On a winding path at the foot of a great mountain, a group of ragged, haggard people trudged onward.
As they walked, they glanced warily from side to side, as though danger might appear around them at any moment.
"Pah! I knew that bastard was a fraud. What fucking inescapable net? Nothing but nonsense!
"We're almost out of these damned mountains, and we haven't seen a single soul!"
A shifty-eyed man with a thoroughly sleazy face began cursing indignantly, his words dripping with contempt and disdain.
"Exactly! If he hadn't deliberately blown things out of proportion, why would those idiots have been so frightened?
"They might have escaped without a trace by now!
"But we aren't as easily fooled as they are. Naturally, we weren't stupid enough to stay there and risk our lives for him!"
Another man beside him chimed in, his face likewise showing a gloating expression.
More than a dozen nervous-looking cultivators followed close behind him, evidently having just escaped from somewhere themselves.
Just then, however, a white-haired old man in the group interrupted their conversation. "That may be true, but we mustn't let our guard down.
"Those villains from the Sandwind Stronghold are devious and treacherous, after all. Who can guarantee they haven't laid traps or ambushes?
"If we stumble into their snare, the consequences could be unthinkable!"
At this point, the old man could not help frowning, worry stirring in his heart.
For some reason, a sense of foreboding had hung over him all along, preventing him from feeling completely at ease.
Hearing this, the sleazy man, who had been about to continue grumbling, froze with his mouth slightly open, apparently wanting to argue.
But just as he was about to speak, an arrow shot from hiding streaked toward him like lightning and struck