Dawn had only just begun to brighten when the campfire in the mountain hollow had already gone out. Only a few wisps of bluish smoke rose from between the charred grass roots. Chen Wuya crouched before that pair of patched cloth shoes, his fingertips lightly brushing the mud along their soles. The wet earth was a deep brown, utterly unlike the parched ground around it. It had clearly been brought here from elsewhere. He looked up along the path—the dirt bore several blurred drag marks, nearly impossible to make out after being dampened by dew, but their direction matched the arrow carved into the broken stone exactly.
Bai Zhi stood half a step behind him, her flexible sword still sheathed as her gaze swept over the remnants of the mechanisms scattered about. She said nothing, merely retightening her medicine pouch with crisp, efficient movements.
"They left in a hurry." Chen Wuya rose to his feet and handed her the broken stone carved with an arrow. "But these traces were left last night. They passed through no more than three hours ago."
Bai Zhi took the stone and examined it for a moment, her brows drawing together slightly. "If they truly fled toward the northern ridge, there's only an abandoned old fortress there. Its walls have half collapsed, but it's easy to defend and hard to take."
"Which is exactly why they won't expect us to pursue them there." He brushed the dust from his shoulder and turned to face the group. "They think the ambush will hold us up, or that we'll simply retreat and wait for reinforcements. But we're going now."
The allied soldiers leaned against the rock face, catching their breath. One had an arm wrapped in a blood-seeping strip of cloth; another was supporting a leg whose