Early winter had come to Far-Reaching City. Cold winds rolled up sand, and yellow grit lashed against faces.
Wang Family Village was sealed off on three sides. Its western side faced Far-Reaching City, where a single entrance was left open and guarded by eight yamen runners.
A vast black mass of people had gathered outside the village.
Escort masters in black fitted uniforms had pitched camp and guarded the escort carts.
Many raggedly dressed people stood with their children, gazing eagerly into the village.
Some Wang Family Village residents had been shut outside, unable to enter, and gathered together to complain.
There were also gang members from the city, moving among the parents and children who wished to join the Divine Bow Sect, urging them to turn back from their misguided path.
Separated by the wooden fence at the village's western entrance, Liu Yitian led Yu Xiaoshan toward a yamen runner and cupped his hands. Then, holding broken silver in his palm, he reached it through the fence and offered it over. "Constable Mei, we are old acquaintances. I understand what ought to be done."
Constable Mei had triangular eyes. He glanced at Liu Yitian's downward-clenched fist and said with an air of righteous integrity, "Sect Master Liu, precisely because we are old acquaintances, I must warn you. Resisting demons and capturing traitors concerns human lives—it is the foremost priority and cannot be handled carelessly. If you keep doing this, do not blame me for setting aside old friendship and reporting you to the yamen."
Liu Yitian's heart skipped a beat. He was not afraid of greedy yamen runners; he feared righteous ones.
Helplessly, Liu Yitian said, "If the parents cannot pass through, surely the children can enter? Once they are inside, they will not leave again."
"Sect Master Liu,