After night fell, although there were still at least two hours before the midnight deadline, some people could no longer hold back. Using all sorts of excuses, they once again came to the estate where Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and their master were staying.
But this time, the visitors were no longer allies and friends like the Song clan or the Dongming faction, who had ties with the three of them. Nor had they come merely to persuade them with words.
For example, the first to arrive after nightfall were You Chuhong, the top expert of the Dugu clan—one of the forces controlling Luoyang—and her granddaughter, Dugu Feng!
At first, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were somewhat worried. Fortunately, perhaps because the Dugu clan needed more people to compete with Luoyang's minister Wang Shichong for control of the city and defend the imperial palace, they had sent hardly anyone. Only the old woman and the young woman had come, which put Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling somewhat at ease.
Although You Chuhong had been hailed as the foremost heroine among women before the rise to fame of Zhu Yuyan and Fan Qinghui, the most powerful women in the martial world today, she was old. It was said that twenty years ago, a mishap during her cultivation had caused her to suffer from a chronic asthma-like ailment. So, whether Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling, neither took her too seriously. She looked as if most of her body were already in the grave, clinging to life by a single breath.
And so!
When You Chuhong failed to compel Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to hand over the Heirloom Seal and return Emperor Yang Tong to the imperial palace in Luoyang—and was even met with Kou Zhong's teasing and mockery—the shrewd and ruthless