Chapter 724: Disturbance

After Duan Rong left that district, he slowly walked along a main street, deep in thought as he lowered his head.

Although the sky was just beginning to lighten, there were already a few scattered pedestrians on the street, and the aroma from the steaming breakfast stalls filled the air.

Duan Rong passed by a stall and bought two fragrant sesame seed pancakes, eating as he headed back to Yunlai Inn.

By the time he returned to Yunlai Inn, the sky was already quite bright.

Duan Rong stepped into the inn and saw the thin-faced shopkeeper standing behind the counter, yawning. The burnt-out candle that had been there earlier had been cleaned away at some point.

Duan Rong walked up to the counter and said, “Shopkeeper, I won’t be staying in that room today.”

The shopkeeper was slightly surprised and said, “Oh. Let me calculate the bill for you.”

The shopkeeper spoke as he pulled out an oily abacus.

Duan Rong said, “No need to calculate. I didn’t leave anything in the room, so just check me out. The extra silver coins can be used to feed the horse in the backyard for a few days; my valet will come to take it in a few days.”

“Alright!” The shopkeeper immediately beamed with joy. “Don’t worry, Sir. I will take good care of the horse.”

The silver Duan Rong gave last time covered the room expenses, and was more than enough to feed the horse for several days, or even months.

After finishing his words, Duan Rong turned and left the inn. After walking through several blocks along the street, he turned into a rather large two-story teahouse.

He stayed in this teahouse until it closed at night, then slowly left.

Including this teahouse, Duan Rong had spent six intensive days monitoring public opinion at three different teahouses, in different positions and layers.

After these six days, he felt that he could basically sense the trends of public opinion in the Divine Cloud Prefecture.

This meant that if he were to set up a method to eliminate Minister of the Secretariat Li Shensi now, he could basically predict how this event would ferment and which direction it would take in the public opinion of Divine Cloud Prefecture if it indeed occurred in reality.

He already had a basic judgment on many of the subtleties.

Before these six days of monitoring public opinion, he didn’t have this ability. Previously, he couldn’t precisely and delicately judge the fermentation trends of Divine Cloud Prefecture’s public opinion regarding certain events. This kind of thing is actually closely related to many cultural beliefs and various legends and stories circulating in the area. Duan Rong hadn’t studied this part in detail before.

Being able to basically grasp the fermentation direction of public opinion in Divine Cloud Prefecture concluded the first stage of his work. Next, he would enter the second stage of work.

Duan Rong walked out of the teahouse, looking at the brilliant street scene before him, his eyes glimmering.

He walked into a street-side tavern, ordered a few dishes and a pot of yellow wine, and slowly started eating.

After eating and drinking, he walked out, the night wind blowing, lifting the yellow leaves off the street; the night wind in late autumn was still a bit chilly…

Duan Rong walked along the street in the night.

At this time, there were not many pedestrians on the street, and the patrolling soldiers walked casually with lanterns, which Duan Rong avoided one by one from afar.

Not long after, he arrived near Changle Street.

Changle Street was the most prosperous street in Divine Cloud Prefecture, and those who could live there were mostly rich and noble. If you only had money, you couldn’t really live there.

The soldiers patrolled this area much more frequently than other districts.

As soon as Duan Rong entered this district, he spread out his Divine Sense Investigation, and since he had already reached the Fourth Level of Primordial Qi Realm, once he moved, he was like a ghost.

How could those soldiers possibly detect him?

In the pitch-black night, Duan Rong flashed like a shadow, stopping in the shade of a tree.

He stood in the shadow of the tree, looking at a mansion not far away, while a team of soldiers carrying lanterns turned a corner at the other end.

After the patrol soldiers’ figures completely disappeared, Duan Rong suddenly leaped, soaring like a hawk in the night, lightly tapping the wall of the mansion with his toes, and darting inside like an arrow, landing in the shadow of a rockery by the pond.

Duan Rong spread his Divine Sense, covering most of the mansion.

He quickly locked onto the person he was looking for, flashing like a ghost through the shadows of the trees and the pillars of the corridor, crossing half the mansion.

Duan Rong stood in the shadow of a corridor pillar, looking at a room not far away.

He saw two guards standing at the door, guarding it with weapons in hand. Laughter and the sound of dense drumbeats could vaguely be heard from the room behind them.

Under Divine Sense Investigation, Duan Rong clearly saw the scene inside the room.

“This guy! What a life he’s living.” Duan Rong smiled slightly, thinking to himself.

His Divine Sense then focused, penetrating the Dantian of the two guards standing at the door. Both were at the Fourth Level of the Inner Breath Realm.

Suddenly, Duan Rong flashed, and the two guards just saw a dark shadow flicker before their eyes, and the back of their heads were simultaneously hit with a Palm Blade.

Duan Rong stood in the middle, spreading his hands, supporting the backs of the two unconscious guards, and gently laying them on the ground.

Then, he seized the opportunity and darted into the room like a ghost.

As he darted into the room, a young girl with a graceful figure, wearing a layer of red gauze, was twisting her waist and playing a small drum tied to her waist.