Di Muzhi arrived with perfect timing, as if orchestrated. Just as the camp had been fully set up, he arrived precisely on cue.0

The soldiers began lighting fires and preparing food. Clad in scholarly robes, Di Muzhi sat in the command tent, drinking wine. A bonfire burned within the tent, with a personal guard roasting meat while two maidservants stood on either side, pouring wine for him. Around him, generals laughed and indulged in pleasure.0

Di Muzhi’s long-serving aide, Xie Ruhai, stood at his side, along with another scholar whom Zhao Changhe did not recognize, seated in the main guest’s seat.0

Zhao Changhe stepped into the command tent, his eyes surveying the scene with an impassive expression.0

Are these scum seriously hosting a bonfire party in the middle of a military campaign?0

“Ah, I wondered which esteemed agent of the Demon Suppression Bureau it was. So it turns out to be Zhao Changhe.” Di Muzhi greeted him with a hearty laugh. “Sit, sit—have you eaten yet? Join us.”0

Without betraying any emotion, Zhao Changhe took a seat befitting status just beneath that of a guest of honor. “Prefectural Governor Di, do you know me personally?”0

“Hah! Who doesn’t know the name of Blood Asura Zhao Changhe? Your name resounds across the Central Plains? Who wouldn’t recognize you? Young Hero Zhao, your close ties with...0