Yuhe County, Inner City.
In an elegant, quiet study in the rear courtyard of the Yang residence.
The stove burned brightly, driving away the winter chill. The room was simply but tastefully furnished, its desk wiped spotless. A few foundational Martial Path texts and miscellaneous accounts stood on a nearby bookshelf-all old books Yang Jing had read, placed there by his family.
Yang Jing sat upright in a solid wooden chair behind the desk, his hands resting lightly on its surface. His eyes were half closed and his brow slightly furrowed as he slowly considered his search for the Demon Cult, his mind calm and wholly absorbed in thought.
He repeatedly reviewed the situation in Jintai Prefecture and Yuhe County, silently weighing where the Demon Cult fiends were most likely to hide.
Without question, the safest place within Yuhe County was the county seat itself.
Within its walls, many forces converged. The six great aristocratic families, the various martial arts halls, and the local government checked one another while remaining mutually dependent.
Many of these forces had countless threads of connection to the Five Great Sects and other martial schools, giving them ready access to information and numerous eyes and ears.
More importantly, protective formations had long since been laid throughout the city, while the aristocratic families and government held secret treasures that safeguarded it. Ordinary evil entities would never dare approach lightly.
Sect experts assigned by the Five Great Schools were also concealed within the city. They had been stationed there since the previous year, rarely venturing out, yet able to overawe all sides at critical moments.
Most crucially, the county seat was an important administrative center designated by the Imperial Court, the principal gathering place for the local population, and a symbol of the court's dignity.
Though the