They followed Dean to the caravan he had mentioned. But there were no neighing horses or shouting men, only a squad of elite Shadow Guards in fitted uniforms, their waists hung with Space Bags.
"Where did so many Space Bags come from? Don't tell me you took the army's entire supply to use for hauling cargo?
"Space Bags wear out with use. If you run through them all, they won't be easy to replace."
A quick count put the number at no fewer than several hundred. Given their capacity, the cargo would have filled a massive caravan of perhaps a thousand wagons.
Dean shook his head.
"These aren't Space Bags from our own stores. One trip would burn through a tenth of our reserves. After a few trips, the army really would have none left.
"Wisdom Shield paid for these to support us. He said Your Majesty had already paid him with a permanent Space Bag."
At that, Chen Cheng knew Wisdom Shield must have meant the Spatial Ring he had left behind.
The thought of the Spatial Ring reminded Chen Cheng of what he had left inside it. Several years had passed; he wondered whether those disciples he had taken on so casually had managed to come up with anything.
He could have asked Dean beside him, but to preserve the mystery, Chen Cheng held back.
The party set out, sweeping across the Northern Wasteland under Dean's lead and heading south. When they reached the town where Chen Cheng had first met the Snow Maiden, he stopped.
"There's something I need to do. Go on ahead. I'll catch up soon."
Dean and the others were uneasy and wanted to accompany him. But Chen Cheng thought of the Snow Maiden's younger siblings, shook his head, and told them to keep