Zhou Zongshi knew his own affairs best. Of everyone present, only he had dealt with Xu Yi, and he knew all too well how devious the man was. One wrong step, and he could be led straight into a trap.
Even though he had agreed to debate, Zhou Zongshi had to turn things over in his mind for a long time, doing his best not to be swayed by Xu Yi's words.
"Good! General Zhou is a man of noble character. I admire him. Let you and Xu Yi debate here in court, and I, along with all the worthy men present, will judge the merits."
Chou Taichong's gavel fell, sealing the matter.
Zhou Zongshi shot Xu Yi a cold sidelong glance. "Ask whatever you like. I'd like to see how you plan to spout such lies."
Xu Yi gave a cold laugh and began questioning him. The two entered a question-and-answer exchange.
"General Zhou, let me ask you: earlier, you said you went to Cold Sun Peak. Why?"
"Since you and I are both candidates for the Special Imperial Examination, and the exam is fast approaching, all our fellow candidates need to practice the combined formation. You still haven't attained the Yin Venerable realm, so I came to ask what you intended to do."
"And what did I say?"
"You said... You said..."
Zhou Zongshi suddenly fell silent. He realized that this was not something he could easily say.
The trouble was that this sort of question-and-answer exchange could never recreate the conversation the two of them had had back then on Cold Sun Peak.
The reason was simple: at the time, Zhou Zongshi had been the one gently leading Xu Yi on, using one line after another to draw him into the trap.
In this back-and-forth, without Zhou