Brightlight Courtyard stood in Golden Bright Ward in the south of the city, occupying a vast tract of land. Thick walls over twenty feet high enclosed all four sides, broad enough for soldiers to walk along.
Less than two li east of the courtyard lay the bustling markets of Sky Street.
The Imperial Court had originally established a barracks here to guard against unrest. At the slightest disturbance in the city, the troops could learn of it immediately and mobilize swiftly to protect government offices, granaries, major streets, and transport junctions.
But as Great Yin's central government lost its grip and simply gave up, all the Imperial Court's regular troops passed into the hands of powerful local families. This barracks gradually fell into disuse, even ending up in the Hua Family's possession and being converted into a private courtyard.
Most absurd of all, if they had not run afoul of Hong Yuan, that walking scourge, Hua Shouren would never even have known his family owned such an immense property.
Whoosh! Crack!
A signal arrow screamed into the air and exploded above the city's bustling districts.
That sound was a signal. Immediately afterward, several more piercing whistles tore through the sky, like a trail of footprints rapidly spreading toward Brightlight Courtyard.
"What's going on?" Along the broad street, people in the bustling crowd looked up in astonishment.
Then cries of surprise rang out. People turned toward one end of the street and saw a fine horse approaching at a leisurely pace, its rider dressed in fitted white martial attire, his bearing extraordinary.
Someone rubbed his eyes, as though wondering whether his sight had deceived him, but even more people hurried to clear a path.
Inside a hall in Brightlight Courtyard, Hua Shouren shuddered as the signal arrows sounded. "He's here!"
Across