Chapter 97 The Eve of the Great Battle! Lin Chen Personally Lays a Deadly Net

Two more days passed.

The East Courtyard patrolled as usual, and the training grounds drilled as usual.

The rhythm of the three groups rotating their shifts was exactly the same as in previous days.

But everyone felt that something had changed.

They couldn't say what it was, just a kind of stuffiness, a feeling of suffocation pressing on their chests, like the weather during the dog days of summer when black clouds loom over the city but the rain refuses to fall.

Zhao Gang was wiping his blade in front of the weapon rack; he had wiped it three times and still hadn't put it down.

Han Shan was on duty at the courtyard gate. Usually, he would only glance through the crack in the door every half-hour, but these past two days, he had started poking his head out every fifteen minutes.

Even the most thick-skinned recruits on the training grounds would steal an extra glance over the courtyard wall when finishing their sparring moves.

It was as if they feared something would climb over the wall at some unknown moment.

Early morning, just after the Hour of the Rabbit.

Lin Chen did the only thing these days that was unrelated to his official duties.

He changed into a set of plain-colored short coarse clothes, hung only black abyss at his waist, and walked out of the East Courtyard's side gate alone, without taking anyone with him.

When Zhao Gang noticed, he chased after him to the gate but was grabbed by Zhou Tie.

Zhao Gang turned his head, his face full of confusion.

"The Hundred-Household is going out alone. What if..."

Zhou Tie's hand pressed down on his shoulder with significant force.

"Don't follow."

Zhao Gang's mouth hung open. He looked at Zhou Tie's face, then at Lin Chen's receding back, and finally said nothing, retreating into the courtyard with clenched fists.

South of the city, the mass graves.

This wasteland was half a li outside the city walls, next to a dried-up canal. It was overgrown with weeds, the ground was uneven and pitted, and dozens of rows of earthen mounds of varying heights were packed closely together.

Wu Si's grave was in the outermost row.

The newly piled yellow earth hadn't grown grass yet. Compared to the old graves next to it that had already half-collapsed, it was exceptionally conspicuous, like a new patch sewn onto old cloth.

A wooden plaque was stuck into the head of the grave, carved by Instructor Qi Boyuan's own hand with a short knife, with four characters written in ink upon it.

Grave of Wu Si.

There was no year of birth, no place of origin, and not a single sentence to let future generations know that this person had once lived.

Only a name.

Lin Chen squatted before the grave and placed a flask of wine he had brought on the earthen ridge at the head of the grave. The body of the flask rested against the base of the wooden plaque, set very steadily.

He didn't pour the wine, nor did he say much.

He stared at those four characters for a long time, tapping his fingers twice on his knee.

"I will get it back for you."

Only this one sentence.

The words were spoken very softly, carried by the morning breeze toward the canal before dissipating.

Then he stood up, patted the yellow dust from his knees, turned, and left.

His boot soles stepped onto the dirt path of the mass graves. His rhythm was as steady as ever, neither fast nor slow, and he did not look back.

When he returned to the East Courtyard, the Hour of the Dragon was only half over.

The moment the courtyard gate opened, Shen Yue was already standing there waiting for him.

Her hand rested on her saber hilt, her lips were pursed, and the expression on her face wasn't quite right.

"Hundred-Household, someone from the Governor's Mansion is here."

Her voice dropped half an octave.

"It's not Cheng Ji."

Lin Chen scraped his boot soles twice outside the threshold and stepped into the courtyard.

"Where are they?"

Shen Yue stepped aside to make way and tilted her chin toward the Conference Hall.

"Sitting in the hall. He's had two cups of tea and seems quite steady."

Lin Chen crossed the middle courtyard. When he reached the entrance of the Conference Hall, he saw a middle-aged military officer sitting upright in a guest chair, holding a teacup; the tea was already half cold.

He hadn't seen this man before.

He was in his forties, with facial lines as hard as if carved by a knife and a square jaw. He wore the armor of a Governor's Mansion guard, but the military insignia on his spaulders was one Rank higher than that of ordinary guards—gilded bronze with fine patterns along the edges.

His Late Stage Tongmai Realm aura was tightly restrained, not leaking out, but as one drew closer, a heavy sense of pressure could be felt, like a piece of iron billet just taken from the furnace that hadn't yet cooled.

Seeing Lin Chen enter, the visitor set his teacup on the table, stood up, and cupped his hands in a half-bow.

"I am Commander Han Yong, Deputy Commander of the Governor's Mansion guards, currently acting as the Commander of the Guards."

His voice was very steady, each word ending firmly without dragging.

"After Uncle Zhao was taken down, I have been temporarily filling the position of Commander."

