Bang!
A dull thud rang out alongside the driver's startled cry as a carriage wheel struck something hard, jolting Yang Qing violently inside.
Jiang Zhizhou, who had been sitting beside him, instantly drew the sword at his waist and gripped it tightly.
"Stay inside," he told Yang Qing. "I'll take a look."
With that, Jiang Zhizhou lifted the carriage's front curtain with his sword, but remained perfectly still.
At the same moment, a sharp arrow hurtled straight toward Yang Qing inside the carriage, accompanied by a shrill whistle through the air.
As the arrow shot through the gap beneath the lifted curtain and into the carriage, Jiang Zhizhou thrust his other hand forward in a flash.
When Yang Qing opened his eyes again, he saw a gleaming black arrow pinched between Jiang Zhizhou's two outstretched fingers.
"An arrow made of black gold. They certainly spared no expense!" Jiang Zhizhou clicked his tongue as he examined the arrow closely.
Black gold was an exceedingly rare mineral, found only in small quantities deep in the mountains between Western Chu and Northern Liang.
It was extremely scarce, exceptionally tough, and pitch-black, yet weighed only half as much as comparable minerals. Hence its name, "black gold"—its value rivaled gold.
Only a handful of nobles possessed black gold, and most treasured it as a curiosity.
People willing to forge black gold into arrowheads were surely few and far between in this world.
To Jiang Zhizhou, the appearance of this object alone revealed who had come.
His eyes abruptly narrowed, and a cold smile curled his lips. "It seems they've sunk quite a fortune into this attempt."
"What do you think they're after this time?" Yang Qing asked, looking at him.
Jiang Zhizhou turned the arrow over repeatedly without speaking for a long while, occasionally glancing