly, what was the purpose of hiding his acquaintance with Yuliang if he was trying to get with his brother?

At the time, Yuliang felt like there was something else going on. The feeling was uncomfortable and it made him want to grab his brother and hightail out of this fucked up city.

Yuliang had never been someone who thought too deeply about other people's motives, since that sort of mindset usually led down the pathway towards conspiracy and paranoia, but this entire situation had Yuliang feeling furious and wary.

Taking a deep breath, he averted his eyes and forced himself to relax his posture, "Look, Rydel. Let's put this behind us, yeah? You lied to my kin and paid the price, simple as that. No need for bad blood between us."

He didn't want to know or get involved with whatever the fuck Seth Rydel was, but he needed to first get this matter resolved to ensure that the man didn't have any reason to bother his brother again after this.

Yuliang couldn't say what the other man was thinking, but his sharp eyes were able to see the way the tension in Seth's body finally eased.

"Alright," Seth nodded, "let's put all this behind us."