Hearing the words about the duel Fatty Wang paled, gripping his duck leg like a talisman. “Brother Yun… he’s serious!

  But Xiao Yun stretched lazily, as if he was about to nap. “A duel? With you? Why would I waste my energy on that?”

  Lin Feng sneered. “Why? Are you admitting you fear me?”

  “Fear you? Yes, like I fear a rabid dog.” Xiao Yun instantly mocked back. He’d been in his fair share of online arguments that eventually devolved into trading creative insults, there was no way this clueless brat could hope to beat him in a war of words.

  Xiao Yun’s snarky reply elicited some laughter from the crowd, causing Lin Feng to turn almost as red as his robes.

  The sight of Yu Meiren seemed to have injected a new, desperate bravado into Lin Feng. Here was his chance. He could salvage his reputation and win the attention of the most sought-after fairy in the province all in one move. He would crush this sharp-tongued peasant under his heel and look like a decisive, powerful hero doing it.

  He turned, his voice booming through the silent restaurant. "Xiao Yun! Your tongue is quick, but words are the refuge of cowards! I Lin Feng challenge you to a duel on the Life-and-Death Stage! Let's see if your cultivation is as solid as your baseless insults!"

  He unsheathed his specially forged blade, its crimson edge humming with power. It was not quite at the level of an artefact, but it was far superior to ordinary weapons. He shot a glance at Yu Meiren, hoping to see admiration in her eyes. His declaration raised quite a few eyebrows.

  ‘Life and Death stage huh?’ Xiao Yun remembered what that was from the novel because it had made an impression on him. An ordinary duel and a duel on the Life and Death Stage were completely different things. In an ordinary duel the fight ended the moment one side surrendered or was unable to fight, but on the Life and Death stage the fight would be over only after one of the fighters were dead. It was an agreed upon rule by almost all major powers, as most large cities and Sects had a specific stage built for such fights. Outside interference was not allowed and you could use any and all means at your disposal, and the family or friends of the loser weren’t allowed to pursue vengeance against the winner, unless it was another duel on the stage. The stage was usually reserved for people who had a deep, irreconcilable grudge. Lin Feng’s duel declaration was overkill to say the least, especially over something so petty.

  All eyes were on Xiao Yun now. The entire pavilion waited for his response. In this world, refusing such a public challenge was tantamount to admitting cowardice, a stain that would never wash away. He could simply tuck tail and run, which was understandable but still shameful, or he could fight on the stage, which would almost certainly result in his death. That is unless Xiao Yun possessed some hidden trump card, which he didn’t. His belt was a defensive treasure, and Lin Feng himself most likely had some of his own, being the second son of a rather prominent cultivation clan and all. In addition with his higher cultivation and his sharp blade, it meant that the fight would result in Xiao Yun's death.

  Xiao Yun didn't even stand up. He slowly picked up a dumpling with his chopsticks, dipped it in sauce and took a bite. He chewed, swallowed and then let out a soft sigh of contentment before finally looking at Lin Feng, who had smug expression. He thought he had Xiao Yun cornered, that he would either kill this nuisance or embarrass him greatly, but his plan had a major hole in it, one Xiao Yun would easily exploit.

  "No thank you." he said simply. For a duel to take place on the Life and Death stage explicit agreements from both parties were needed, you couldn’t just drag someone on the stage against their will.

  The silence that followed was heavy. Lin Feng stared, dumbfounded. "What... What did you say?"

  "I said no," Xiao Yun repeated, his calm voice carrying easily through the hall. He took another sip of tea. "Why would I fight you?"

  "Because I challenged you! Are you admitting that you are a coward!?" Lin Feng roared, his face a mask of fury and disdain. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. That loudmouthed weakling wasn’t cowering in fear, instead he was acting as casual as can be, as if he wasn’t the one being challenged!

  Seeing his agitated expression, Xiao Yun smiled. He finally met Lin Feng's gaze, but his eyes were cold as glacial ice.

  "Let me get this straight. You, a Fifth Stage Qi Condensation Realm disciple, with your oh so special sword and a body stuffed full of your family's elixirs, want to fight me, a Third Stage disciple, on a stage where you can lawfully kill me? And you want to do it right after the most beautiful girl in the region walked in?"

  Xiao Yun gestured around with his chopsticks. "Everyone here saw you lose a battle of wits. So now you want to change the rules to something you think you can win. You don't challenge your equals, do you Young Master Lin? You don't challenge those stronger than you. You only ever pick on those you perceive as weak. Why don’t you go challenge someone like your elder brother, who’s almost broken into Foundation Building Realm hmm? Now if you even managed to defeat his pinky finger, you would be a true hero for the ages!”

  Lin Feng’s face fell. Xiao Yun knew that he would be discouraged hearing his more accomplished brother mentioned. Lin Feng’s elder brother, whose name Xiao Yun couldn’t quite remember, was the heir of the Lin clan and the future patriarch. He was more talented than Lin Feng in almost every field and thus they grew up in a family where the older brother received most of the clan’s resources and their parents’ attention and affection. Thus, causing Lin Feng to turn into an unstable and attention seeking brat.

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  Xiao Yun knew that it was the right time to press his advantage and destabilize his opponent further. He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low tone. Everyone could still hear him, nonetheless. "You're not a warrior seeking to test his mettle. You're a bully who needs an audience. You're a coward who can only feel strong when you're crushing someone helpless. You want to fight me to impress Yu Meiren? You think she'd be impressed by a tiger hunting a housecat? Congratulations, I’m sure the very Heavens tremble at your bravery!”

