chp 16 The Rule of the Clans
The next morning, the council of elders from all five clans gathered in the main hall. The air was heavy with formality, the faint scent of incense drifting from the altar.
The verdict was swift.
GURU YUN MU SAID IN ANRY VOICE
"Fighting during a peace gathering is against the unified clan rules," the head elder announced. "Tang Hao of the Tang Clan and Wang San of the Wei Clan will each receive ten strikes."
Wang San didn't flinch, even as the wooden rod came down. Tang Hao stood rigid beside him, silent as stone.
By the time the punishment ended, both had blood at the corner of their lips. Wang San, however, straightened with a crooked grin.
As they left the hall, Yun Zhan was walking past. His gaze lingered briefly on Wang San, noting the redness around his eyes.
"You're crying?" Yun Zhan asked quietly.
"I'm not crying," Wang San said indignantly, holding up the bamboo flute he'd been tinkering with in one hand. "I'm playing. The wind just went in my eyes."
Yun Zhan gave him a long, unreadable look. "…You're impossible."
"Better than boring," Wang San shot back, then winced and muttered under his breath as the pain from the strikes caught up to him.
From the shadowed corridor above, Wang Xiao leaned on the railing, eyes narrowing. Her lips curved faintly — not quite a smile, but close. The fool act might keep her safe, but she had no intention of letting anyone touch those she'd marked as her own.