Sunset at dusk.
The sun sank westward.
Half the sky had turned golden.
On the official road, more than ten swift horses galloped all the way, their hooves clattering as they kicked up clouds of dust.
The horses were sturdy, and their riders were equally vigorous.
It was Jiang Dao, who had departed Qianyuan City that very morning.
Leading more than ten men, he had ridden without pause. They had not even taken a sip of water along the way, and every horse beneath them was a fine steed capable of covering three hundred li a day.
At last, before nightfall, they reached Fengzhou.
Yet after entering Fengzhou City, Jiang Dao quickly frowned, sweeping his gaze across the streets in every direction.
Not a single person could be seen on the entire street.
A breeze swept by, sending rubbish dancing through the streets and carrying a faintly sinister chill.
"Something's wrong. Something happened!"
Jiang Dao's heart sank. He flicked the reins and rode straight toward the Jiang residence.
Guo Dutian and the others looked over the eerily silent streets and also sensed that something was amiss.
But they did not dare ask. Instead, they swiftly followed Jiang Dao.
The group galloped wildly through the streets, hoofbeats clattering as they crossed seven or eight streets in succession, yet they never saw a single soul.
Ah...
Suddenly, a shrill scream came from one side of the street, filled with incomparable agony, as though its owner were suffering unbearable torment.
Jiang Dao sharply pulled the reins and looked back.
The sound had come from a tavern over a hundred meters away.
In the dusk, numerous red lanterns hung outside the tavern, blazing brightly like eerie pupils in the darkness, watching everyone in the city.
The tavern was utterly quiet. After that single scream,