77: The Combat Line
Hua Lin presented the combat branch's roster on the third hour past dawn on the morning after Su Yan's return from the teahouse.
The roster was — by Hua Lin's careful preceding small private four months of recruitment work — *fifteen* trained operatives, plus Master Mu, plus Hua Lin himself. Seventeen total. The fifteen recruits were drawn from three sources: five from Master Mu's small careful preceding sword-yard students of the past two years; four from Hua Lin's preceding-time mercenary network in the kingdom's lower city; three from the Northern Iron Cult training exchange Princess Wu Lingyao had agreed to in the autumn; and three from Cousin Su Wenfu's southern operations network.
Each of the fifteen was, by Hua Lin's careful read, *Foundation Late or above*. Two of the Northern Iron three were *Sovereign Origin Stage One* — provided, by Princess Wu Lingyao's preceding standing arrangement, on a small careful preceding two-year secondment.
The combat branch was, by Hua Lin's careful read of the careful preceding small private extraction's preceding small private requirements, *capable*.
It was not, by Hua Lin's read, *enough* for a frontal assault on a Hollow Veil central facility. The central facility's preceding small private standing garrison would, by Wei Mingfan's preceding small private quarterly intelligence, be approximately *forty Foundation Late operatives, plus six Sovereign Origin Stage One specialists, plus one Sovereign Apex commander, plus the careful preceding small private possible presence of Madam Hollow herself*.
Hua Lin's seventeen, against forty-six and possibly Madam Hollow, would — by Hua Lin's read of the careful preceding small private contest — *lose*.
Su Yan inclined his head.
"Hua Lin. We are not, by my preceding preference, conducting a frontal assault."
"Yes, Young Master."
"We are conducting an *extraction by teleport*, by the careful preceding small private hour of the substrate-anchor pair's preceding small private completed calibration. The teleport will, by the careful preceding small private hour of Master Qing's preceding teaching, deposit the careful preceding small private extraction party — *fifteen of you, plus me, plus Linglong* — *inside* the central facility, in a small careful preceding location of my own preceding preference, *bypassing* the careful preceding small private outer garrison entirely."
He paused.
"The careful preceding small private hour of the extraction itself," he said, "will, by my preceding preference, take *less than half an hour*. We will deposit. We will move at our unhurried pace through the careful preceding small private interior corridors to the careful preceding small private dorm three at the central facility's preceding small private third level — which, by Wei Mingfan's preceding quarterly file, has been my mother's preceding small private holding cell for the past nine years and three months. We will retrieve her. We will return to the careful preceding small private deposit location. We will *teleport back* — by the careful preceding small private hour of the substrate-anchor pair's preceding small private return calibration — to the careful preceding small private City of the Voiceless's preceding small private cell, which by Cousin Su Wenfu's preceding small private updated quarterly mapping has remained, by the careful preceding small private hour of one autumn cloak operation, *abandoned*."
He paused again.
"From the City of the Voiceless," he said, "we will conduct a small careful preceding overland return to Cloud Sky City, by Cousin Su Wenfu's southern logistics line. The overland return will take perhaps *eight days*. By the careful preceding small private hour of the eighth day, my mother will, by my preceding preference, be in the eastern wing's writing room, where she will — for the careful preceding small private hour of the next several years — *recover* in the careful preceding small private safety of the household I have, by the careful preceding small private hour of the past sixteen months, *prepared* for her preceding small private homecoming."
Hua Lin inclined his head — small, formal.
"The fifteen will, by my preceding preference, be ready by the careful preceding small private hour you specify."
"Three months and seven days, by the careful preceding small private hour of Master Qing's preceding small private revised schedule."
"Acceptable, Young Master."
Hua Lin rolled the roster. He left.
Master Mu — who had, by his own preceding preference, attended the meeting silently from the cushion to Su Yan's right — inclined his head.
"Su Yan."
"Master Mu."
"The fifteen," he said, in his low even voice, "are — by my preceding read of Hua Lin's preceding work over the past four months — *competent*. They will, by my preceding read of the careful preceding small private extraction's preceding small private requirements, perform the careful preceding small private operation correctly *if* the operation runs by your preceding small private calibrated schedule."
He paused.
"If the operation does *not*, by the careful preceding small private hour of some preceding small private accident, run by your schedule —"
"Yes, Master Mu."
"— the careful preceding small private hour will require *you*."
Su Yan inclined his head — small, formal.
"I will, by my own preceding preference, *be* sufficient."
Master Mu looked at him for a long count.
He had — by the careful preceding small private hour of fifteen months of preceding small private daily morning sword discipline — calibrated Su Yan's preceding small private capabilities to a precision that no other senior cultivator in the kingdom of Beicang's preceding standing record could match.
He inclined his head — small, formal.
"You will, by my preceding read, be sufficient."
"Thank you, Master Mu."
The two of them sat, in the careful preceding small private lantern-light of the writing room, for the count of perhaps three breaths in the small careful preceding small private courtesy of one senior swordsman who had — by the careful preceding small private hour of one debt to one mother ten years ago — *trained* the son of that mother into the careful preceding small private substrate-cultivator who would, in three months and seven days, walk into the eastern continent's central facility and bring her home.
Master Mu rose.
He bowed — small, formal, deeper than any previous bow he had given to Su Yan in the careful preceding small private hour of fifteen months of training.
He left.
Su Yan sat at the writing table for a long count after the lattice door closed.
In his chest, the ember pulsed — slow, considered, *grave*, and twice *gentle*.
The careful preceding small private hour of three months and seven days, by the small precise unhurried preceding hour of one quiet morning's preceding small private debriefing, *began*.