Yun Qingyue left before dawn.
Lu Chen stood atop the city wall, watching as she rode out through the gates and headed south.
A medicine chest hung from her saddle, containing Dragon Blood Grass and the remaining jar of Dragon Blood Paste.
The wind blew in from the north, carrying a golden glow—the seal's golden light had not gone out in the night, standing like a pillar against the horizon.
Zhou Tieshan stood beside him, blueprints in hand. "Commander Lu, we've reinforced three hundred zhang of the city wall, but we're running out of stone."
"Where can we quarry some?"
"There's a stone mountain twenty li north of here, but we'll have to pass through the ruins of the Mist Wall."
Lu Chen glanced northward. The Mist Wall had dispersed, but a thin layer of grayish-white mist still lingered over the ground like frost.
The seal's golden light shone upon it, reflecting a faint golden gleam.
"Send thirty men. Bring the Spirit-Locking Nails. Drive one in every li to mark the route."
"Yes."
Zhou Tieshan left. Lu Chen descended from the city wall. As he passed the drill ground, Tuoba Shan was practicing with his saber.
The new flesh on his left arm had fully grown back, its skin changing from pink to light brown, nearly the same as the right.
He gripped the saber in his left hand, chopping, slashing, thrusting, and sweeping. Every movement carried the whistle of wind.
"How does it feel?"
Tuoba Shan sheathed his saber, raised his left arm over his head, and rotated his wrist. "I can use seventy percent of my strength. In another three days, I'll be able to go all out."
"Three days is enough."
Tuoba Shan slid his saber back into his belt. "You're about to break through?"
"Mm. Within