Chengdu Prefectural City.
Dawn was barely breaking, and morning mist hung thick in the air.
A man stepped into the Misty Rain Tower.
He had waited only half the time it took to drink a cup of tea when the branch steward hurried over.
"Greetings, Thousand-Household Commander Jia!" The steward cupped his hands in salute.
Once Jia Huan sat down, he got straight to the point.
"I need information on someone who goes by Leisurely Daoist."
The steward answered without hesitation.
"He serves as a retainer hired by Xue Fu, the eunuch overseeing Shuzhong. His strength is terrifying: fifty-ninth on the Heavenly Ranking, with cultivation at the eighth level of the Profound Insight Realm. His Daoist temple has thirty-six True Inheritance Disciples."
Jia Huan frowned in thought.
No wonder the slaughter of refugees and the killing of innocent people to claim military merit had been kept so tightly under wraps. The Embroidered Uniform Guard's thousand-household station in Sichuan and the government offices at every level might well have caught wind of it. They turned a blind eye partly because the overseeing eunuch wielded overwhelming power and had an extensive network of connections inside the Forbidden City, and partly because he had a top-tier expert at his side.
Anyone who truly offended that castrated dog Xue would face attacks both openly and in secret, living in constant danger.
Seeing his silence, the branch steward spoke earnestly.
"Thousand-Household Commander Jia, aren't you heading to Jiangnan to take charge?"
Jia Huan answered coldly.
"I have pressing official duties. Once I settle matters in Shuzhong, we can discuss the Martial Arts Tournament."
After a long moment of consideration, the steward gritted his teeth.
"Are you planning to arrest Leisurely Daoist, Thousand-Household Commander Jia?"
"Yes." Jia Huan stared at him.
The steward took the task