A Courtesy Returned!

Nanyan City, Prefecture Governor's Mansion, meeting hall.

On a rosewood table, a heavy, ornate incense burner stood in quiet dignity. Wisps of mist, thin as clouds, slowly drifted from the gaps in its lid, filling the room with a soothing fragrance.

Yet someone in this setting seemed deeply ill at ease, restless and anxious, as if enduring a terrible torment within.

An old man in a white robe, a jade pendant hanging from his waist and his hair impeccably groomed, paced back and forth across the hall. He had long since lost the patience to sit and wait.

Just then, beside the table in the sitting room, a clear, brilliant light suddenly flared, shining in every direction. It crisscrossed through the air, swiftly outlining a tall, lean figure.

As the figure began to take shape, he stepped back and smoothly sat down in a nearby chair.

At the sight of the man enveloped in clear light, much of the anxiety vanished from the old man's face. It was as if he had finally found someone to lean on.

He hurried over and leaned close, then spoke in a low, urgent voice:

"My lord, I've just received word."

He suddenly faltered. His mouth opened and closed several times before he managed to force out the words:

"Lieyun City has fallen."

As a high-ranking official in the Prefecture Governor's Mansion, the white-robed old man had never imagined that one day he would have to give his governor, his lord, such news.

To tell him: a commandery city under your rule has been occupied by an army from another prefecture.

It was an undeniable humiliation, both for him and for the governor himself.

That was why the words had been so difficult to utter.

Hearing this, the figure of clear light seated in