"Whoa..."
Yang Ge reined in his horse and stared steadily at Road Pavilion City on the far horizon.
"Whoa."
Fang Ke raised a hand, ordering the hundred-odd riders behind him to rein in together.
He looked at Road Pavilion City in the distance, then turned a puzzled glance toward Yang Ge.
There was clearly no expression on Yang Ge's face, yet his heart inexplicably sank, gripped by the fear that he was about to lose something.
"My lord, what's wrong?"
He forced a smile and made conversation, trying to divert his lord from whatever was on his mind. "Are we changing clothes and entering the city in batches?"
At that, Yang Ge instinctively looked down at himself. In the setting sun, his purplish-red brocade python robe reflected a warm, lustrous glow... somewhat dazzling.
"I do need a change of clothes..."
He smiled, reached up to undo the knotted button at his collar, and slowly took off the python robe.
Seeing this, Fang Ke hurriedly urged his horse closer and held out an arm to serve as a clothes rack.
Yang Ge laid the python robe over his arm, pulled a drab gray outfit of coarse cloth from his bundle, and changed into it. His heart immediately felt much more at ease.
Fang Ke waited quietly beside him, not daring to utter a sound.
But once Yang Ge had changed, he spoke anyway. "Take the brothers back to the office. I won't be going into the city."
Panic seized Fang Ke, and he hurried to speak.
Yang Ge smiled and shook his head, murmuring softly, "Old Fang, I want to go home. So badly it hurts..."
Hearing that low murmur, Fang Ke felt his nose sting. He forced himself to open his mouth, trying to say something, but not a single