The sky was dim, and the cold-loving Tiandu Cherry was blooming exuberantly in the depths of winter.
Whenever Lu Xingkong spoke, a cloud of mist sprayed from his mouth, making his expression seem dreamlike and blurry. Even at such close range, it was difficult to see him clearly.
Yan Xiangma was genuinely finding this old man harder and harder to understand. All those rumors and incidents from before had merely been tricks the old man had thrown out to deceive the world.
He had deceived the world, and even his own family. As an outsider, what right did he have to say that the person he knew was not the real person?
"What does the Grand Commandant mean?" Yan Xiangma carefully weighed his words before speaking slowly. "The military has always been in charge of arranging matters concerning the fight against the Peacock enemy forces. Moreover, General Xu Da has spent many years tempering himself in the army. He is a battle-hardened general who has won a hundred victories. With him, the 'Iron Wall,' guarding our borders and resisting our wicked enemies, he will surely protect our Xifeng Country's territory and prevent the enemy from advancing even an inch."
"Protect our territory? Prevent them from advancing an inch?" A playful smile appeared at the corner of Lu Xingkong's mouth. He turned his face toward Yan Xiangma, who was standing to one side, and said, "You're young, but you sound like a slick old hand who has spent decades crawling through officialdom. The Peacock Dynasty has already conquered several cities of our Xifeng Empire. They've even occupied Feng City, the most important northern gateway. And you actually think this means our territory remains intact? Is Feng City not part of our Xifeng territory?"
"Grand Commandant—" Yan Xiangma's face was piled with