When Wang Ping returned to Thousand Wood Temple's courtyard compound, he saw Zhao Qing sitting beside the round table temporarily set up in the yard, looking utterly dejected. The ten Inner Sect disciples and twenty Jianghu Guests Zhao Qing had brought with him were gathered near the entrance to the eastern courtyard.
"Senior brother!" The moment he saw Wang Ping enter the courtyard, Zhao Qing rose to greet him.
"They didn't make things too difficult for you, did they?" Wang Ping suddenly found it rather amusing, though his inward vigilance deepened.
"Not really. I just feel pretty stifled."
"That's good..." Wang Ping sat down beside the round table. "Any news from outside?"
"I found out a few things. None of them are good news..."
Zhao Qing sat opposite Wang Ping and sighed. "What's happening at Yongming Port has become uncontrollable this time. The Governor-General's Yamen has assembled twenty thousand prefectural soldiers and sixty thousand militia. Ten thousand main-force troops are gathering in Ning'an Prefecture City, while the other ten thousand prefectural soldiers have been divided into five groups, with two thousand in each group. The militia are being recruited independently."
"Then there's the Daoist Scripture Hall. They've gathered several hundred more Qi practitioners. I heard another Third Realm Great Cultivator from the True Sun Sect has arrived. Together with the one from before, there are already two third realm cultivators... And with Evil Cultivators from the Taiyin Sect stirring up trouble, this time... it's best to be cautious. Don't stick your neck out over anything; let those who like to take the lead do it."
"Anything else?"
"Yes. Mozhou Road is fucking showing signs of riots again, so the newly trained troops from the various prefectures don't dare to be transferred here!" Zhao Qing said quickly. "Many places in Mozhou