In the old wuxia novels he used to read, there was a recurring trope that went something like this:

[“How dare you use sorcery! I will slay you to avenge my disciple’s unjust death!”]
[“No, this isn’t sorcery. It’s our sect’s secret martial art… Also, your ‘disciple’ was a criminal who engaged in human trafficking and murder.”]
[“Silence!”]
[… …]
[“Are you mocking me?!”]
[“What the hell do you want me to say…?”]

This kind of twisted logic, where someone picks a fight over delusions or blatant hypocrisy, was common.

It was a hit-or-miss trope for Ihan—he didn’t particularly like it, but it was so overused that seasoned wuxia readers would just shrug and accept it.

After all, compared to this kind of nonsense—

[“I am a noble heir of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Noble Houses. Even though I tried to kill you, you must forgive me and serve as a loyal hound of justice, fighting the Demon Cult and whatever other threats come our way.”]

—this was relatively tame.