The Third Elder, the Fourth Elder and the others were locked in a standoff with Deceitful Fox. Following Ye Fan's orders, they stayed ready to attack at any moment, creating a hair‑trigger, one spark and it all explodes atmosphere—yet the real slaughter never actually began.
On Deceitful Fox's side they'd been on guard the whole time, nerves stretched taut, constantly braced to meet the battle that could break out any second.
But no clash erupted. The Third Elder and Fourth Elder kept ordering the Hunting Teams to shift around, making it look like an assault on the castle was about to kick off—only it never did.
Under this kind of deadlock, Deceitful Fox's people were suffocating with frustration. They were already limbering up, itching for a big fight, but the battle they'd pictured just didn't happen; they were still stuck in a staring contest.
In the blink of an eye four or five days passed, leaving Deceitful Fox's side so anxious they were cursing up a storm.
