The wolf howls continued for an entire night.
Many people did not rest well that night, because the howls drifting in from afar seemed to possess a kind of magic. They could worm their way into the ears of sleeping people and force them awake.
Moreover, the wolf howls did not come from a single direction. They drifted near and far, elusive and unpredictable. At times, they seemed to be moving away, only to suddenly ring out from somewhere very close the next moment.
Yet when the Imperial Forest Guard scouts went to investigate, they found nothing at all.
Such harassment was both infuriating and helpless.
By the next morning, when the marriage alliance procession set out again, quite a few people were rubbing sleepy eyes and yawning.
"This is a tactic commonly used by steppe horse bandits."
Imperial Forest Guard Commander Sun Zhengheng said to Wang Chen, "We've been marked!"
"The White Wolf Bandits?"
Wang Chen asked, "If it's the White Wolf Bandits, and they're connected to Great Yan, would they still target us?"
"Not everyone supports the marriage alliance between our two nations..."
Sun Zhengheng answered in a grave voice, "Great Liang has its opponents, and Great Yan has them too!"
Wang Chen nodded.
Great Liang and Great Yan were both vast empires in population and territory. Centuries of history had accumulated far too many deep-rooted problems, and their internal situations were tangled beyond measure. Such a situation was perfectly normal.
Whether those coming were the White Wolf Bandits or not, the marriage alliance procession had, in any case, encountered its true trial upon this great grassland.
For three days in a row, the horse bandits' harassment never ceased.
Aside from using wolf howls to disrupt the marriage alliance procession's rest, they sent small groups of mounted scouts