Dragon-Scale Soft Garment, Secretly Given to the General, Boundaries Cast Aside, No Longer Innocent

On the appointed day, Li Xian rose at first light. Acting as though nothing were amiss, he went to the market to buy fruit and vegetables.

Along the way, he encountered several squads of Wood-Seeking Guards. He frowned. Their patrols are growing tighter. I wonder whether it has anything to do with the Flower Cage Sect. He followed them in secret and listened closely, but the guards let nothing slip. Finding it pointless, he returned home and lit the stove.

Smoke curled from the stove, bringing its own quiet pleasure to life at home.

He cooked a pot of winter melon and shrimp congee, filling the place with fragrance. Li Xian tasted a spoonful. It was so fresh and sweet that his appetite surged, and he ate three bowls in a row. He ladled the rest into wooden bowls and fed Zhao Yingqiong and Ding Longxiang. After drinking the congee, the two women went back to sleep.

With the chores done, Li Xian considered the gathering. There's no telling what dangers await. I need to prepare thoroughly. Thank heavens the general is coming. If things turn dire, I'll have someone to fall back on. He tucked thirty Jujube Swords beneath his sleeve, hid the Moonshooting Bow and Tiger Spear in the Calamity Crow's belly, and wore the Dragon-Scale Soft Garment beneath a plain, yellow-brown robe. He looked utterly unremarkable.

In the courtyard, he reviewed his martial arts, weighing his strengths against his weaknesses. He considered how to respond to every danger he could imagine, how to defend himself if his identity was exposed, and how to retreat. Technique Dao Light is what will keep me alive! The Flower Cage Sect's formations are formidable. If a fight breaks out, I'll have to scatter them before they can form one.

Before he