Eight days had passed.
Yi Yang pieced together the scraps of information he had gathered over the past few days, and the conclusion stood clear before him.
With his mid-C-grade aptitude and sixty years of age, he had probably all but become an option those important figures had discarded.
It made sense when he thought about it.
Had he been in their position, leafing through a stack of rosters, he probably would not have chosen someone with those qualifications either.
That being the case, Yi Yang had only one choice left.
Yan Wuyuan.
Deputy Chief Inspector of the Nether Spring Office.
He would go see this expert beyond the Inner Energy realm, who had an old connection with Qi Shujian.
This was the last trump card in his hand. Once he played it, he would either turn the tables or be knocked out and return to Yunlin County to continue serving as a reserve chief steward.
Having this choice was already a blessing. Anyone else in his position probably would not even have been able to meet this deputy chief inspector.
At that thought, Yi Yang rose, took his reserve chief steward's official uniform from the back of the chair, shook it out, and dressed neatly before preparing to leave.
He tucked Qi Shujian's recommendation letter securely against his chest, then slipped the Temporary Passage Token into his sleeve.
Yi Yang left the inn through its main entrance and headed northeast along the main street.
The prefectural city's streets were many times wider than those in Yunlin County. People streamed past in an endless weave, and young martial artists at the qi-blood third and fourth levels passed him in groups of three or five, their conversation and laughter brimming with youthful vigor.
No one gave Yi Yang a second glance.