The late-spring breeze blew warm, sweeping up the moisture over the Huai Region.
At Huankou Town in Xucheng County, Xiapi Commandery, towers and pavilions crowded the Longwhale Gang Headquarters, their lamplight shimmering. Outside a so-called "three-story mansion" toward the rear, with a distant view over the Huai Region, at least forty or fifty hardened martial men stood on close guard, patrolling and watching their surroundings.
Yet for some reason, whenever these men changed shifts or paused to rest, they invariably seemed somewhat restless. From time to time, the wind even carried over a few coarse remarks.
"Are they protecting us or watching us?"
A Patrol Cavalry officer watched from a second-floor window for a while, then turned back with a complaint. "The entrance downstairs is packed with people too. They've sealed it up watertight. They even follow us to the privy."
"Both, probably."
Qin Bao spoke slowly as he poured tea.
"They're afraid we'll slip out of their control and find more faults with them, but they're also afraid something will happen to us and leave them completely unable to account for it... Still, this matter is already very clear. Eldest Zuo may be the eldest of the three brothers, and the Longwhale Gang may be the fundamental purpose of this trip, but he's actually the least use. The Zuo Family's Third Brother has to come before they can offer terms, and the Second Brother has to come before they can give an accounting... It's rather like... We should simply wait in peace."
"Brother Qin Er has put it best."
The Patrol Cavalry officer hurried to praise him. "And you carry yourself with such composure, treating all those people outside as nothing."
Most of the others agreed. With Zhang Xing and Li Qingchen both on the third floor, they were