The tent was silent, hazy light filtering through its canvas walls.
Xu Haitao said nothing more and did nothing further. He opened a drawer and handed Liang Qu a confidential map covered in annotations, letting him judge for himself. Afterward, he dismissed the meeting.
The crowd dispersed.
As the guards tidied the chairs and documents, one of them recalled the earlier discussion and could not resist asking, "General, did Xingyi Marquis mean we should launch a counteroffensive?"
"Why not?" Xu Haitao asked in return.
"This..."
"Do you remember why we retreated and huddled at Ha Long Bay?"
After thinking briefly, the guard suddenly realized. He slapped his forehead. "This subordinate was foolish!"
Xu Haitao stared at the sand table, pulled the little flag from the North Bank, and planted it on the South Bank of the Red River.
"White Ape's Sudden Death threw the world into chaos. Since midyear, our southern front has shrunk again and again. Province after province, prefecture after prefecture, fell one after another. Countless people suffered as a result, all because we could not catch the Southern Border Grandmasters.
"Now the Southern Border is also forced by circumstances to pull back and concentrate in one place. Then we are just as we once were—what is there to fear? Extraordinary men must do extraordinary things. Wait for good news from Xingyi Marquis... Oh, right. Has Curse Fiend awakened yet?"
"Still unconscious from severe injuries. Xingyi Marquis struck far too ruthlessly. Curse Fiend's injuries are far too grave; half his body is nowhere to be found. His condition has only just stabilized. The physicians said it may take until tomorrow, or even the day after."
"Continue observing him. Report immediately at the first sign of anything."
"Yes!"
Small porcelain bowls were arranged around the edges, with a