"Senior Sister Zhou."
"Where are Elder Zheng and the others?"
Qin Jiu came before Zhou Yingxue and bowed.
She shook her head. "They have matters of their own to attend to."
"Junior Brother Qi and I will lead the escort tonight."
Qin Jiu frowned and chose his words carefully. "We're leaving in such haste tonight. I'm afraid the road ahead won't be peaceful. Should we send someone ahead to scout the way first? I have a feeling..."
"Elder Zheng and the others have gone to clear out those things."
"..."
Another hour passed.
The newly inducted disciples and their families had all gathered. After Qi Yuan verified their identities one by one, they slowly departed through the city gates.
Meanwhile, a great many people had gathered within the city.
Qin Jingzheng and the others had come as well.
They were saying something to Qin Jingchuan, sometimes pointing toward the Qin Family, sometimes pointing at another four figures—all youths—as they spoke.
Some had come to see them off, some merely to watch the spectacle, while others hoped to fish in troubled waters and follow the convoy out of Songshan County. But after the Divine Guard Army picked the latter out, they slunk back into the city with their tails between their legs.
In the night.
Qin Jiu sat in the carriage, looking back at the county town.
Golden light, invisible to ordinary people, reflected in his pupils.
"Within a year."
"I will return again..."
Time drifted by.
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
That day.
The thin snow piled along the official road gradually melted away, but the road itself began to grow rougher. This slowed the already sluggish convoy even further.
Two hours passed.
Yet they had only covered thirty or forty li.
"At this