"Absolutely outrageous." Soul-Shattering Whip Luo Xu had never expected the Grand Commandant himself to come in person, yet that old fellow from the Song family had actually shown such blatant disrespect. Furious beyond measure, he was about to charge up the steps and hammer on the door again.
"Luo Xu." Lu Xingkong called out.
"My lord." Luo Xu's face was flushed red with fury. A ruler's humiliation meant death for his subjects. As a man Lu Xingkong had dragged out of a pit of corpses, this treatment was harder for him to accept than death itself. "Let me break in. I want to see just what kind of dragon's lair or tiger's den this old Song family residence is."
A smile played across Lu Xingkong's face as he looked at the ancient gate, its paint flaking away. He said softly, "The Divine Land is vast. Countless heroes and mighty warriors have wanted to break through this gate. And who among them has ever succeeded?"
"I would rather die." Luo Xu glared viciously at the gate.
"You wouldn't be able to get in even if you died." Lu Xingkong smiled. "Do you know why the Song family's old residence isn't inside Tiandu City, but was built outside the city gates?"
"Wasn't it to seek peace and quiet amid the bustle?" Luo Xu sneered. "I heard that the Song family's old master likes peace and quiet, so he moved out here and settled in the old residence."
"If it were merely to seek quiet amid the bustle, couldn't the Prime Minister find a good place inside the city with his status and position? Xiangshan beside Grand Minister Temple, Yushan beside Golden Lake, the hunting grounds behind the imperial palace—which of those isn't an excellent residence with secluded scenery?"
"Then why?" Luo Xu