Lin Chen sat in the main seat, his hand resting on the mouth of black abyss's scabbard.

"Commander Han is too polite. Please, sit."

Commander Han Yong did not sit back down. Instead, he took a small bronze token from his robes, placed it on the table, and pushed it forward half an inch with both hands.

"His Excellency the Governor has an oral command for Centurion Lin to hear."

Lin Chen's gaze swept over the token, and he nodded.

Commander Han Yong's back straightened further, and his voice shifted into a rhythm that was almost like a recitation.

"His Excellency the Governor will host a banquet at the Governor's Mansion in five days, inviting the leading figures of all factions in Nanyang Prefecture."

He tapped his finger lightly next to the token.

"The pretext is to discuss the coordination of autumn grain for the prefectural city."

Lin Chen did not interrupt, waiting for him to finish.

Commander Han Yong pushed the token forward another half-inch.

"The invitation list includes Commander Liu Chong of the City Defense Battalion, representatives from the Provincial Administration Commission, and the managers of the major trading firms."

He paused for a beat here, his eyes meeting Lin Chen's.

"And the Wang family."

Outside the duty room, Zhao Gang had somehow sidled up to the base of the window to eavesdrop. When he heard those two words, his mouth hung wide open, and he nearly dropped his scabbard on the ground.

Zhou Tie stood by a corridor pillar, his iron spear upright at his side. Nothing could be seen on his face, but every one of his five fingers gripping the spear shaft was tensed.

Commander Han Yong finished the last sentence.

"His Excellency the Governor asked me to inform Centurion Lin that on the day of the banquet, the Patrol Division's East Courtyard will be responsible for the security duty of the prefectural office's perimeter."

After saying this, he took half a step back, left the token on the table, and cupped his hands.

"The oral command has been delivered. I shall take my leave."

Lin Chen raised a hand.

"Wait a moment, Commander Han."

Commander Han Yong's footsteps stopped.

Lin Chen's finger traced a silent circle on the table.

"How many people are on the list in total?"

Commander Han Yong tilted his head and thought for two breaths.

"Including the stewards and guards accompanying each household, there are about forty people attending the banquet, and the total number of people entering the mansion will not exceed one hundred and twenty."

Lin Chen's finger stopped on the table.

"Regarding the Wang family, whose name is on the list?"

Commander Han Yong's answer was blunt.

"Wang Chongyuan."

The Conference Hall fell silent for a breath.

Lin Chen picked up the token from the table and weighed it in his palm.

"I understand. Thank His Excellency the Governor for me."

Commander Han Yong nodded, turned, and stepped out of the Conference Hall. The sound of his boots on the square tiles was crisp and clean as he headed down the corridor toward the courtyard gate.

Less than half a cup of tea's time after he left, Zhao Gang darted out from under the window and burst into the Conference Hall.

"Hundred-Household, what is His Excellency the Governor trying to do? Inviting Wang Chongyuan to the banquet? Does that old geezer even dare to come?"

Lin Chen set the token on the corner of the table, ignoring his noisy chatter.

"Call the others."

Zhao Gang froze for a beat.

"Call who?"

Lin Chen stood up from his chair, unfastened black abyss from his waist, and laid it horizontally on the table.

"Zhou Tie, Instructor Qi Boyuan, Shen Yue, Zhao Gang, He Jian—everyone to the Conference Hall."

Fifteen minutes later, five people stood in the Conference Hall, forming a semi-circle around the stone table.

Lin Chen sat in the main seat, he repeated the oral command brought by Commander Han Yong exactly as it was, adding nothing and omitting nothing.

After he finished, the hall was silent for three breaths.

Instructor Qi Boyuan was the first to speak.

He laid his wooden spear across his knees and withdrew his cloudy eyes from the sky outside the window. His voice sounded like it was being scraped from the bottom of an earthenware pot.

"His Excellency the Governor has invited the Wang family to the banquet. Is it to negotiate, or to have a showdown?"

Everyone's gaze turned toward Lin Chen at the same time.

Lin Chen's palm rested on black abyss's scabbard, his thumb slowly rubbing over the patterns of the ray skin.

"It depends on whether the Wang family comes."

Zhou Tie prodded his iron spear against the ground, the butt of the spear grinding against the square tiles with a low, raspy friction.

"What if they do come?"

Lin Chen's fingers moved away from the scabbard, and he rested his interlaced fingers on the table.

"If they come, it means Wang Chongyuan still wants to keep things under control on the surface and is willing to negotiate terms within the framework set by His Excellency the Governor."

He Jian squatted at the corner of the table, the new scar on his left arm gleaming pinkish-white in the candlelight.

