The Jiannan Regional Office's Obstruction

The official road followed the riverbank downstream.

As the sun climbed higher, the mist had nearly dispersed. Only a thin veil of vapor still curled above the river.

Twenty li was neither near nor far.

After about an hour's travel, a crude wooden stockade came into view at the end of the road, built beside the river.

It was not large: a few rows of wooden huts and a watchtower that was hardly tall.

At its entrance, a dozen or so figures in black uniforms with red markings stood gathered in small groups.

Some polished their sabers. Others squatted around a battered plank, gambling with dice. Most simply leaned against the fence, staring idly at the river.

Hoofbeats approached.

Almost at once, everything changed.

The men polishing their sabers stopped. The gamblers put away their dice. Even those lost in thought straightened up.

Every gaze snapped toward the road. Their relaxed expressions turned grim in an instant.

But when they saw who had come, bewilderment spread across their faces.

What was going on?

A girl?

Jiang Yuechu drew rein a dozen paces from the stockade and dismounted.

A burly man with a scar across his face stepped out from the crowd.

He looked Jiang Yuechu up and down, frowned, and demanded, "Who goes there?"

"Is this the Demon Suppression Office's post at Bluestone Ferry?"

A younger Demon-Suppression Guard snapped, "Don't play dumb! This is a restricted Demon Suppression Office post. Outsiders are forbidden. Leave at once!"

"Quiet."

The scarred man's rebuke cut him off.

After so many years in the field, he had a keen eye.

Ordinary folk took one look at their uniforms and hurried the other way. None would dare approach them.

Yet this young woman had come alone, perfectly composed.

With that bearing, she hardly looked like