The noon sun beat down directly on the walls of Linshan County City, baking the mottled bricks until they were scorching hot.
The city gates stood wide open, the drawbridge had been lowered, and the planks on the bridge deck had been worn smooth and shiny by passing carts and horses.
Far fewer county soldiers than usual guarded the gates. Only two squads remained, standing about lazily at the entrance.
Their spears rested askew against their shoulders, and some had even taken off their helmets to use as fans.
No patrols could be seen atop the city walls either. Only a few flags still fluttered weakly in the wind.
Ever since Commandery Lieutenant Wang Meng had led Five Thousand County Soldiers and been completely annihilated by Black Wind Stronghold—
—and the newly arrived County Magistrate Zheng An had devoted himself to being a turtle hiding in its shell—the city's defenses had long since become a mere formality.
The soldiers all knew perfectly well that if the "Black Wind Stronghold Master" outside the city truly decided to attack, the few of them would not even be enough to fill his teeth.
Rather than stay tense and wait for death, they might as well eat and sleep as they pleased. If the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up.
The streets within the city were much quieter than usual as well. More than half the shops were closed, and few pedestrians were about.
Every now and then, a few peddlers carrying shoulder poles hurried past, their cries equally listless.
In the rear hall of the County Office, Zheng An stared at the packed nanmu chest before him in silence for a long while.
He picked up the letter of appointment, then set it down again. In the end, he still