Saying His Piece

"Mo Fan, you — you damned wretch, what do you think you're saying?! Apologize to Mr. Mu Zhuoyun this instant!" Mu He roared, his face flushed with fury.

*Is this Mo Fan terminally stupid, or what? He dares act like this in front of Mu Zhuoyun? That whole family must have a death wish!*

"Apologize? Sure, no problem. But he owes me one too — for what happened three years ago. Don't try to crush me with your cultivation level or your authority. At his age, Mu Zhuoyun can only bully someone like me, a kid who hasn't even turned eighteen. Let me put it plainly: if you were my age right now, I'd beat you until you were crawling around picking up your own teeth."

Mo Fan's total fearlessness was on full display in that moment, and it was something to behold.

"Bullshit!" The insolent brat had actually driven Mu Zhuoyun over the edge — the coarse word burst out before he could stop himself.

*At his age, even without Mu Ningxue's extraordinary gifts, Mu Zhuoyun had still been a genuine prodigy. He wouldn't give Tianlan Magic High School students a second glance.*

"Mo Fan, you've got some nerve, I'll grant you that," one of the Mu Clan members cut in. "Never mind what Patriarch Mu Zhuoyun was like in his prime — right now, any core disciple from our Mu Clan could put you down in a single move!"

"Exactly! And it doesn't even need to go that far — I, Mu Bai, will face you in a magic duel. If you lose, you get on your knees and apologize to the Patriarch until he's satisfied!" Mu Bai had snapped back to life and seized the moment, practically leaping forward to serve as the Patriarch's loyal attack dog.

He and Mo Fan were the same generation — a fair duel between peers. What could Mo Fan possibly say to that?

Under the banner of fairness, Mu Bai intended to grind Mo Fan into the dirt and vent every drop of the Patriarch's wrath on his behalf.

"That won't be necessary."

Just as Mu Bai moved to step forward, a proud, ice-edged voice cut through the air.

Every gaze turned toward the speaker at once.

It was Mu Ningxue. Of all the people who might have stepped forward at a moment like this, no one had imagined it would be her.

She walked into the space between her father and Mo Fan, her eyes — cold and clear as snowfields on a distant peak — holding a trace of quiet fury.

That anger, of course, was directed at Mo Fan.

"Since you claim my father only knows how to bully those weaker than himself — since you claim my father uses his authority to oppress a self-made Mage like you — then fine. I'm the same age as you. Fight me." Mu Ningxue's voice was perfectly even, but beneath the calm lay the unyielding weight of an ice-capped summit.

"Ningxue?!" Mu Zhuoyun stared at his daughter. The fury on his face had dissolved into something closer to astonishment.

Mo Fan looked at Mu Ningxue standing directly before him, wearing that lazy, devil-may-care smirk of his.

*Well now. This is interesting. Mu Ningxue herself has stepped into the ring.*

Honestly, dueling that spineless braggart Mu Bai wouldn't have been worth the trouble — Mo Fan had already shown himself the better man in every respect today. Mu Ningxue was an entirely different matter. She was celebrated as Bo City's foremost female prodigy, a golden child of the Imperial Capital in the making. A duel against her would be far more worth his time.

"Ningxue, I'm more than enough to handle this guy — you really don't need to lower yourself to—" Mu Bai scrambled forward, all smiles, trying to intercede.

"My father has been insulted." Mu Ningxue spoke each word with precise deliberation, leaving no room for argument. "My father may be magnanimous enough to overlook this gutter-mouthed little sneak, but as his daughter, I will not. We settle this the fairest way there is — a magic duel."

"Excellent! Well said!" School Board Director Deng Kai burst into enthusiastic applause. "This icy spirit and unbending backbone — how gratifying to see it in someone so young. Truly worthy of Bo City's finest talent — extraordinary ability, and such clear moral conviction to match."

Having finished his praise, Deng Kai clapped a hand on Mu Zhuoyun's shoulder and continued, "Brother Zhuoyun, there's really no need for someone of your stature to personally deal with this insolent boy. He claims he could overpower you at his age — and naturally you can't go back to being sixteen to prove him wrong. Let your daughter Mu Ningxue take care of it. Let this ignorant little fool be put in his place so thoroughly he hasn't a word left to say."

Mu Zhuoyun said nothing. He simply held Deng Kai's gaze.

Deng Kai saw that Mu Zhuoyun's temper was at least back under control. He allowed himself a small smile and stepped toward Mo Fan.

"Mo Fan, I believe that's your name. As the head of Bo City's Hunters' Alliance, I honestly can't decide whether to call what you did today youthful ignorance or sheer stupidity. But you really should apologize to Mr. Mu Zhuoyun for this reckless outburst. His contributions to this city are far beyond what you're capable of understanding."

"Apologize? No problem at all." Mo Fan's voice was unhurried, almost pleasant. "I'll carry a bundle of thorns on my back and kowtow in the most traditional fashion you've ever seen — I'll keep going until he says he's satisfied. But there's a condition: they'd have to actually deserve that apology. Go ask him yourself — ask him what he said to my family three years ago. I'll bow my head the moment he bows his first. You say he's one of Bo City's most distinguished figures? Then a man of his standing should know better than to make enemies of people with nothing to lose. Small people can be crushed flat by your heel — but before we go down, we'll curse you hard enough to give you a brain hemorrhage."

"This is a civilized society," the school principal cut in, scowling. "Nobody is going to do any such thing. At most, you could be expelled."

"All right. Since things have gone this far, it's actually not as difficult to resolve as it seems." Deng Kai stepped in smoothly. "We'll do exactly as Mu Ningxue proposed. A magic duel between the two of you. If you lose, you apologize to Mu Zhuoyun — and you keep apologizing until he's satisfied. And if Mu Ningxue loses..."

He let the sentence trail off and glanced toward Mu Zhuoyun.

Mu Zhuoyun let out a cold snort. "Ningxue lose? That's not possible."

"Stop wasting breath. Just say whether you dare or not." Mo Fan's tone carried a cutting edge.

Dignity wasn't something the great clans possessed in greater measure than anyone else — and it certainly didn't shrink just because your family had been ground underfoot. Mo Fan was a small person: the kind who repaid every slight, no matter how petty.

*Join the Mu Clan?*

He hadn't forgotten a single word Mu Zhuoyun had said three years ago — words that treated them like dogs being crushed beneath a wheel. He hadn't forgotten how Mu He had driven his family into poverty and displacement. If he came trotting back the moment Mu Zhuoyun tossed him a bone, then he really would be a dog — what would make him any different from Zhao Kunsan or Mu Bai?

As for cursing the man?

Completely warranted.

Three years ago, at thirteen, he had pointed his finger at Mu Zhuoyun and called him a rotten old bastard to his face. He was sixteen or seventeen now. Did they seriously think he'd gotten more afraid?

The saying "once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of rope" had never applied to Mo Fan. If a snake bit him, he'd grab it by the tail and swing it around like a jump rope.

When you're already an ant in their eyes, it doesn't matter how fast you run — you can't outrun a foot that size. Better to curse at the top of your lungs while you still can.

"Brother Zhuoyun, what do you say?" Deng Kai adopted the soothing tones of a practiced mediator.

The entire school was watching — teachers and students alike. If this ugly standoff could be redirected into a fair magic duel, that was clearly the best outcome for everyone. Actually expelling Mo Fan would accomplish nothing; worse, it would be throwing away real talent. Any student who could take the top score at Tianlan Magic High School was a seedling worth cultivating.

"Like I can't handle this little brat myself." Mu Zhuoyun swept his gaze to Mu Ningxue. "Ningxue. Stay out of it."