"And seal off the Marquis of Pacifying the South's Residence. Without my orders, not a single person is to leave!" Tan Ping barked even more fiercely. By now, he was no longer sparing the residence the slightest consideration.
"Come on. We're going back to mobilize troops."
"Yes, sir!"
Of the seventy-odd cavalrymen, a dozen remained to block both the front and rear gates. The rest immediately galloped off to the city gates with orders to seal them, while several riders followed Tan Ping back. Hoofbeats rang out at a furious pace once more.
Rain pattered down, but people still had to eat. It was time to prepare supper, and cooking smoke rose from every household except one residence. This was a large house not far from the city gate, dark and silent, as though no one lived there.
Someone entered just then. It was Xie Zhenqing, who followed the wall with Civet Cat and reached a side room. It looked perfectly ordinary, with a table inside and a bundle of firewood leaning in a corner. No one would ever give it a second glance.
Xie Zhenqing exchanged a look with Civet Cat, then pushed the table with his hand. With a creaking sound, the table tipped over and the bricks beneath it shifted aside, revealing an entrance.
Civet Cat darted in first, then actually rose halfway upright and swept a paw through the air. With a puff, the candles on the wall lit up. This was a secret chamber.
The chamber was small, with an altar in its center. As Xie Zhenqing entered, a group of dark figures appeared in the dim room, all grotesquely shaped. They were monsters hiding in Capital City, where dragon aura was strongest, and they all knelt.
Upon entering the altar chamber, Civet Cat let