By the time Yi Yang emerged from the Nether Spring Office's main hall, dusk was edging across the sky.
He did not hurry back to his courtyard, nor did he head for the Pacification Guard's camp.
Instead, he strolled leisurely down the street.
His mind was occupied with the operation at Clearwind Ridge three days from now.
The Benevolent Temple, the underground altar, the late true astral Incense Master.
This affair was too big for him to swallow alone. He had to borrow Yan Wuyuan's influence and the Heaven Patrol Office's strength.
But how to borrow them was an art in itself.
He had already coordinated with Yan Wuyuan. She would lead the Nether Spring Office's elite forces in sealing off the perimeter, preventing anyone from slipping away through underground passages.
He, Yi Yang, would have to lead the Pacification Guard in a frontal assault.
The Pacification Guard was the Heaven Patrol Office's sharpest blade. All sixty members were Inner Qi Realm martial artists, and Ning Xiong was a formidable fighter at early true astral.
Used properly, this unit would be a tremendously powerful force.
The problem was that this blade did not yet entirely obey him.
That stubborn mule Ning Xiong respected reason and loyalty, not a token hanging at someone's waist.
If he simply gave the order, "Come with me to Clearwind Ridge in three days,"
Ning Xiong would be the first to leap up and ask: Who are we killing? Why? Does this have anything to do with Ding Xiang's case?
Ning Xiong had deep ties with the Pacification Guard. If Yi Yang failed to answer even one question, the unit would become difficult to lead.
Yi Yang stopped at a wonton stall and ordered a bowl without chopped scallions.
Sitting on a low stool with a