"Something happened in Dragon City..."
That was Li Xiang's first thought, but he quickly collected himself and hid the worry in his eyes.
He was no longer merely a disciple of the Shocking Heron Martial Hall. He was the Special Operations Team Captain, directly under the Beiyang Warlords and part of the Commander-in-Chief's personal forces.
A man had to fulfill the duties of his post.
He had put on this official skin and enjoyed the protection of the warlords' intelligence and resources. The mission had to come first. His return to Riverside would have to be postponed indefinitely.
Li Xiang handed the gifts he had bought for Ye Qingyao, Qin Zhong, and the others to the Military Intelligence Bureau agent before him. "Where is Director Guo? I'll go see him now."
The agent took the paper-wrapped parcels. "At the Military Intelligence Bureau building."
"All right. Got it."
Li Xiang nodded and pointed to the gifts. "Send these to the Shocking Heron Martial Hall in Riverside. Pass on a message too: unexpected military duties came up, so I can't return."
"Yes, sir."
Without another word, the two agents snapped their legs together and gave a standard Beiyang Army salute.
Li Xiang did not look back at the passenger ship about to set sail. He turned, pushed through the crowd, and strode out of the docks.
The inner city of Tianjin, a heavily guarded center of military and political power.
Just across a broad street from the Marshal's Mansion stood a stark building constructed entirely of Granite.
This was the Tianjin branch of the newly established Military Intelligence Bureau, whose reach would soon extend into every corner of the Great Xin Dynasty.
When Li Xiang reached the entrance, two guards immediately stopped him.
Unperturbed, he took from his coat the dark-gold token