"Some? More like a lot." Qing Shisan looked as if he wanted to pry open Pei Gaoya's skull with his pipe to see if it was filled with nothing but muscle. "Clearly," he said, exasperated, "the Master feels something... different for that Barbarian Princess."
"Huh?" Pei Gaoya's eyes went wide. "You don't mean the Master has actually taken a fancy to her, do you? No way!"
Pei Gaoya refused to believe it.
"It's not romantic affection," Qing Shisan said. He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then nodded with certainty. "The Master is sulking."
"Sulking? With who? The Princess?"
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
Qing Shisan took out his flint and steel. After a few strikes, it finally caught. He took a deep drag from his pipe, exhaling a series of misshapen smoke rings.
After a long moment, he finally said slowly, "With himself."
...
The sun set, and they made camp.
As usual, Zheng Xiu ducked into the small tent with Feng Bei.
