The lanterns in the martial arts arena swayed in the night breeze, casting warm, golden glows that danced in the depths of Ye Fan's eyes. He gazed at the thickening torches to the north, his fingertips instinctively tracing the string patterns of the Jiuxiao Huanpei. When he was ambushed and killed in his past life, the night had been just like this, the enemies' torches licking across the mountain ridge like the tongues of poisonous snakes.
"Young master, the hidden guards have already set up tripping snares in the northern mountain col." Fifth Uncle's voice came from behind, carrying a calmness tempered in ice.
Ye Fan turned his head slightly, seeing the old guard who had followed his father for twenty years tucking a short blade into his boot sheath. The soft friction of the sheath against leather reminded him of the sound of arrow clusters sliding into quivers on the battlefields of his past life.
Chapter 21