Standing Up for Senior Brother, Returning to Supreme Command

After the Flying Shuttle took off, Yang Wenqing sat by the window. Lan Ying landed on his shoulder. He turned his head and looked through the porthole at the shrinking outline of the provincial capital below, then turned to Yang Yuan in the cockpit and instructed, "Go to Senior Brother Tang Yuan's estate first."

Yang Yuan acknowledged him. The Flying Shuttle's course shifted slightly as it headed toward the sea south of the provincial capital. Tang Yuan's estate, where he had been in seclusion, was located on a private island south of the Provincial Government.

About an hour later, with the sun directly overhead, the Flying Shuttle began to descend. As it passed through the clouds, a solitary island appeared on the sea beneath the porthole.

The island was not large, stretching roughly two or three li from east to west and just over one li from north to south. Its vegetation consisted mainly of pines and cypresses. At its center was an open space surrounded by trees, where an elegant estate stood. Blue-gray walls wound along the edge of the clearing.

As the Flying Shuttle descended, Yang Wenqing could already see dozens of small Flying Shuttles parked outside the estate gates. Quite a few people were coming and going. Most wore security uniforms below the rank of Police Inspector, though some were in civilian clothes, gathered in twos and threes in the open space outside the gates and speaking in low voices.

Clearly, Shen Wenyuan's notice had worked. After the Provincial Police Department's General Affairs Division distributed the news, many colleagues who had known Tang Yuan—or simply wanted to show their faces—had rushed over.

After the Flying Shuttle landed on the open grass outside the estate gates, Yang Wenqing rose and led his group out of the cabin. A