Qin Mansion, as dusk deepened.
Qin Yurong slipped back into the mansion through the rear gate.
Her heart was still pounding from her daring adventure. She felt both the lingering fear and an indescribable rush of exhilaration and sweetness.
She touched her flushed cheek and was about to hurry back to her courtyard when she ran into her elder brother, Qin Yuwei, at a corridor corner. He seemed to have just happened to be passing by.
"Yu Rong?"
"Brother."
Qin Yuwei stopped and looked at her warmly.
"It's so late. Where have you been?
You look like you were in a hurry."
Qin Yurong's heart skipped a beat. She forced herself to stay calm, lowered her eyes, and instinctively reached for the excuse she had prepared earlier.
"I went... I went to the Embroidery Workshop on South First Street to pick up the silk thread I ordered. The pattern is complicated, so the seamstress said I had to check the colors in person.
The carriage was rather bumpy on the way there, so...
So I got back a little late."
She did her best to sound natural, but her eyes darted away, and she didn't dare meet her brother's gaze.
Qin Yuwei watched her quietly for a moment. A knowing smile touched his face, and he nodded without pressing her for details.
"I see. So you went to South Street.
The year's nearly over, so we do need some new clothes. We're no longer in the Inner City, and some of the tailors here aren't up to standard. My dear Yu Rong, you've had to put up with that."
"It's nothing, Brother," Qin Yurong said gently. "We came to the Outer City on the family's orders to expand our business and establish a firm foundation.
Naturally, some things require us to 'do as the locals do.'
It's a small inconvenience, nothing worth mentioning."
Qin Yuwei nodded with a sigh.
"Yu Rong has grown up. You're no longer the delicate little girl you once were. It warms my heart to see you understand these things.
"But things have been unsettled lately, especially around East Street. You're a young woman, so try not to go out alone.
Go get some rest."
"Yes, Brother."
As if pardoned, Qin Yurong quickly bowed and hurried away.
Once his sister's figure disappeared behind the moon gate, the smile on Qin Yuwei's face faded slightly.
Then he gave a small wave with his right hand.
A shadowy figure appeared soundlessly beside him and spoke in a low voice.
"Young Master, Miss just went to the East Street Patrol Bureau and met Patrol Chief Yang Ning.
"She appears to have privately handed him part of the information we uncovered about the connection between the Spirit Monsters and the Blood Ape Gang."
Qin Yuwei clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at the night gathering in the courtyard. His voice was calm and even.
"Mm. I know."
The shadow hesitated.
"Was the young miss's action—"
"It's fine."
Qin Yuwei cut him off, the corners of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile.
"Yu Rong is kind-hearted, but she has a mind of her own. Giving Yang Ning the information we gathered is no harm, as long as the Qin Family doesn't openly take part.
"After all..." He paused, then spoke with an air of certainty. "In all of Kuishan County, no one would dare force my Qin Family to answer for a cause and effect we refuse to acknowledge.
"I brought you out here from our main family in the Inner City, so you needn't be so cautious about everything. The Outer City has its own ways, but it isn't as dangerous as the Inner City. You don't have to be so restrained."
"Yes."
"If Yang Ning truly has the ability to turn the tide with this lead, then it's his good fortune.
"If he can't, no one else can be blamed. At least he can scout the way for us."
He paused, a sharp glint passing through his eyes.
"Ever since what happened to Yu Rong, the more I think about it, the stranger it seems.
"The Blood Ape Gang really thought those 'Four Sects and Seven Gangs' were so fearsome that they dared lay hands on a direct descendant of my Qin Family in the Outer City.
"Our Jade Generation is nothing like those collateral branches in the Outer City. They might have been ignorant, but the people behind them couldn't possibly have been."
The shadow promptly added:
"Several years ago, the Black Wolf Sect, which held sway over East Street, was wiped out overnight for reasons unknown.
"The two Hidden Force masters and several Tendon Changing experts in the sect all perished in a single night.
"The Blood Ape Gang, which had risen to prominence in Hualin Town outside the county seat, entered the city in one fell swoop. They had abundant financial and material support behind them, and Wang Han himself was powerful enough to fill the void left by the Black Wolf Sect.
"They became one of the Seven Gangs."
Qin Yuwei rubbed his chin.
"From a town outside the county? Back then, our family and the sects were busy fighting over the Inner City. We didn't pay much attention to those newcomers from beyond the county seat."
It was only after the Blood Ape Gang's young master, Wang Teng, had gone mad enough to commit the grave offense of surrounding the tower that the Qin Family began paying attention to the new gang.
