Chapter 39

Early the next morning, Zhao Xuan rode without pause back to the county seat to report to Adviser Li at the County Yamen. Upon meeting, he took care to omit any mention of Luo Yuru, giving only a simplified account of how he had eradicated the Black Tiger Stronghold. He placed particular emphasis on his own negligence, claiming that he had failed to prevent the bandits from setting fire to the stronghold, which had left their corpses burned beyond recognition. Consequently, he argued, it was impossible to hand over the credit to his colleagues at the constabulary. Zhao Xuan felt he had to keep the matter of Luo Yuru and her fellow sect member a secret. If word got out, the Zhenwu Sect could easily follow the trail and identify him as the culprit. He could not let outsiders know that it was he who had destroyed the Black Tiger Stronghold. According to Luo Yuru, that sect was one that even the Grand Administrator of Jiangnan Circuit would personally visit to pay his respects.