Entering a Dream: Swordsmanship Mastery

Something was going to "descend" on Whitewash City? What kind of thing called for the word "descend"?

Confusion welled up in Xia Lun, followed by unease as cold and damp as the wind outside the window.

The dining room Furnace Fire still gave off a drowsy warmth, and rich steam rose from the creamy mushroom soup on the table. But Xia Lun's relaxed mood had vanished.

"Whoosh—"

The wind swept past the window with a sharp whistle. The sound drew Xia Lun back to himself. He took a deep breath and began to think.

Who had hidden this message in the newspaper's jokes section?

Could it have been the Foresight Club?

Xia Lun picked up the newspaper again and flipped rapidly through its sections, but he found no symbol of the Foresight Club anywhere in the issue.

"Bring me the newspapers from the past month." After a moment's thought, he added, "And another cup of coffee."

The butler acknowledged the order without asking questions. He hurried out to make arrangements with the others. About fifteen minutes later, he wheeled a cart full of newspapers into the dining room.

Xia Lun rose at once and pulled out yesterday's paper. He turned to the jokes section and read it carefully, but this time, he found no message hidden at the start of each joke.

The dead end made him a little restless. He took a sip of coffee from the cart, then searched the paper from the day before. That issue held no clues either.

But Xia Lun had always been patient. He searched issue after issue until, at last, he found another message hidden at the start of the articles in the Economy Section from twenty-five days earlier.

"There is a conspiracy in the Herno Strait. Evacuate as soon as possible."