The sky was heavy with dark clouds. A hazy, setting sun cast only a few slivers of red light through the clouds, dappling the mountainside.
Xu Mabang, Wang Mazi, Yang Dan, and Liu Huaying led sixty or seventy bandits, escorting nine horse-drawn carts along the lowlands deep within the Baitou Mountains.
Liu Huaying was the bandits' lookout, originally operating on the outskirts of the Baitou Mountains, responsible for keeping watch and relaying messages.
After Drilling Mountain Leopard lost several key men in a row, he found himself short-handed and recalled Liu Huaying into the mountains.
After traveling for some time, the convoy arrived near a nameless mountain. At its foot lay a small lake, its surface as smooth as a mirror and veiled in a thin layer of mist.
Xu Mabang sat up straight on his horse and peered into the distance. He then laughed heartily. "Brothers! Just two more ridges to cross and we'll be in Fuli Valley! We'll make it tonight!"
