At midnight, large numbers of troops still patrolled back and forth along Pingyi City's walls. Inside, the city was far livelier than usual. Merchants from the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the various Western Sea tribes dared not leave because of the chaos on the wilderness, so they had all remained in the city, waiting for this upheaval to end.
Pingyi City was a major military stronghold under the Left Xian King, primarily intended to guard against rebellion by the Gouchen Tribe and Prince Liang advancing north. It could also reinforce the central front's Heaven's Gate Gorge pass in Yazhou. The Left Xian King's Manor's intelligence department facing the south was based here too, though its public identity was the White Owl Camp's Bandit-Catching Bureau. From outside, it looked like an ordinary government office.
In the still of the night, two spies responsible for gathering intelligence outside were reporting in a watch room beside the government office:
"Quite a few outlaws have come up from Liaoyuan, but they've been relatively well behaved. There's no sign of large numbers moving toward the royal city..."
"What's the situation with Tian Wuliang?"
"All quiet. It looks like he only wants that one Snow Lake Flower. He should leave once he gets it..."
"Hmph! He dared kill men of our White Owl Camp. If the current situation weren't so grave that I couldn't spare the time, this old man would take men out and destroy that old bastard..."
Jia Shengzi sat upright at his desk, pen in hand, recording the various reports.
Meanwhile, the White Owl Camp elites on standby in the rooms around the front courtyard were also discussing the situation outside.
As Lu Jieyun's direct disciple, Xu Tianying might have lacked the ability to deserve inheriting the title of Running Chief,