  He was calling himself a housecat in this metaphor, but he didn’t care about things like reputation and ‘face’. Why would he? He was a well-known wastrel, which came with its own advantages. There were very few actions he could take that could damage his reputation even further. Refusing a duel wouldn’t do much to his already abysmal repute. In a battle of words he had the high ground, Anakin Lin Feng shouldn’t have even tried him.

  He sat back, giving Lin Feng a dismissive look. "So, no. I won't duel you. It would be a waste of my time. More importantly, it would be an insult to the very concept of a fair fight. Go find another easy prey to hunt, Young Master Lin. This one isn't interested in playing your pitiful, childish game."

  The pavilion erupted in whispers. Lin Feng stood frozen, his sword trembling in his hand. He had been so thoroughly, so completely humiliated that his mind had gone blank. He wasn't just a loser, he had been exposed as a cowardly and pathetic bully in front of the entire restaurant, his insecurity about his older brother laid bare and most importantly, it was all done in front of Yu Meiren.

  The customers were enjoying the show. The way some of them looked at Lin Feng had changed, as he ended up making a joke out of himself and got looked down upon for his reckless challenge. Some of the regulars were openly mocking him amongst themselves. One richly dressed dressed customer whispered to another. “The spoiled brat with a loud mouth got put into his place by a wastrel. How pathetic ahaha”. Lin Feng couldn’t do anything to them. Though he was from a prominent clan, most of the clientele of the Golden Crane Inn held just as much status and power, if not more. He saw Xiao Yun as someone below their social class, the trashy heir of a clan that was on the brink of collapse, an easy target to bully and take his frustrations out on. Reality had turned out differently, however.

  Lin Feng’s lackeys tugged at his sleeve, whispering urgent warnings to not be rash. His face dark as storm clouds, he finally turned with a sharp flick of his sleeve, storming toward the exit. Better to retreat with whatever grace he had left than become the city’s running joke. He couldn’t just attack Xiao Yun either. Fighting someone in an agreed upon duel was one thing and attacking them in broad daylight something else entirely. Also, the Golden Crane Pavilion was owned by certain influential people, starting a fight here would only serve to antagonize them and imply that you weren’t putting them in your eyes and Lin Feng, though an arrogant brat he may be, was aware of such things. Mainly thanks to his family’s strict teachings. Even putting all the aforementioned influences aside, if Lin Feng humiliated himself by getting into a street fight with a well-known trash, he would not only humiliate himself but his clan as well. And for that mistake the beating he would receive from his father would be tantalizing. As Lin Feng and his entourage left, calm atmosphere slowly returned to the to the restaurant.

  Across the room behind her veil, Yu Meiren’s stellar eyes narrowed slightly. A flicker of interest appeared in her eyes. She’d heard of the famous wastrel duo in random gossip, one round and one slim. She couldn’t quite remember their names as she hadn’t paid them any attention, but at least one of them seemed to not entirely fit into his reputation. Before now, she hadn’t seen anyone refer to themselves as a “housecat” and his opponent as a “tiger”, yet he somehow managed to humiliate the other party while putting himself in a lower position. That required intelligence and an unconventional approach to societal customs, which wasn’t rare amongst the earth’s fearsome caste of keyboard warriors, but such paragons of wisdom and virtue didn’t exist in this world.

  She had also noticed Xiao Yun’s disinterested look when he was looking at her, how he’d averted his gaze. His expression didn’t show any desire or yearning, yet his indifference was mixed with an emotion she couldn’t quite identify(spoiler: it was the ‘Uncanny Valley’ feeling). Aside from her own family, practically everyone else looked at her with either desire, jealousy or both. It was the first time someone looked so casually apathetic. While she was silently contemplating, all the attention inside the Inn had turned to her since the boisterous Ling Feng had left the premises.

  “Humph! Look at all these toads, hoping for a taste of swan meat. We should go already elder sister!” At the words of one of the women in her entourage, they proceeded to a more discreet section of the restaurant before disappearing from the view, much to the disappointment of the onlookers. And though Yu Meiren never said a word, her eyes lingered on Xiao Yun for a moment longer than necessary, before she turned away with her veil fluttering like a snowflake in the breeze. Today had been a rather eventful day in the Golden Crane Inn.

  Lin Feng could be a future source of trouble, but that arrogant brat wasn’t likely to try and assassinate Xiao Yun or attack him without cause. That kid valued face and reputation, and he seemed to enjoy attracting attention. He looked more like the type to try and best him in public to regain his reputation and humiliate his opponent, but how much glory there was in beating a well-known wastrel like Xiao Yun was debatable to say the least.

  Today, in addition to the three fights he avoided coming to the restaurant, he avoided two more ‘main character event’ type of situations back-to-back, the Public Duel and the Jade Beauty events. It seemed every time he came out of the estate, the world around him just wanted him to be involved in every type of encounter he likely wouldn’t be able to walk away from.

  ‘I should bring some guards next time.’ Xiao Yun mused casually. In front of him, Fatty was saying something while chewing on some roasted duck, but whatever he was saying was indecipherable since his mouth was filled with the said duck.

  Smiling, he took a piece of boar meat and toasted his cup with Wang Jun before joining in with him in indulgence. The rest of their evening was uneventful. After they finished their meal and Xiao Yun said a teary goodbye to a hefty amount of silver taels, they said their own farewells before returning to their respective houses.