"All right, today's meeting ends here. You have all worked hard through the night. Please return and rest as soon as possible, then handle your respective affairs. We do not know when the Beast Tide will come again, so we must seize every moment."
Xu Yu concluded the meeting.
Everyone rose one after another, bowed, and dispersed. Every face bore contemplation and resolve. The next ten days would be a critical period that would determine Rosette City's fate—and their own.
"Lord Tang Yun, Lady Tang Qiuer, please wait."
Just as Tang Lan and Wang Qiuer were preparing to leave as well, Xu Yu hurried over and lowered his voice.
"There are still some matters Xu wishes to discuss with the two of you privately."
Tang Lan glanced at him and nodded.
The three left the gradually quieting meeting hall, passed through several corridors, and arrived at a tranquil study deep within the City Lord's Mansion. Xu Yu instructed his personal guards to remain outside, shut the door himself, and activated the study's simple soundproofing Soul Tool.
The study was simply furnished, its bookshelves packed with all manner of books and dossiers. A faint scent of ink hung in the air, along with an atmosphere of tension.
Xu Yu invited Tang Lan and Wang Qiuer to sit, personally brewed two cups of hot tea, and presented them to the pair before taking a seat himself. He no longer concealed the fatigue on his face, but his gaze had become exceptionally sharp and focused.
"Lord Tang Yun, Xu did not dare neglect the matter you instructed me to handle."
Xu Yu got straight to the point, speaking in a very low voice.
"Over the past three days, I mobilized my most secretive and reliable forces to investigate, in secret, any clues within