Inside the warm chamber, Bai Yuanfu glanced at the sky outside. Night lay heavy beneath the stars, and the moon curved like a hook. He said to the three of them, "It's getting late. Go back and get some rest."
Then he looked specifically at Huang Tian and added, "The reward for capturing Zhang Yu and the others should be ready tomorrow."
Zhang Yu was an outlaw wanted by the authorities. Having captured him, Huang Tian was naturally due a reward in silver.
"Thank you, Pacification Commissioner."
After thanking him, Huang Tian and the other two left the warm chamber. Bai Yuanfu watched them go, his hands clasped behind his back as he pondered in silence.
Huang Tian's talent and comprehension were extraordinary. There would be no shortage of people who wanted him dead, but with his strength, an ordinary fourth-rank martial artist should not be able to kill him. What worried Bai Yuanfu was a grandmaster slipping into the prefectural city—
The authorities kept a close watch on the grandmasters of the five great sects, but there was no accounting for the unexpected. One of them might deceive heaven and cross the sea, successfully infiltrating the city to kill Huang Tian.
"I still need to ask Assistant Commander Yu to come out of seclusion—"
Yu Jingcheng, the only grandmaster in the prefectural Martial Guard, had been in seclusion for three months. Devoted wholly to cultivation, he paid no attention to outside affairs.
But that was only because nothing in ordinary times required him to appear or take action. Matters could generally be handled by a commander of a thousand, and Bai Yuanfu, as Pacification Commissioner, could deal with anything more serious.
Unless an affair involved the five great sects, a grandmaster, or a grandmaster-level strange beast, there was no