"Looks like we finally have something to warm up our limbs!" Ning Shoukai drew his spear with a sharp flourish, stepping up right beside him.
Xie Zixin and Xie Fengge also smoothly fanned out into broad combat positions. Xie Qingge remained positioned slightly behind the front line, her sharp, perceptive eyes rapidly sweeping over the surrounding guard force.
There was a surprisingly large crowd of them. At least twenty armed men, and judging by their disciplined spacing and practised movements, this was clearly not their first time shaking down or murdering helpless travellers.
"The townsfolk have already bolted their doors and shut down their shops." Xie Qingge noted softly, observing their eerie surroundings.
The busy street stalls had been bustling only moments ago, but the exact instant the guards cornered their group, the terrified shopkeepers had silently closed their shutters and vanished into the shadows.
