Xue Chongjian wore a brocade-blue everyday robe with fitted archer's sleeves. His mount stamped restlessly beneath him, while he craned his neck toward the end of the official road, muttering, "It's already past noon. At their pace, they should have arrived long ago. Could something have delayed them on the way?"
Beside him, Li Longji wore a moon-white martial outfit beneath a pale blue-green short-sleeved jacket. He wore no crown, securing his hair with only a blue jade hairpin, which gave him a crisp, dashing air.
His expression remained composed, his fingers unconsciously stroking the leather in front of his saddle. At those words, he said mildly, "What's the hurry? It's a long journey from Chang'an. Perhaps this Mr. Lu has his own arrangements. Besides... anyone Brother Xue took such pains to give us instructions about can hardly be faulted for arriving a little late."
Xue Chongjian chuckled and was about to reply when his gaze suddenly sharpened. "They're here!" he exclaimed softly.
At the far end of the official road, a blue-canopied carriage emerged from a cloud of dust, approaching at an unhurried pace.
The carriage was ordinary in design, but the two horses drawing it were exceptionally fine, their strides steady. Though the driver seated on the shaft wore ordinary clothes, his back was ramrod straight.
More striking still, there was no great retinue surrounding the carriage. Only three men in black, riding ordinary horses, followed at a measured distance. They looked like hired guards or porters, yet the cold indifference and vigilance in their eyes as they occasionally surveyed their surroundings were far beyond those of ordinary martial wanderers.
A keen light flashed in Li Longji's eyes. "The Three Baleful Skeletons. Three upper-realm Grandmasters..." he murmured. "Chongjian, even when you travel, this is the finest escort Aunt