In the half-light of the Qianlong wilderness, just as silence settled its shroud upon the encampment once more, the underbrush gave a sudden shudder.
~rustle rustle~
Every muscle in Li Wuji's body tensed.
Yuan Yi's hand flew to her blade. Her gaze snapped to the thicket, narrow and calculating, like a falcon preparing to strike. The warriors scattered behind her each shifted uneasily, forming a crescent formation with weapons drawn. Tension surged like storm clouds over a still lake.
"Something stirs…" Yuan Yi whispered, her eyes fixed on the motion.
From the thickets emerged a figure, lean as a starving hound, his smile slick as oil. The man had a rat-like face—sharp cheekbones, thin lips curled in a permanent sneer. Wicked eyes flickered with mischief and malice alike.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" he drawled, swaggering into the clearing with all the gall of a fox who thought himself king of the hunt.
