"Hyah!"
Beneath the spring sun, three swift horses galloped out of Huangmei County's town and raced upstream along the river.
Ye Jingtang rode in the lead, studying a newly purchased map for the distribution of forces around Chengtian Prefecture. Niao Niao crouched against his groin, craning over to look with him.
Zhe Yunli followed behind, her long saber hanging beside her horse, and asked in some confusion:
"Brother Jingtang, where are we going? Why the rush? We left as soon as we came out..."
"To White River Wharf. I just took a job to deal with someone there. After the fight, we still have to come back and find a way into the Azure Dragon Society..."
At the mention of a fight, Zhe Yunli immediately grew interested and moved closer:
"Who are we fighting? Are they any good? How about I do it, and we split the reward?"
Ye Jingtang was, after all, now among the top ten in the world. Running off to fight an ordinary Grandmaster would be no different from a grown man bullying a three-year-old; word getting out would only cheapen his reputation. At Yunli's suggestion, he thought for a moment and nodded:
"Just a minor, second-rate Grandmaster. You shouldn't have much trouble with him. I'll watch from the side. Give him a beating, then we'll leave..."
Delighted at the chance to show her skills, Zhe Yunli hurriedly nodded.
Riding on the left, Fan Qinghe interjected:
"White River Wharf is in the prefectural city's Eastern Suburbs, a little over a hundred li from here. Once we're done, let's go into town and buy some Jade Dragon Balm. We used up what we had yesterday... ahem..."
Though she cut herself short, a trace of puzzlement still flashed in Zhe Yunli's eyes, and she asked:
"Isn't Jade Dragon