Return to the city lord manor

On our way back to the compound, we met a departing group of brother Fei. The left side of his face was black and swollen. It reminded me prince Zuko from Avatar cartoon. Tall and buff figure of elder Yan beside him only reinforced the image. It kind of put me in Azula's position as a genius younger child eclipsing the elder one. And while she got a little too passionate at the end of the story, she was still an absolute badass, so rule about being a dragon or batman (if possible) applies to her self.

I even imagined what it's like to be Azula herself. Nah, I wasn't ready yet - her ego was at the minimum a pinnacle of black-gold rank. But it's not like I had a choice, this evening was meant to be a meeting between the heads of the three Major families, who had the same kind of ego. There was no place for weakness.

We met with Shen Hong getting ready to depart, he asked if sis wants to come, which she rejected saying that if Ye Zong doesn't have the balls to invite her, then she has no reason to come either. Father nodded with a smug smile. Xiu'er led Yue'er away and I joined father in his carriage.

It wasn't a regular thing, that can be hired at Ma family stations, it was expensive luxurious stuff decorated with red, purple, and gold, as well as carvings and applications of dragons and phoenixes. It also had a number of top-tier inscription. It was honest to gods "pussy wagon" of the inside with bar, music box, pillows and a moving fortress towards outside.

And so we rode this tank to the city lord manor. Dad was mostly quiet, judging, scheming, he only confirmed my guess about the meeting and warned about the usual trick of both Ye Zong and Chen Zhenlong.

This time the reception was completely different. Ye Zong was awaiting us in the company of his daughter, he seemed happy. Greetings were traded and we could already hear the arrival of Divine family carriage. His colors were black, yellow, and white and applications were done using tiger and turtle motifs. The patriarch was slightly taller than dad and 'uncle' Zong (as he wanted to be called) and had a grumpy disposition. He also brought his son Linjian, who was two years older than me and Zi Yun, he was full of smiles and charm.

There were two tables in the center of the hall, one for adults, another for kids. Maids stood at a distance to allow us an illusion of privacy, there was some live music (and beautiful songstress) to cover our voices.

We took our places: fathers and children opposite each-other, Ye Zong took central place with Shen Hong to his right and Chen Zhenlong to his left. Food was excellent, last time it was excellent too, but this time it was a couple of notches above. Ren Mao was singing a song about the last stand of Lord Ye Hong (and how united forces of all families swept the scattered horde within a week). As expected, two tigers decided to soften the dragon with his favorite music, father actually predicted it all, including song and the size songstress's breasts.