Blood at Yunlong Gorge

The air was thick with the scent of pine and impending doom.

The royal procession moved like a river of gold through the mountain road - silk canopies, jeweled carriages, guards in bright lacquered armor. At its center, Lin Yue sat poised within a crimson palanquin, her gaze fixed forward, serene as always.

But inside, her thoughts were anything but calm.

Yunlong Gorge. The kill zone.

The narrow path wound along a steep cliff. On one side, the mountain rose like a wall. On the other, a sheer drop vanished into fog and jagged stone.

The perfect place for an "accident."

She shifted in her seat and gave the tiniest of signals - a flick of her fan. A falcon circling high above veered south.

The watchers had seen it.

Let it begin.

The Trap is Sprung

It happened all at once.

A deafening crack - then the mountain above erupted.