Seeing that his wife had fallen silent,
Yun Dashan paid her no further attention.
He gazed toward the far end of the road leading to the village entrance.
Yet he had no idea what to expect.
The little sister who had followed at his heels since childhood, whose runny nose he had wiped himself,
had now become an exalted secondary consort, noble beyond measure.
As her elder brother, the mere thought of seeing her shortly left his palms slick with sweat.
"They're here! They're here!"
Someone shouted.
Everyone turned toward the village entrance.
The first thing that came into view
was a vast contingent of cavalry mounted on tall, powerful horses.
They wore gleaming armor and held banners of every color aloft.
The banners streamed in the wind, snapping and fluttering.
Following behind the cavalry
were ranks of heavily armored soldiers stretching farther than the eye could see.
Row upon row, column upon column.
Their armor glinted coldly, their footsteps perfectly in unison.
Even from a great distance, their invisible killing intent pressed down on the villagers of Huanxi Village until they could barely breathe.
"Good heavens..."
"So many soldiers..."
"Our village probably hasn't seen anything like this in hundreds of years."
The villagers' calves trembled.
Instinctively, they shrank back.
Yun Laoshi stood at the very front.
As that killing intent washed over him,
his legs went weak.
He nearly dropped to his knees.
Only his elderly wife catching his arm kept him upright.
"Old man, what are you shaking for? You're hopeless."
The old woman scolded him, but her own hands were trembling too.
The village chief drew close and lowered his voice. "Brother Yun, once the dignitaries arrive, we... we all have to kneel."
Yun Laoshi's eyes widened.
His face filled with disbelief. "How can that be?"
"I'm