Xie Lan's thoughts froze.
Just... nothing. All rational thought had vanished, and only red-hot rage remained.
"Aaargh!" He didn't think twice; his arm moved on its own in the dead middle of the very busy main street, and without even covering his fist with any Qi, he just pulled back and then unleashed all his frustration on Xie Jing's face, punching him hard.
CRACK!
The sound of bone hitting bone echoed through the suddenly quiet market. Xie Jing's head snapped back with a sickening force, and for a moment, he just stood there, a dumbfounded look on his face. Then, as if the strings were cut, his body crumpled, and he flew backward.
BOOM!
Xie Jing skidded across the stone pavement, kicking up a cloud of dust, and finally came to a stop in a heap, ten feet away. The whole market went dead silent. Every single person froze mid-step, their jaws on the floor. They all stared, first at the crumpled form of Xie Jing, then at Xie Lan, who stood there with his fist still clenched.
Xie Jing, with fresh blood streaming from his nose and split lip, pushed himself up on one elbow. His eyes were wide with disbelief. "You... you dare? You piece of shit, you dare to hit me?" he roared, scrambling to his feet.
He didn't even think; he just let his anger take over. He charged, a faint, purplish light coating his fist. It was a punch reinforced with Qi, a punch meant to break bones.
Xie Lan, however, didn't even flinch. He watched his cousin's fist fly towards his face with a cold, calm focus that he had never felt before. As the glowing knuckles were about to smash into his nose, he moved. His hand shot up, not to block but to catch.
His fingers wrapped around Xie Jing's wrist, stopping the Qi-powered punch dead in its tracks, as if it were nothing more than a child's playful shove.
The sound of bones cracking was barely audible, but Xie Jing's scream was not.
"Aaaargh! My wrist! You broke my wrist!"
Xie Lan held on, his grip like an iron vise. He looked down at his cousin, who was now on his knees, his face twisted in pain. All the fury, all the humiliation Xie Lan had ever felt from this man, and all the regret for his past weakness were channeled into his eyes.
"You thought I was still that weak little boy you could push around?" Xie Lan's voice was low and dangerous, a stark contrast to his usual playful tone.
With a single, powerful tug, he flung Xie Jing aside like a rag doll.
Xie Jing crashed into a merchant's fruit cart, sending apples and oranges tumbling onto the street. He lay there, groaning, his pride broken along with his wrist.
"Get him! Get that piece of trash!" Xie Jing shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at Xie Lan. He was looking at his own followers, the bullies who usually followed him around, hoping for some of his reflected glory.
The three of them looked at each other, then at Xie Lan, who was standing tall and untouched, and then at their leader, bleeding and broken on the ground. Without a word, they turned and ran. They weren't loyal. They were just vultures, and they knew a dead horse when they saw one.
Seeing his followers abandon him, a new fear entered Xie Jing's eyes. He pushed himself up, his body shaking. "You... you're going to regret this," he stammered, backing away.
Xie Lan just stood there, his expression unreadable. He let his cousin's empty threats hang in the air for a moment before he walked forward, his steps slow and deliberate.
"Do you know something, Xie Jing?" Xie Lan said, his voice soft enough that only his cousin could hear. He stopped right in front of him, looming over his trembling form. "The thing about power is, you have to be the stronger one all the time. Because when you're not... when you show just a single crack..."
He leaned down, his face inches from Xie Jing's. The scent of his cousin's fear was thick in the air.
"...someone else will break you. That's what just happened to you."
He didn't say another word. He just turned his back on the whimpering mess of his cousin, showing him that he wasn't even worth his anger anymore.
Xie Lan's eyes fell on the two girls, who were standing nearby, their faces pale. The wind had picked up again, and their flimsy costumes were doing a poor job of hiding their bodies from the cold.
He walked over to a nearby clothes merchant, a wide-eyed old man who was trying to make himself as small as possible. Without a word, Xie Lan pointed to two simple, plain brown robes. The old man nodded frantically, not daring to ask for payment.
Xie Lan walked back to the girls and held out the robes. "Here. Put these on," he said. His voice was gruff, but his eyes weren't looking at their bodies anymore. He was just looking at their faces.
The twins stared at him, then at the robes in his hand. For a second, they hesitated, their eyes darting between him and the whimpering Xie Jing on the ground.
"I said, put them on. Now," Xie Lan repeated, his voice firm.
They took the robes, their movements slow and uncertain.
As they started to dress, Qiuyu, the younger one, looked up at him, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and something else. Gratitude? Maybe.
Dongyu, the older one, just kept her head down, her hands shaking as she tied the sash of her new, plain robe.
As Xie Jing watched the scene unfold from a distance, his humiliation burned like a hot iron. He saw how the other people in the market, who had been looking at him with fear and respect, were now looking at him with mocking smiles and quiet whispers.
"Aaargh!" He couldn't take it anymore. He scrambled to his feet and, without another look, ran away, disappearing into a narrow alley like a wounded animal.