Li Ding threw down the Gold-Silk Whip and stood motionless on the altar table. For a moment he seemed about to speak, yet, astonishingly, he looked somewhat at a loss.
Seeing this, Zhang Xing knew his surprise attack had succeeded. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, planted one foot on the edge of the altar table, and caught the other man by the arm, pulling him straight down. Then, half embracing and half pushing him, he steered him out of the main hall.
When they reached the veranda outside, Li Ding still seemed dazed. Zhang Xing paid that no mind, merely pulling the man beside him around to face everyone as he laughed with his head held high. "Everyone, the matter is settled! And with today's matter settled, perhaps the realm itself can be considered settled!"
As he spoke, Zhang Xing raised their joined hands.
Now, Li Ding had assembled almost the entire Wuan Army here, and had just been arranging military affairs in the square. Thus, virtually every officer of Fifth-Hundred Commander rank or above was present, and almost all of them had followed him to the veranda. They had seen Li Ding lose his temper and composure, seen Zhang Xing earnestly persuade him, and witnessed the scene now before them.
Naturally, they also understood what those words meant.
Yet unlike earlier, when Zhang Xing's stopping Li Ding had left almost everyone relieved of a great burden, his words now drew differing reactions from the Wuan Army's leading officers... Su Mu and his son Su Jingfang stood to one side with a group of commandants and Fifth-Hundred Commanders, and almost immediately bowed to the two men. Some officers led by Wang Chen'e, however, visibly hesitated and looked toward Li Ding.
So Zhang Xing also looked at Li Ding, whom he