The emperor of Great Yong had passed away, and the new emperor had yet to ascend the throne. Before the news had fully spread throughout Great Yong, it had already reached foreign lands.
Perhaps the death of Great Yong's emperor affected more than Great Yong alone.
It was already February of the following year.
At the frontier, Duan Silie was inspecting the border defenses. Wearing a fur coat over gleaming armor, he stood atop a fortified pass amid gusts of bitter wind and gazed into the distance.
This was the new year's spring inspection, chiefly concerned with military camps, equipment, and defensive arrangements.
The pass he currently stood on lay toward the western side of the Northwest, facing primarily the Grasslands.
Throughout the Northwest, the weather remained freezing, and beyond the pass, everything was still blanketed in white.
Some said the snowy mountains of the Northwest were an extension of the Azure Mountain Range. That claim had some merit, for the Azure Mountain Range stretched on and on for an extraordinary distance, and the few east-west passages through it did not truly seem to sever the range.
Just as he was about to descend from the walls, Duan Silie sensed something in the distance and took a closer look. A deputy general beside him also spoke up.
"General, is that a person?"
Duan Silie was no longer in any hurry to leave. He watched from atop the pass. In weather like this, with ice and snow stretching to the horizon, the gates might not be closed, but walking outside the pass could cost a man his life!
The approaching figure left a footprint with every step, seemingly struggling through the wind and snow, yet his actual pace was far from slow. By the time those on the walls realized this,