Zhan Zhao answered, “I merely ask that Chief Zhong accompany me to the river crossing.”
Zhong Xiong scoffed. “And if I refuse? Let me remind you, Zhong Xiong has never succumbed to threats. Even if you kill me, you’ll have no hope of escaping the Jinshitang masters lying in wait.”
Zhan Zhao replied with a calm yet pointed tone, “Why would Chief Zhong think this a threat? If you were to choose reckless bravado, seeking to shed blood in vain, would that truly repay the prince’s favor? A hero like Chief Zhong, with unfulfilled aspirations and unfinished goals—if you were to perish now, would you truly rest easy in the days beyond?”
Zhong Xiong fell silent.
Zhan Zhao’s words were as sharp as his blade, cutting straight into Zhong Xiong’s heart.
—Could it be that Zhan Zhao’s piercing gaze had seen through his ambitions from the very start?
The granary descended into a deathly stillness.
After a long pause, Zhong Xiong finally spoke, his voice measured. “Very well, I agree.”
Turning toward the granary entrance, he called out, “Prepare the horses!”
When he looked back at Zhan Zhao, there was an odd glint in his eyes. Though his voice remained deep and resonant, to Huo Xiao Di it carried an inexplicable chill.
—“I cannot die. If I were to die, how could I see how long your Crane Ascends to the Heavens can hold up?”
Zhan Zhao calmly sheathed his sword.
His expression remained composed and unshaken.
—“If Chief Zhong had arrived half an hour earlier, Zhan Zhao’s Crane Ascends to the Heavens would not have had time to be executed. As for how long it can hold up, I fear that in the end, I may disappoint Chief Zhong after all.”
With these words, Zhan Zhao and Zhong Xiong walked slowly out of the granary.
—Stepping outside, the dazzling sunlight was almost blinding.
After days of rain and gloom, the sudden appearance of the sun was invigorating, clearing the mind and lifting the spirit.
But the faces of the dozen Ironblood Guards outside the granary remained dark with shadows that even the strongest sunlight could not dispel.
Zhan Zhao continued, “Since Chief Zhong is well aware of the power of Crane Ascends to the Heavens, perhaps you should remind your men not to act rashly along the way. One careless move might ruin Chief Zhong’s enjoyment of the spectacle.”
—No matter how cunning and resourceful Zhong Xiong was, with his entire body restrained, he could find no immediate way to escape. His men, who had always revered him as a god of war, were now torn. Though itching to act, they hesitated, wary of harming their leader in the process.
For a moment, the area outside the granary was utterly silent, as still and oppressive as a grave.
Zhan Zhao smiled faintly. “To have had the chance to spar with Chief Zhong is truly Zhan Zhao’s good fortune. I hope one day I will have the leisure to experience Chief Zhong’s martial prowess again.”
He glanced at the horizon and added slowly, “The West Bridge Crossing is not far from here. Chief Zhong won’t have to accompany me for long.”
* * *
The swift-flowing river sparkled under the sunlight, its surface gleaming like scales. At the ferry crossing, fluttering banners marked the scene, along with the scattered figures of about a dozen people and the gleaming blades and spears of the Xiang Yang Prince’s royal guards.
In the bright sunlight, the riverbank was a tapestry of faces.
—Old and young, men and women.
A young child wailed, cowering in his mother’s arms. An elderly couple, bent and weathered, sat or lay by the river’s edge. The sunlight deepened the lines and wrinkles etched into their faces.
The one thing they all shared was an indescribable fear, weariness, and despair.
They had never seen such brutal and fearsome soldiers before.
They had been forced to leave their homes.
Their homes were in the village just beyond the small town ahead.
The soldiers of the powerful and arrogant Xiang Yang Prince had driven these villagers from their generations-old homes to the outskirts of the ferry crossing.
They had no choice but to leave their homes.
Faced with violence, they were powerless to resist. They could do nothing but accept their fate.
They were too kind, and too meek.
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