Back when Li Yuan lived in Gemhill County, the Ginger Tavern, Blood Blade Sect, and his birds had all been his eyes and ears. But now that he was inside the Holy Tree Temple’s city stronghold in Skygarden Prefecture, his network was much smaller. It simply wasn’t enough.  0

If recent events—like the suspicious intel-gathering on his family—could unfold right under his nose with no warning, then he was effectively blind to the threats around him. Blessings or curses, if they went unseen, they could strike before he had any chance to react. He had to rebuild his network of informants—his eyes—or he might not notice looming dangers until it was too late.0

Night fell. Everything was silent; the swaying shadows of trees under the wind looked like ghosts. A drunken man staggered down the dark streets. Those with money spent their nights at an establishment that was part gambling den, part brothel, part auction house—a den of vice hidden behind a narrow, twisting alley. At its end, however, the place opened up into a cavernous courtyard.0

The Black Wolf Gang was nestled deep in one such...0