The two squads of archers halted twenty meters away, immediately forming ranks. They aimed their heavy crossbows at Ling Xiao and Uncle Fu, and at the woman in black who still stood there, not yet having had a chance to run.
"How dare you!"
Uncle Fu suddenly roared at the archers on one side, "Are you blind?! This is the Viscount, the Lord of Penzes City! Who sent you? What do you think you're doing?"
Not one of the several hundred men on either side spoke. A strange silence suddenly descended, bringing with it an oppressive, suffocating feeling. It became hard to breathe. In a crowd of hundreds, one could actually hear their own heart thumping and their ragged gasps for air...
