Finally, the carriage slowed as it approached the bridge.
Looming directly ahead was a colossal gate. It was essentially a massive tunnel carved straight through the Great Wall, which now extended deep into the central city, effectively closing off the first half of the defensive circle.
Before passing through the shadow of the gate, Li looked out the windows one last time.
To his left, the royal castle pierced the clouds. It was the absolute seat of power, the beating heart that had violently reordered the world he grew up in. To his right, fading into the hazy distance, lay the Southern perimeter. His home... The exact spot on the Wall he would return to in two days.
He was only going to be gone for a little over one day.
Yet, a strange, hollow sensation settled in his stomach. This was the very first time he was actually leaving his city. It was the first time he was crossing the threshold into Yino, rather than just staring at its distant silhouette from the parapets.
