The long night had yet to end. Dawn had not come.
Baisu Town had fallen completely quiet. Only from the taverns and eateries far away could a few soldiers' shouts be heard.
In a room on the inn's second floor, Ye Jingtang sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating the Jade-Bone Dragon-Elephant Diagram's method to temper his muscles and bones while keeping an ear out for the slightest disturbance nearby.
After an unknown stretch of silence, the sound of a bird swooping past came from outside the inn's window, followed by the soft tapping of claws kicking the window.
Tap, tap, tap~~
Ye Jingtang opened his eyes, rose with his long saber, and went over to open the window. A white ball squeezed inside, landed on the bed, and toppled straight backward, leaving its little claws pointing at the ceiling.
"Chirp..."
Knowing how hard Niao Niao had worked flying all night, Ye Jingtang sat beside the bed, cupped the bird in his hands, and settled it on his lap to smooth its feathers.
"Did you find the place?"
"Chirp, chirp..."
Niao Niao could distinguish the cardinal directions and approximate distances. After learning that Bai Siming had gone more than two hundred li northwest, Ye Jingtang took out a map and searched in that direction. The location appeared to be near River Source Commandery in Wu Prefecture, within Perched Phoenix Manor's sphere of influence.
Perched Phoenix Manor was not a major power, and River Source Commandery lay on a major transportation route. There was virtually no chance Prince Wu was hiding there.
Bai Siming was uninjured. He had most likely gone there as a temporary stop to take care of something. To keep the trail from going cold, Ye Jingtang would have to get there soon...
But Perfected Person Xuanji had yet