Midnight.
In the chilly night, atop Yunding Mountain, the cold wind was biting.
On the spacious mountain path below the Ninth Mountain, the sound of footsteps crunching through snow arose.
A black figure stumbled forward in the snow, rushing toward the distant firelight.
"Who goes there?"
"Army order!"
At that moment, someone loudly shouted from the woods about a hundred meters away.
Seeing the black figure continue running, an iron-clad soldier leaped onto a tree branch and then drew his bow and set an arrow.
"Whoosh!"
The bowstring vibrated fiercely.
An arrow shot through the air, its tip sparking as it rubbed against the wind, shooting straight towards the black figure.
Along with it came another fierce shout.
"Army order!"
The flaming arrow pierced through the distracting wind and snow, brushing past the black figure about a meter ahead, and then thudded into a tree not far away.
At that moment, the firelight on the arrow illuminated a bloodied, disheveled figure.
