Tie Linglong gripped her saber hilt tightly, as if she meant to draw it. She tried twice, then gave up and muttered angrily, "Damn Old Man Mu. Let me catch him, and... How did Chu Nanping offend him so badly that he has to wipe him out?"
"Mm." Nie Zeng looked around. He was the closest to Tie Linglong, and her words sounded like she was talking to herself, yet also as if she was asking him. Unsure what to make of it, he hesitated before saying, "We'd better stay away from Old Man Mu. He's not the way he used to be."
Tu Gou, who had been standing a little farther away, came over. "No, Old Man Mu's gone back to being the way he used to be. You met him too late to know what he was really like. Right, Shangguan Fei?"
Shangguan Fei's figure was slightly blurred in the moonlight. At the sound of his name, he shuddered as if he'd been caught red-handed. "Huh? I don't know him well. I have no idea what he's done."
Tie Linglong gave him a scornful look. "He's terrified. He keeps thinking the Dragon King will come after him, but I'm the one who suspects him. He used to do whatever Old Man Mu told him."
Shangguan Fei chuckled. "I admit I'm a coward. I do whatever anyone tells me. But I've never done anything bad. Otherwise, why would the Dragon King trust me enough to put me in charge of guarding the courtyard?"
There were more than just the few of them guarding the General's Residence. Guards stood everywhere—in the courtyard, on the rooftops, and in the streets. They were on open watch; no one was hidden in the shadows.
Tie Linglong ignored Shangguan Fei and said to the