A fast rider turned back from the front. A sturdy guard neatly reined in his horse, drew close to the carriage window, and reported in a deep voice:
"Miss, we're about to enter Black Wind Gorge!"
Inside the carriage, Wang Yushuang's eyes abruptly narrowed.
Without the slightest hesitation, her cool voice immediately came through the curtain, carrying an unquestionable resolve:
"Pass the word. Uncle Qin is to lead the team. Everyone, stay sharp and keep watch!"
"Yes!"
Having received the order, the guard turned his horse around and immediately relayed it down the line.
The trace of ease on Zhang Shun's face vanished, replaced by a gravity utterly at odds with his age.
Almost instinctively, he straightened his back and unconsciously pressed his right hand to the hilt of the blade at his waist, his knuckles tightening slightly.
He suddenly turned to Fang Yuan, lowering his voice to an unprecedentedly serious whisper:
"Brother Fang, we've reached Black Wind Gorge!"
Almost the instant the order was issued, the atmosphere throughout the caravan changed.
The previously loose formation immediately tightened, and every guard's gaze sharpened,
their hands unconsciously settling on the hilts of their sabers and swords as an invisible, murderous air spread through the ranks.
Even the horses pulling the carts seemed to sense the tension, snorting uneasily.
The carriage curtain stirred. Through a slit, Wang Yushuang looked toward the gorge entrance in the distance, like the throat of some colossal beast, and her brows faintly furrowed.
The instincts she had honed through years of trade made her unwilling to let even the slightest irregularity pass lightly.
If there was a problem with this escort job, then Black Wind Gorge might well be the greatest problem of all.
Amid the caravan, Fang Yuan could distinctly feel the air around him grow