"Master Huo, welcome, welcome!"
The Governor-General came over with a hearty laugh, surrounded by venerable elders and renowned figures from every faction.
"Lord Dong."
At the carriage door, Huo Yuanhong shook hands with the Governor-General. Glancing at the familiar and unfamiliar faces gathered around them, he said, "Have everyone make way. Don't hold up the other passengers getting off. Also, there's a young man on the train named Fu Zhixu. He's the descendant of an old friend of mine. Please have someone take him to the former Sword Inquiry Martial Hall first."
As he spoke, Huo Yuanhong beckoned behind him, signaling for Fu Zhixu to come down.
Inside the carriage, Fu Zhixu rose stiffly to his feet and, supported by the conductor, made his way out step by step.
His mind was utterly blank. He did not even know how he had ended up behind Huo Yuanhong. In a daze, he watched the kindly Governor-General pat him on the shoulder, while the elderly men in long gowns around them—clearly all important figures—smiled benevolently at him. For a moment, he even forgot to return the courtesy.
No matter how certain one normally was that they would not be cowed by a crowd, once they truly realized they were standing beside a great figure, surrounded by people who could decide their fate with a single word, almost no one could help feeling nervous.
Fu Zhixu was no exception. He swallowed, his throat dry. Though he considered himself someone who had seen his share of occasions—he had attended major annual conventions of the state chamber of commerce consortium as a factory director—this was the first time he had encountered a spectacle of this magnitude, the first time he had stood at the center of so many eyes. He was still so nervous that