"What if they don't?"

Lin Chen did not reply, simply sweeping his gaze over He Jian's face and then over Instructor Qi Boyuan's face.

Instructor Qi Boyuan said the words for him, his voice dry as dust.

"If they don't come, it means a total fallout."

The hall was silent for another two breaths.

Lin Chen spread his fingers on the table, laying them flat and pointing to them one by one.

"Deployment."

He looked at Zhou Tie.

"The peripheral forces—you will arrange them."

His finger drew a line on the table.

"The three passages between the main gate and the side gate of the Governor's Mansion—each must have at least six men. Place those at or above the Tongmai Realm at both ends, and fill the middle with those in the Blood Refining Realm."

Zhou Tie nodded and shouldered his spear shaft.

"How many men are needed?"

"Thirty."

Lin Chen's finger moved toward Instructor Qi Boyuan.

"Emergency contingency plans—Elder Qi will be in charge."

Instructor Qi Boyuan picked up the wooden spear from his knees and tapped the butt on the ground.

"What kind of contingency?"

Lin Chen's voice dropped half a notch.

"If something happens at the banquet, the East Courtyard needs to seize control of all exits around the prefectural office within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Only entry allowed, no exit."

The corners of Instructor Qi Boyuan's mouth twitched downward.

"One cup of tea is too long. I'll give you half a cup."

Lin Chen didn't waste time on pleasantries and turned his gaze to Shen Yue.

"The intelligence team will enter and set up positions three days in advance. The seating arrangements in the banquet hall, the guest list for each table, who sits next to whom, and which positions their attendants are in—find out everything."

Shen Yue's hand rested on her saber hilt as she nodded.

"Are Qian Xiaoliu's people enough?"

"If not, borrow some from Sun Qi."

Lin Chen's finger landed on Zhao Gang.

"Logistics and site management are yours."

Zhao Gang puffed out his chest.

"No problem. This is my specialty."

Lin Chen ignored his declaration and turned his gaze to the last person.

He Jian stood up, his right fist resting against his chest.

Lin Chen looked into his eyes.

"You will lead the personal guards. Do not show your faces that day. Find a dark alley closest to the Governor's Mansion and wait for orders."

His voice dropped to a level only the six people in the hall could hear.

"Unless I call for you, act as if you don't exist."

He Jian's fist tightened slightly against his chest.

"Understood."

Once the tasks were assigned, the Conference Hall was quiet for two breaths.

From the training grounds outside the window came the dull thud of boots hitting the ground, rhythmic and powerful, one after another.

Instructor Qi Boyuan shouldered his wooden spear. As he reached the door, he paused for a beat and looked back at Lin Chen.

"Five days. Is that enough?"

Lin Chen picked up black abyss from the table and refastened it to his waist, the bronze buckle snapping shut securely.

"Whether it's enough or not, it has to be."

Instructor Qi Boyuan's white eyebrows twitched. He turned and walked out of the Conference Hall, his wooden spear swaying on his shoulder before disappearing behind the pillars.

The others filed out one by one, each going their own way.

Only Lin Chen remained in the hall.

He sat back in the main seat, picked up the token left by Commander Han Yong, and flipped it over.

Two small characters were carved into the bronze surface.

By Order.

He gripped the token in his palm for a breath before putting it into the desk drawer, placing it together with the copy of the secret ledger.

Nightfall, the hour of the rat.

That faint blue light rose from the edge of his vision right on time.

**[Summary of Today's Duties: Paid respects to a fallen subordinate, coordinated core deployment instructions from the Governor's Mansion, formulated the banquet security plan, and completed personnel task allocation.]**

**[Duty Assessment: Excellent.]**

**[Today's Base Patrol Points: 50 points.]**

**[Additional Merit Reward: 280 points.]**

**[Current System Accumulated Total Points: 5,640 points.]**

Lin Chen closed the panel and sat cross-legged on the bed, hands resting on his knees with palms facing upward.

The dark-gold True Qi core in his Dantian was rotating slowly. With every revolution through his Meridians, the sense of power it brought was a layer thicker than the day before.

Something within the core was surging, restless.

Like an iron ball heated to the edge of its boiling point, the patterns on its surface were cracking inch by inch, revealing a more intense light within.

It only lacked the final spark.

He turned his palms over to press against his knees, closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, and slowed his respiration.

In the distance outside the window, the eastern part of the city was pitch black.

The lights in the Wang family's attic were not lit tonight; the window blended into the surrounding night, its boundaries indistinguishable.

But Lin Chen knew that the person behind that window was also thinking about that table five days from now.