Official Authority

Just as he had in Wenxi County, Jiang Wang strolled through the streets and alleys of Sea Gate Island.

Though he had already gone over all the information he could gather about the Near-Sea Archipelago, he still needed to compare it with what he saw for himself before he could feel even slightly at ease.

Rescuing Zhu Biqiong was an almost impossible task, its difficulty on an entirely different level from finding the Azure Cloud Pavilion. A hundred Azure Cloud Pavilions wouldn't measure up to the Sea Fishing Tower.

So Jiang Wang had to think things through again and again. Above all, he couldn't let anyone who'd joined him in this venture suffer for it.

"Lord Jiang!" Lin Youxie appeared from who knew where, beaming. "I've booked a superior room for you. Would you like to go back and rest now, or later?"

Jiang Wang had considered ditching her halfway and slipping away on his own, but she always had some way of tracking him down.

By now, he'd gotten used to it.

"Keep your voice down!" Jiang Wang suddenly snapped.

"Huh?" Lin Youxie had no idea what was going on.

"This street is suspicious." Jiang Wang's voice was grave, tense. "Stay calm. Don't look around."

Lin Youxie blinked to show she understood. Out of the corner of her eye, she was already carefully observing her surroundings.

She'd taken a cursory look when she came, and based on her many years of investigating cases, the street ought to have been perfectly ordinary. She couldn't see anything amiss. But Jiang Wang was so tense that she couldn't help wondering if she'd overlooked something.

Jiang Wang walked on at an unhurried pace, his expression unchanged. Moving his lips only slightly, he sent his voice into Lin Youxie's ear. "We'll split up now.