Shangguan Hong cracked the window open a little. Cold air rushed in, but he didn't care. Through the narrow gap, he peered at the lit room across the way, his right hand resting on the hilt at his waist as he imagined his soft sword thrusting out.
It was the night before they went up the mountain to visit Golden Peng Fortress. The Dragon King had brought four guards and a large number of soldiers to stay in South City. Shangguan Hong was one of them.
After drifting from place to place for many days, he had finally returned to Stone Fortress—but now he was an enemy. Shangguan Hong was terrified. The occasional glances Unrivaled King had given him in Four Truths Blue Lotus still lingered in his mind. His father's eyes were like those of a seasoned executioner. He didn't even need to act; simply displaying his instruments of torture was enough to scare a prisoner half to death.
Shangguan Hong felt like a prisoner who had escaped Stone Fortress. Even though he had returned to his old home in the company of the victor, he still couldn't suppress the trembling inside him.
Only the short soft sword at his waist offered him some comfort and confidence.
He stared at the Dragon King's room, imagining the man awake all night inside as an opponent just within reach. The Dragon King was someone he feared too, though not quite as much. He was just the right person to hone his will and courage against.
With the whole courtyard between them, the Dragon King couldn't notice him watching. Through this harmless act of self-deception, Shangguan Hong gradually felt the deadly pressure hanging over his head, and found a measure of confidence as well. He understood the Moonlit Swordplay He Nu had