For the next five days, they were kept isolated in the tree house, with no contact with the elves, aside from when they were delivered their meals. There was no mention about their release, the negotiations, the mine, nothing. The elves only took the official letter signed by the King, and said nothing in response.
Naturally, the envoys were increasingly displeased with the situation. Their complaints about the elves got worse as well, until eventually, they started taking out their frustration on Yu Qingyu. From his looks and his worn-out clothes, through the way he was breathing, to his very existence, everything was critiqued harshly and torn apart by the four men.
And Yu Qingyu just took it all silently, without ever talking back. Even when the envoys decided the words were not enough and started pushing him around, he just apologized quietly.
He apologized for simply existing.
