After a few more minutes of pacing, Han Yu made his decision.
He would contact Meng Jueyan again. If she was connected to the Mist Eye Sect's inner workings, she might be able to get him in touch with the spies directly—or at least help him understand their network.
The next morning, Han Yu dressed plainly and made his way to the tea house across from the Misty Eye Sect branch, where he had monitored Meng Jueyan before.
He didn't approach the building itself. He simply sat near the window of the tea house, nursing a pot of bitter tea, his eyes scanning the entrance.
Sure enough, an hour later, Meng Jueyan emerged, dressed in a traveling robe draped over her uniform, her posture firm but cautious. As she walked away from the inn, a small girl—barely seven years old—skipped up to her and tugged her sleeve.
Meng Jueyan immediately tensed, but the girl simply handed her a folded slip of paper and said, "First task!"
Then the girl turned and scampered off into the street.
