Half a month ago, after exchanging a few probing blows that night, the "Wanderer" Ning Daoqi and the "Heavenly Saber" Song Que had voluntarily withdrawn and never appeared again.
Clearly, Ning Daoqi hadn't been sure he could defeat Song Que and snatch the man away from under his nose. Song Que, likewise, hadn't been confident he could kill Ning Daoqi without paying any price. So, after testing each other's strength, they'd exchanged a few polite words with unspoken understanding, then gone their separate ways.
However, worried that Ning Daoqi might return and launch a dishonorable sneak attack, the "Heavenly Saber" Song Que had made a rare exception and voluntarily returned with Kou Zhong to the Twin Dragons Army's camp, where he stayed for more than ten days. He left only after confirming that Ning Daoqi truly wouldn't resort to a sneak attack or trickery.
Kou Zhong could finally breathe a sigh of relief. After respectfully seeing off Song Que, who'd spent half a month serving as his bodyguard and sparring partner without getting anything in return, he hurriedly led his twenty thousand elite soldiers back to Yuhang.
After all, the situation in Jiangnan had settled, and the people under them could handle what came next. Both Kou Zhong and Song Que could lead their main forces back.
And then...
Kou Zhong hadn't received any news from Xu Ziling in the past half month, which worried him greatly. He had to return and send people to investigate.
But!
What Kou Zhong didn't know was that while he and Song Que had each led their main forces back to Yuhang and Lingnan, Xu Ziling had been locked up in Luoyang for a full half month.
During those two weeks, no one came to see Xu Ziling or ask him anything. Though confined