Chapter 181 Book 4 Master in the Shadows
Capital City of Qinglan State — Before Dawn
The sky still slumbered beneath a veil of darkness, only the faintest hues of twilight hinting at the coming dawn. The capital city, once grand and bustling, lay in an uneasy silence, broken only by the occasional bark of an order from patrolling guards and the echo of boots over shattered stone. Smoke no longer choked the air, but its scent clung like a stubborn ghost, mixed with blood and ash. The remnants of the man-beast horde's chaos lingered in the broken walls and scorched rooftops. The heart of Qinglan had suffered, and though the beasts were slain, the city itself bled quietly in the aftermath.
