The rain began pouring down.
And things were more or less as the West Factory's chief officer had told Yuhuatian. Yue Buqun and the others from the Huashan Sect had indeed reached Hangzhou, at almost exactly the time he'd predicted.
In fact, Yue Buqun's party had disembarked in the rain at a secluded rural pier outside Hangzhou, not daring to raise even the Huashan Sect's banner.
From beginning to end, they had also stayed well away from both the western shore of West Lake, where the martial arts assembly was to be held, and the city of Hangzhou on the eastern shore. There were simply far too many martial artists in those places. If anyone recognized them, who knew what might happen to their party of thirty or forty?
To be fair, the Huashan Sect had no particular grudges against most other sects. Still, for safety's sake, Yue Buqun chose to keep as low a profile as possible. He immediately sent people to look for the Huashan Sect's unique secret marks, which Yue Lingshan had left in various places.
And soon!
Following those marks, the party finally met up with Yue Lingshan in the rainy night. Then, without delay, they brought the Huashan disciples with them and hid in the garden Annie had bought on the shore of West Lake.
They had no choice but to hide!
If they wandered around outside and their whereabouts were exposed, the people of the Huashan Sect might not live to see the sun rise!
After settling in and assigning the necessary guards, Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze prepared to give their daughter a proper scolding in the reception hall. The hall was a masterpiece of Suzhou garden design: a round moon gate hung with a bamboo curtain; nanmu tables and chairs framed by