Xijing.
A heavy snow had just fallen.
At the Post and Telecommunications Bureau, a young man leaned against the telephone counter, wrapped in a military overcoat and chewing a piece of sesame candy. He held the receiver, listening quietly. This was none other than Lian Youming.
He had not stopped once along the way, crossing every mountain and river in his path. After rushing back from the North, he had gone to Zhongnan Mountain before even going home. Only after seeing that Lüzu Temple was just as he had left it did he enter the city.
Yang Lian was on the other end of the line.
The Junk King had left and never returned. Before leaving himself, Lian Youming had asked the Green Gang disciples to keep an eye out.
"We found something. Over in Shanxi. People from the Baji Sect, the Xingyi Sect, and a few other schools are watching in secret too. Don't worry. I've already sent plenty of people over. The moment anything happens, they'll lend a hand."
Yang Lian's soft, even voice came slowly through the receiver.
"Shanxi?"
Lian Youming's eyes flickered. He murmured an acknowledgment, then briefly described what had happened in the dungeon.
Hearing that he had killed an old-time martial artist who had taken part in the encirclement and killing of Wang Yaqiao, Yang Lian fell silent for several seconds before saying, "Understood. Also, the White Lotus Sect seems to have gotten mixed up with the Overseas Green Gang. There's movement from Hongmen too. They seem to be after the resources Boss Du left behind."
Lian Youming's thick brows drew together slightly. Truthfully, he had little interest in those damned resources, but they could not lose their spirit, much less yield the broader advantage. Now that those hidden figures were surfacing one after