At dawn the next day, the thin mist outside South City Prison had yet to disperse.
Yi Yang wore his Acting Patrol Commander's uniform as usual, a Black Iron Token hanging at his waist and his cuffs neatly gathered. He walked at a leisurely pace, looking like an ordinary old man.
When the jailer guarding the gate saw him approach, he quickly lowered his head and greeted him respectfully. "Good morning, sir."
"Morning."
Yi Yang nodded, his tone mild, little different from an old man buying tofu on a street corner. Yet the jailer with his head bowed dared not underestimate him. Word had already spread of how Yi Yang had dealt with the gate guards.
After entering, he paused in the courtyard to look at the sky and asked casually, "Was the food delivered early today?"
A jailer answered with an ingratiating smile, "Yes, sir. It went in about seven minutes early."
"Mm. Don't let the prisoners go hungry."
With that, he headed inside. He neither asked about the High-Security Block nor checked the shift changes, nor did he put on the airs of a newly appointed official. He seemed thoroughly amiable and easy to deal with.
The gazes watching him from the shadows circled his hunched back a few times, then quietly withdrew.
The old man was still the same old man. After asserting a little authority yesterday, he had settled into a routine today. Quite a few people in South City Prison secretly breathed easier. It seemed the newly appointed Warden Yi had no intention of making sweeping changes. That was best. Otherwise, they would have to get rid of him to keep him from interfering with the plan, and that could easily stir the grass and startle the snake, putting the Heaven Patrol Office on alert.