Chapter 53: Checks and Balances

White ravens foretell that a major event is about to happen, whether a natural disaster or a man-made calamity. However, Director Li had no time to mention the man-made calamity before he went missing.

Shen Hua thought to herself, "What natural or man-made disasters? It is all entirely human-made. In the Netherworld Pavilion, white ravens are actually considered auspicious omens."

"Does that scholar stare like that all day long?"

Shen Hua pointed at the clepsydra scholar who sat by the clepsydra at the doorway the whole time and asked.

The spiritual platform official nodded and replied, "Yes, except when he goes to the latrine."

Shen Hua gave a dry, humorless chuckle.

Under the cool moonlight, the two of them sat in the pavilion of the Chu residence, chatting idly. Both of them appeared energetic and untired. As for that old fogey who had been harboring grand ambitions in his heart all along, he had already... returned to his room to wash up and go to sleep.

"Quickly mobilize the troops and transfer the common people to a safe place. Anyone who disobeys the order shall be beheaded immediately!" Jun Yifeng's face was ashen, leaving no room for negotiation whatsoever.

"There is no need for that. We must keep a low profile. If they fail to gain anything from this, once we leave the ancient town, all the blame will surely be directed at me."

She had originally intended to scheme against him, but she never expected that he would turn the tables on her right from the start. He thought he was the one holding the initiative, little knowing that the initiative was never in his hands to begin with.

After laying Xin Yueheng down, Mo Shang rushed toward the direction of Source City without a moment of rest. The journey that originally took three days was compressed by him into a mere seven hours. During this period, Mo Shang had already changed horses four times, hardly stopping to catch his breath. When he rushed into Source City, it was already late at night.

As everyone pieced together the information they had seen and heard, they finally reached a definitive conclusion: the perpetrators must be from the Medicine Sect.

The leader of the Sword Alliance was lost, and Ouyang Jian and the others were plunged into grief. The Alliance of Chivalry and Righteousness also lost several important members. Guo Lingling felt deeply heartbroken as well.

With that, she violently ripped off the black veil. As the thief's true face was revealed, the three martial siblings were completely stunned.

Su Manman took her mobile phone and glanced at it. Tu Jie was quite perceptive; although the post had not yet gone completely viral, Tu Jie's people had already discovered it.

As Min Qiuye laughed and laughed, her expression suddenly turned gloomy. It seemed that this marriage-recruitment grand ceremony truly was a gathering of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

The young man said that the seemingly most dangerous place was actually better for evading the Black Knights' pursuit. He chose to hide inside the Count's mansion, constantly staying on the move to avoid the guards' patrols and the servants' routine routes.

The Supervisory Department oversees the supervisory affairs of an entire province, and the Vice Censor-in-Chief is second only to ten thousand people, also belonging to the fourth rank of seated officials and a 15th-grade official. This is two grades higher than the deceased Zhang Zongyang, and on par with the Guardian General Bian Jingtu.

The only flaw was that the arranged Blue-Faced Ghost was captured alive, forcing them to sacrifice yet another martial master-level expert.

The gates of the Prince Ming Mansion were knocked upon. The estate manager hurried over to open them, but the moment the gates swung open, what met his eyes was a formidable and aggressive group of bailiffs from the Dali Temple, followed by a crowd of townspeople gathered together and whispering to each other.

This temperament was pretty much what Zhang Yang had imagined. He was a player with a very rugged destiny; over the past few years, his relatives had passed away one after another, leaving only him and his sister to rely on each other. How could he not be lonely and melancholy?

At the same time, Zhang Yang—who had been driving toward a higher position—braked, cut back, and slashed from the left toward the basket. Yao Ming immediately checked his leftward movement, stepped upward to the top of the restricted area arc, turned to face the baseline, blocked Perkins in the middle from finishing the play, and covered Zhang Yang as he cut in to receive the pass.

Jiang Yun's technique in such matters had always been exceptional. After only a short while, Lin Jiawu let out a soft, coquettish moan, and the entire bedroom was filled with an ambiguous, intimate atmosphere.

A flash of lightning tore through the sky, and thunder rumbled loudly. Su Changyue had nowhere to hide and was drenched to the bone in an instant, her wet hair plastered against her face. She frantically wiped the rainwater from her face and ran blindly into the depths of the Cold Palace.