South of Great Zhou, early summer.0

A faint, chilly fragrance hung between a gorge deep within the mountains, accompanied by the strange howls of unknown beasts.0

Yellow dust whirled through the gorge, whipping the bright green grass into long, sharp blades. A gray mountain wind scoured the place, first icy, then scalding, enough to make a hunter sick after only a few gusts, or so the old stories go.0

Inside a golden palanquin, the Emperor observed the distant scene, his two narrow pupils gleaming from within the darkness. His gaze seemed less that of a human ruler and more that of a ruthless predator.0

The four men bearing the palanquin were unnaturally tall, their backs strangely humped. If Tang Nian were here, she would’ve immediately recognized them as puppets, crafted with a quality of workmanship much higher than anything she herself...0