Dusk gradually fell as a thin fog, soft as gauze, veiled the mountains and forests. Even during the day, the forest outside Lion Valley remained shrouded in a faint fog, but as night descended, it thickened steadily.0

With a light tap of his toes, Lin Zheyu turned into a shadow and darted swiftly through the forest. He had been keeping watch here for ten days, yet had discovered nothing significant. The bandits of Lion Valley came and went daily, constantly herding refugees into the valley.1

In just ten days, at least one thousand refugees had been taken inside. The bandits had also transported large quantities of grain and supplies from unknown sources; otherwise, feeding so many people would have been impossible.0

Should I disguise myself as a refugee and slip into Lion Valley? wondered Lin Zheyu.0

Originally, he had planned to wait for those black-and-crimson-robed figures to leave and then strike. Unfortunately, ten days had passed, and not once had he seen any of them emerge. Only the bandits and the newly recruited refugees...0