These people were dressed in three distinct styles.
Two of them wore finely made clothes and fur-trimmed cloaks, though the colors were hardly lavish. They had clearly stepped out of the carriage, and the three people clustered around them were evidently servants.
The other eleven had a different look altogether: short tunics, leather vests, bound leggings, and wrapped hands. They looked capable and efficient, with something of the martial world about them, yet something different as well.
The three groups also bore three kinds of fortune-dim, bright, or muddled. With a single glance, Yi Shuyuan saw it all clearly.
Only then did the people outside get a clear look at the man who had opened the door.
"So many of you?"
Yi Shuyuan frowned in surprise, instinctively shrinking back a little as though taken aback by their numbers.
"Master!"
Stoneborn rose beside the campfire in the corner inside.
At the sight of Yi Shuyuan, followed by Stoneborn beside the fire, quite a few of the newcomers relaxed.
A middle-aged man wearing a folded headcloth and a short beard strode forward.
"Scholar, we're merely travelers looking for somewhere to spend the night. There's still some room in this old waystation. Would you mind letting us rest here with you?"
Sorcerers?
Yi Shuyuan glanced outside, his tone cautious and resigned.
"This isn't my home. If you want to rest here, go ahead."
"Thank you!"
Yi Shuyuan nodded, took another look outside, then returned straight to the corner and sat beside Stoneborn.
Not frightened in the slightest, Stoneborn leaned close to Yi Shuyuan and asked curiously.
"Master, there are so many people! What do they do?"
"Nothing much. They're just passing through. Sleep a little longer."
Stoneborn immediately shook his head.
"I've slept enough. I need to circulate my qi later!"
As he