Flower Master

"Who knew why, but inspections at Xuanbei Pass had been getting stricter and stricter..."

"For such a short stretch of road, it would probably still take half an hour before we could enter the city..."

"Shh, keep it down! Someone's coming!"

Beneath Xuanbei Pass's iron walls, carriages stood in a long line, taking turns undergoing martial-law inspections.

The sound of hooves approached from afar.

The already hushed conversations were trampled to pieces beneath the horses' hooves.

Xuanbei Pass was tense these days...

Everyone knew that Generals Chen Chong and Han Li harbored "misgivings" toward one another. These conflicts should originally have been resolved through concerted effort, but with the schemes of countless factions thrown into the mix, Xuanbei Pass had become an arena of struggle. Martial law was imposed day after day, regulations changed with each morning's decree and evening's revision, and the common people suffered beyond bearing.

Xie Xuanyi stood among the queue, wearing a hooded hat and keeping his gaze low as he waited silently.

He did not release his divine sense.

Xuanbei Pass... had a Yang Spirit Realm cultivator stationed here!

Chen Chong was in the city.

If he rashly released his divine sense, it might draw attention.

"This martial law at Xuanbei Pass does not seem to be without cause."

Xie Xuanyi looked ahead.

Nearly a hundred carriages were lined up in a long queue, undergoing inspection one by one.

The armored soldiers first verified the travel documents, then searched the carriage compartments... Xie Xuanyi had observed for half an hour. Though the procedures were cumbersome, things had remained fairly "peaceful." At the very least, he had not seen anyone refused entry by the soldiers.

The thought had only just arisen.

When a scream rang out from not far ahead!

"Ah..."

It was the scream of