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.