The silver moon hung like a hook.
In the orderly poplar grove outside Embrace Origin Gate, not a bird stirred.
Luo Ning leaned against a poplar, concealed in the darkness, watching for movement around White Stone Avenue.
After Cheng Shilu had been killed at Iron Buddha Ridge yesterday, word that "Ye Silang" would most likely arrive at Embrace Origin Gate within the next two days had become common knowledge.
Letting one's whereabouts be exposed in advance, giving enemies a chance to lay an ambush, was a grave taboo in the martial world.
Though they did not know whether anyone had come to ambush them, the three had exercised the utmost caution on their way here. First, they had scouted escape routes and hiding places nearby. Then Ye Jingtang had stepped into the open, entering Embrace Origin Gate to settle the matter through the usual procedures, while Third Madam, whose attacks were immensely powerful, had circled near the estate in secret, guarding against threats both inside and out.
Luo Ning, meanwhile, was an expert in internal martial arts, with movement skills far superior to Third Madam's. Silent in her comings and goings and adept at concealment, she and Niao Niao were responsible for finding enemies who stirred at the news after Ye Jingtang appeared.
Beneath the poplar grove's canopy, which blotted out the sky and sun, Luo Ning could not see much. Niao Niao, however, was unaffected.
Niao Niao had large eyes and astonishing night vision, capable of searching for mice and snakes in ground-level grass from high above. Unless someone hiding in the woods buried themselves underground, there was no chance of escaping detection.
Even if spotted, an owl-like bird appearing in the woods was unlikely to arouse anyone's suspicion.
Such caution had clearly paid off.
After waiting quietly for