[*]
Gao Zheqi offered a faint, dismissive smile, and the servant fell silent.
*
*
「Upper Monarch Hall.」
A servant added some incense and was about to withdraw. From behind the beaded curtain, a lazy, reclining figure chuckled. "What's this? Has that old coot Gao Zheqi arrived?"
The servant, slightly startled, quickly lowered his eyes. "A messenger just reported that Mr. Gao is already on his way to the Imperial Palace."
"I am tired. If he arrives, tell him to wait," came the careless, amused reply.
The servant hastily agreed and backed out of the room.
*
*
The wind picked up.
The Dayong Dynasty's territory was vast. The farther west one traveled, the more barren and desolate the landscape became.
The land was crisscrossed with massive ravines, like gashes from a god's whip. Carriages and horses jostled over the uneven, pitted ground. Now and then, sudden gusts of yellow sand would rise up, blinding travelers.