"There must be someone behind the Blood Ape Gang.
"But I didn't expect there to be something interesting between them and the force behind these suddenly appearing Spirit Monsters. They haven't left a single decent clue behind.
"Have you learned to be more cautious, or are you plotting something bigger?"
He lifted his gaze toward the Inner City, where towers loomed against the night and lights blazed. He muttered quietly:
"The Inner City hasn't been peaceful lately, either...
"Could these incidents be connected in some way we haven't yet seen?
"Could 'you' be stirring up trouble behind the scenes?"
The night deepened, swallowing his whispers.
The Patrol Bureau offices were brightly lit.
Yang Ning opened the heavy wooden box Qin Yurong had brought him.
Inside were several neatly stacked rolls of plain silk, along with a few sheets of unusually sturdy paper.
The silk was covered in a wealth of information, laid out in clear, orderly detail.
Its professionalism and thoroughness far surpassed the fragmentary, vague case files of the Patrol Bureau.
A pack of Corpse-Eating Hounds inhabited the depths of Duck Dung Alley, in the ruined remains of the former Alleyway Mortuary.
There was one leader, its strength estimated to be just past the threshold of Hidden Force. It had gained intelligence and was cunning and bloodthirsty.
It had at least five to eight Small Dog Demons under its command, none fully developed. Their strength ranged from Body Tempering to Tendon Changing.
They preferred to move on moonless nights.
Before the Blood Ape Gang was wiped out, the hounds relied on regular "blood offerings." They had a long-standing "feeding" relationship with the gang.
The Blood Ape Gang was suspected of being backed by another hidden force...
The leader's abilities:
An extraordinarily keen sense of smell, far beyond that of ordinary dogs; it could track people by their blood and qi.
Its claws and fangs were either venomous or coated in demonic baleful energy. Wounds inflicted by them were difficult to heal. It might also possess a talent for sudden bursts of speed over short distances.
The pack hunted cooperatively and excelled at harassment.
They feared fire, intense light, and the force of strong, yang-imbued blood and qi.
The Qin Family truly deserved its place as one of the Four Great Families that had held sway in Kuishan County for years!
The depth of its intelligence network astonished Yang Ning.
This information had surely been gathered through long-term surveillance and infiltration of East Street.
By comparison, the Patrol Bureau's resources seemed so meager beside those of the great clans.
After gathering his thoughts, Yang Ning sent for Liu Qian and Qian Zhong.
The two arrived shortly afterward, and they began analyzing the Qin Family's intelligence.
"This... what is this?"
Qian Zhong leaned in for a closer look and drew a sharp breath.
Liu Qian's eyes widened, shock filling his round face.
"This detailed?
"Even a layout of the lair's interior, based on their deductions?
"How did they—"
"Miss Qin gave us a hand in secret."
Yang Ning offered a brief explanation, then immersed himself in digesting the intelligence.
Silence filled the hall, broken only by the faint rustle of Yang Ning turning the pages and the somewhat heavy breathing of Qian Zhong and Liu Qian.
As the information sank in, Yang Ning's eyes grew brighter—and colder.
A Corpse-Eating Hound leader just past the threshold of Hidden Force, with several accomplices ranging from Body Tempering to Tendon Changing.
A lair established over a long period, and enemies who were cunning and followed clear attack patterns.
They were no opponents to take lightly. No wonder Zhang Hui's team had nearly been wiped out.
Without knowing what awaited them, charging into a den of demons like that was no different from throwing their lives away.
Time passed bit by bit. Yang Ning finally set down the last sheet of paper and closed his eyes in thought.
Qian Zhong and Liu Qian held their breath, not daring to disturb him. They knew Patrol Chief Yang was weighing his options and reaching a decision.
About the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Yang Ning abruptly opened his eyes. His gaze shone with a brilliant light, all hesitation and uncertainty gone.
He turned to Qian Zhong and Liu Qian, his voice steady and resolute.
"Pass on my order!"
The two stiffened, straightening their backs.
"Everyone from the Patrol Station, except those required to remain at their posts and the injured, is to gather at the Council Hall within the time it takes an incense stick to burn!"
"Yes!"
Qian Zhong and Liu Qian answered in unison.
Yang Ning stood alone in the hall, his gaze sweeping once more over the spread-out intelligence and map.
This demon scourge had to be exterminated—root and branch.
He would show every onlooker:
Even with Gong Tian absent, the East Street Patrol Bureau still had a blade to draw, the courage to unsheathe it, and the strength to slay demons!
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