"Xiansheng, please be at ease," Jin Guangyao insists ever so kindly. "This one intends no offense; we only wish to ask a few questions."
He deploys his most genial and reassuring of smiles from his arsenal of expressions intended to soothe agitated nerves and placate fractious tempers, and accompanies it with a precise tilt of his head. He allows Shen Yuan to keep hold of his arm, because surely two friends standing arm-in-arm before this vendor can't be in the mood to pick a fight, can they? (If it has the added benefit of ensuring the huli jing temperament in the mask can't convince Shen Yuan to trot off and get into further trouble, well, all the better.)
The anxiety that the vendor had displayed at their approach speaks volumes all on its own, however. "Has this--" and he gestures discreetly to Shen Yuan's ears (certainly not his tails), "--happened to other masks sold from your stall?"
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"Xiansheng, please be at ease," Jin Guangyao insists ever so kindly. "This one intends no offense; we only wish to ask a few questions."
He deploys his most genial and reassuring of smiles from his arsenal of expressions intended to soothe agitated nerves and placate fractious tempers, and accompanies it with a precise tilt of his head. He allows Shen Yuan to keep hold of his arm, because surely two friends standing arm-in-arm before this vendor can't be in the mood to pick a fight, can they? (If it has the added benefit of ensuring the huli jing temperament in the mask can't convince Shen Yuan to trot off and get into further trouble, well, all the better.)
The anxiety that the vendor had displayed at their approach speaks volumes all on its own, however. "Has this--" and he gestures discreetly to Shen Yuan's ears (certainly not his tails), "--happened to other masks sold from your stall?"