In that perilous instant, Shirou struck first. Using wrestling techniques to borrow Dai Zong's momentum, he flung him away. The sword flew from Dai Zong's hand as he spun three hundred and sixty degrees through the air before landing. He stumbled backward again and again, finally slamming into the wall before he managed to stop.
"You really are fast, but speed means nothing to me." Shirou turned around and looked at Dai Zong, speaking as calmly as if he were stating an obvious fact.
Dai Zong sat down against the wall in some desolation and casually waved a hand. "Still lost, huh? Fine. I didn't want to stay in this Xunyang Tower anyway. The story I was waiting for ended long ago. Go up. Instructor Li and that girl are both there."
He had never been any sort of hero. He merely valued the code of the martial world. As a minor prison official, he had made a living by extorting and oppressing prisoners for tribute. From the moment Song Jiang wrote his rebellious poem in this Xunyang Tower after drinking and was thrown into prison, Dai Zong had been destined to join Liangshan Marsh.
In the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, acting on Heaven's behalf—how free and imposing that had been. As the chief intelligence commander, he had commanded a force of his own. During the campaigns against rebels and the conquest of the Liao State, he had delivered military intelligence and orders, earning his share of merit.
So he had been granted a military post and made a general. The brothers who survived had all been happy, but none of them understood. Brother Song didn't understand, and neither did Steward Lu. Only Dai Zong saw through it.
He could manage being a petty official, flattering superiors and oppressing