Chivalrous

Chapter Twenty-Four - Disputes

"This soup is so good," Xiao commented.

Bradley nodded in agreement. "Where did you get the chicken?"

Xiao laughed. "It's a funny story really. I went to three places for meat but they all told me that the mayor's son bought all the meat. And at the butcher shop, there was a chicken that was pre-ordered. So obviously I bargained for it. But before the butcher could sell it to me, the mayor's son came. So we wrestled and I got the chicken."

Bradley frowned. "The mayor's son?"

"Yeah. A spoiled brat, really."

"Why would you go around offending the mayor's son?"

"Don't tell me you're scared." Xiao took Bradley's bowl and smiled at Bradley over the edge of the bowl.

Bradley wrenched the empty bowl back from Xiao. "We are still on their territory, aren't we? Why can't you just hold off on playing with them?"

"What could they do to me?"

"Maybe they can't. But why would you cause trouble when there was no need for it?"

"They bought all the meat in the city!"

"How childish could you be?!" Bradley exclaimed.

Xiao rolled his eyes. "Can't you just be glad that we have good food now?"

"You just got off the sickbed and you're already wrestling with the mayor's son. What happened to all the discipline that we learned on Mount Huai?"

Xiao was just picking up a piece of green pepper but he slammed his chopsticks down on the table as soon as he heard this. "Don't connect everything to discipline."

"So what if you eat vegetables only for another day? Another week? Why can't you just go around like a proper person?"

"Proper? Discipline? Why do you keep on bringing this into the conversation?"

"Because you need some discipline! You're becoming a wild and spoiled thing!"

Xiao leaned back and downed a goblet of alcohol. "Tell me exactly what you think of me, Bradley."

Bradley glared at him but didn't say anything. So Xiao did.

"Bradley, don't think that because you're my brother that you can keep on lecturing me like mentor could. Ever since we met, you scolded me more than mentor did. What did I do that you find so offending? Why pick out all my flaws? And you think you're so righteous. You're just pretentious. If there was some high status knight who broke the law, you would still bow down to them. Now you're scolding me for wrestling with the mayor's son? What is he to me?"

Bradley shook with anger. "Pretentious? Am I wrong to lecture you? You cause trouble everywhere you go. And the weeks we spent on Mount Huai. All I see you do was sneak off to the back. Shouldn't you be responsible to your brothers?"

Xiao sneered. "They are all like mentor and you. They abide by every rule and don't ever think about innovative tactics. No hidden weapons, no smart strategies, just fighting in the same sequences again and again - "

"You're going to go off with your beloved Wen River disciples then?"

Xiao started. "Wen River? You think I should be in the Anlang Sect?"

"You might as well join them. One day you'll cause trouble for Mount Huai and consequently Mount Gudu."

"This is your loyalty towards your brother - " Xiao cut himself off with a laugh. "Oh I get it. This is your loyalty towards people of high status. Of course you would stand on the mayor's side, because he's rich. But I'm just a lowlife's son, right? I got onto Mount Huai by sheer luck. That's why you lecture me ten times a day. Because I can never be as good as you."