After Gu Ding finished discussing matters with the two of them, he went to find Lord Eddard and postponed their departure until early the next morning. His reason was that the day's battle had been too exhausting and he needed adequate rest.
Eddard agreed without a second thought. He had little attention to spare for Gu Ding at the moment.
On the White Walker army's side, after the White Walker Leader gave his promise, they became so quiet that they resembled a dead and lifeless wasteland.
If people had not seen them still standing in place atop the crumbled city walls, they would have thought the White Walkers had already left.
Late at night, Eddard sat at his desk, propping up his head with one hand as sleep weighed heavily on him. He had not slept well for many days and was exhausted to the bone.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, a chill suddenly swept over him. He shuddered awake and was about to rise for a blanket when he discovered that white frost had already spread across his armor.
"What is this..." Before he could react, the frost completely engulfed him, encasing his entire body within a layer of white ice.
At that moment, his door opened. Gu Ding, Robb, and Jon walked in.
"Will this really be all right?" Jon asked uneasily.
"It'll be fine. I've tested it on rats hundreds of times. They were perfectly alive after being thawed," Gu Ding said with certainty.
"I'm more worried that Father will fly into a rage once we reach King's Landing." Robb gave a bitter smile.
"Do as I told you before and put all the blame on me. The two of you are my hostages, and I forced you into all this." Gu Ding smiled