Early the next morning, Zhou Yan wandered around the pass.
A long line had formed outside the grain shop. Unscrupulous merchants were trying to profit from the national crisis, and rice prices had risen another thirty percent since yesterday.
Several gray-clad Demon-Slaying Hall guards patrolled past the street corner with sabers in their arms, their eyes fixed on the crowd.
The entire city was gripped by panic, and the news spreading around was still that the demon beasts were coming.
They said the northern sky had been red for three nights straight, and refugee hunters had seen demon footprints ten miles outside the pass.
Zhou Yan made his way to the western side of the pass city just as the Demon-Slaying Hall opened its doors.
Several gray-clad hall guards emerged and headed toward the city walls.
Then a woman suddenly stepped out from inside.
She wore a black robe, with a deep blue character for "Heaven" embroidered on her right arm. Her figure was neat and sharp, and she looked no older than twenty-five or twenty-six. Her brows and eyes were cold.
She wore no makeup, making her eyes appear even brighter, like a pool of icy spring water amid the snow.
She stood at the entrance, morning light shining from behind her.
It traced her outline with a golden edge. She was like a sword drawn from its sheath, her sharpness impossible to conceal.
Zhou Yan looked at her for a moment longer before hurriedly withdrawing his gaze. He had not seen a woman like this anywhere along his journey.
Judging by her bearing, she had to be an important figure as well.
She had originally been about to leave, but her gaze swept across the street and suddenly stopped on Zhou Yan.
As they passed each other, Zhou