The walk back to the village was, in a word, loud.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, FEMALE!"
Cāng Jì's voice echoed through the forest for what had to be the eighteenth time in the last ten minutes. He was stomping through the undergrowth like a toddler who had been told he couldn't have dessert, his tattered silks flapping dramatically with each furious step.
"I COULD BE IN MY PALACE RIGHT NOW! BATHING IN MINERAL SPRINGS! HAVING MY SCALES POLISHED BY SERVANTS! BUT NO! INSTEAD, I AM HERE! IN THIS MUD-PIT! BEING ASSAULTED BY TREE-RODENTS! ALL BECAUSE YOU—"
"Okay, okay! I get it!" Bai Yue snapped, throwing her hands up. "I'm sorry! I've said I'm sorry! What more do you want from me? A blood oath???"
"I WANT MY DIGNITY BACK!"
