Hundred Guards Ao Donglai came from the Ao Clan, a great family of the Southern Border. He also had another identity: one of Marquis Shen's disciples.
Once Zhou You learned of this identity during their conversation, everything became clear.
Today's conflict had plainly been Fifth Lord's carefully laid plan for revenge against him.
The most crucial link had been devising a way to delay Ao Donglai so that he could not meet Zhou You, buying Fifth Lord the time to find an excuse and kill Zhou You on the spot.
But once Ao Donglai arrived, even Fifth Lord, a grandmaster, could only lower his banners and leave.
Only then did Zhou You understand just how formidable the backing Lian Feihong had found for him was.
The identity of Marquis Shen's disciple carried enormous weight. Even Fifth Lord had to show him respect, going so far as to scheme to hold him back and avoid a conflict.
"Thank you for earlier!"
Ao Donglai laughed heartily. "No need. If I hadn't arrived late, this wouldn't have happened!"
"Ah, you'd better be more careful in the future. Fifth Lord has people in the palace too, among the guards..."
As they walked and spoke, he suddenly stopped just as he reached the most critical part.
It turned out that after passing through the first palace gate, the two of them had unknowingly arrived at the office of Zhou Mou, the commander of the imperial guards.
The moment Zhou You saw Zhou Mou, he felt stifled on his behalf. The commander of the imperial guards wore a suit of airtight armor, along with a faceplate whose eye openings were nothing but a row of bars.
Forget seeing his features—even his eyes were hidden, making it impossible to judge any expression or emotion.
His first impression