On the open plain where the two armies faced each other, windblown sand swept over their armor.
The Great Li Dynasty's army stood in disciplined square formations. Wang Yong stood at the front, catching sight of the figures on the opposite dune out of the corner of his eye.
He froze for a moment, then sneered-Flowing Sand had sent only two people to exchange hostages?
Before an army tens of thousands strong, those two were as insignificant as a grain of sand!
"Have they gone mad, coming here all on their own?"
Beside him, Deng Shigao stroked his beard, his voice dripping with contempt.
Wang Yong said nothing, his gaze fixed firmly on one of their faces.
He recognized him. It was Ning Que!
The man who should have been beheaded, but had been rescued!
He had suspected Ning Que's connection to Flowing Sand back then. Only now had it finally been confirmed!
At once, killing intent surged from his eyes like a rising tide.
The veins on his arms bulged as he forced the words through clenched teeth. "We finally meet again..."
"You were lucky to escape last time. This time, neither you nor the rebel beside you will leave here alive!"
As those words fell, the air before the ranks suddenly grew taut.
Luo Qingwan rested her hand on the sword at her waist and turned toward Ning Que, murmuring, "They outnumber us. Perhaps we should..."
"What's the hurry?"
Ning Que interrupted her, utterly unruffled. "The show hasn't even begun."
The two sides remained locked in a standoff for a moment, neither willing to move first.
Ning Que had untied Mu Xuehuang. Looking at the familiar armor of the Imperial Guard before her, her expression turned utterly grim.
She drew a deep breath and said to Wang Yong,