By evening, the sun over Cloud Pattern Town had finally been half swallowed by the rooftops to the west. The sky shifted from searing white to orange, and before long, it would turn dark.
Yi Yang followed his usual route back to the little courtyard. His work at the Archive Hall was finished, with no overtime today. Getting back before dark meant he could still catch the meal Jiang Yuexin had cooked. The girl's cooking had improved lately. Yesterday's meat stew had been thick enough to cling to the bowl, and even Yang Hui had praised it several times.
His footsteps crossed the blue bricks at the mouth of the alley. Once he rounded the corner by Old Zhou's tofu shop, the outline of the courtyard came into view.
The locust tree's crown shaded half the courtyard, its leaves turning back and forth in the evening breeze.
Everything was as usual, yet Yi Yang's steps suddenly slowed. His Organ Refining Realm senses spread out, covering thirty paces inside and outside the courtyard.
Jiang Yuexin was in the kitchen, breathing normally. Now and then, the clink of a spatula against an iron wok rang out.
Yang Hui was absent. She probably hadn't returned yet.
Then-the eastern corner of the courtyard, beneath the locust tree.
Someone was there.
Long, steady breaths. Even inhalations and exhalations. The circulation of his qi and blood was deep and powerful. Judging by his presence, he was an expert at the Qi-Blood Fourth Level.
Yi Yang's right hand slipped silently to his waist. His fingers closed around the hilt of his issued saber, his thumb braced against the guard, its pad touching the cold iron rim. The main tendons along his back tightened at once. The Five-Organ Internal Refining Force within his five organs surged faster, and