He signaled for the others to hold the entrance, then drew his dagger, gently lifted the ties of the tent flap, and charged inside.
Inside the tent, King Bai Ze was sitting at the table reading. When he saw Lin Taichu rush in, he showed no surprise whatsoever. Instead, he set down his book and smiled. "I knew you would come."
Lin Taichu tightened his grip on the dagger. "You knew?"
"From the moment you set your ambush in Sunset City, I guessed you wouldn't let this go." King Bai Ze rose to his feet. "You arranged Yunshui City's defenses. Sneaking in wouldn't be difficult for you. But did you really think I would be completely unprepared?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a curtain of light suddenly dropped inside the tent, cutting Lin Taichu off from the people outside. At the same time, cries of battle rang out beyond the tent. The ambushed soldiers had clearly been alerted.
"You deliberately let us come in?" Lin Taichu's heart sank.
"How else was I supposed to lure you out?" King Bai Ze rolled his wrists. "Do you think you truly won last time in Sunset City? I only retreated because I didn't want to fight King Zhennan head-on."
"You've gone to such lengths to kill me. If I didn't answer your challenge, wouldn't that make me look afraid of you?"
Lin Taichu wasted no more words and charged forward with his dagger. King Bai Ze sidestepped the attack, casually picked up a writing brush from the table, and thrust its spirit-infused tip toward Lin Taichu's chest.
Lin Taichu had not expected even a brush to serve as a weapon. He hurriedly retreated, drawing an arc before his chest with his dagger to block the strike. The two began fighting within the