The sun sank westward. Outside the Western Sea Protectorate's towering walls, sixty feet high, large detachments of soldiers patrolled back and forth from time to time.
A carriage stood beside the official road not far from the city. Fan Qinghe and Perfected Person Xuanji shared a horse, watching their surroundings.
Ye Jingtang held a Telescope, studying the martial artists visible everywhere atop the walls, and said:
"A guard every three steps, a sentry every five, and all martial artists with solid foundations. Security is tight. Getting over the walls will be difficult. Can we go through the gates?"
Fan Qinghe shook her head. "Our tribespeople withdrew from the city when the Southern Dynasty first dispatched its troops. Left Xian King's Manor knows the Dongming Tribe is bound to rebel, so they'll strictly screen everyone entering and leaving. We can't use the Dongming Tribe's name to slip through a back door."
Perfected Person Xuanji held Qinghe around the waist, her chin resting on her shoulder.
"The sentries on the walls aren't that formidable. Why don't we fly in after dark?"
With the three of them and their martial skills, slipping silently into the city under cover of darkness would not be difficult, even with Hua Qingzhi and Green Pearl in tow.
Ye Jingtang therefore waited beside the road, looking for an opportunity to infiltrate. But before he had watched for long, Niao Niao, crouched on the carriage roof, suddenly raised its head and looked toward a corner tower at the far edge of their view.
"Chirp chirp?"
The Western Sea Protectorate had once been the Royal Capital. Its southern wall stretched for ten li, and the group was quite far from the southeastern corner tower. Fortunately, the terrain was flat and open, so they could still faintly make it out.
Seeing