As Jin stirred from his dreams, he found himself in another unfamiliar locale along the sinuous banks of the Dazi River, a natural demarcation in the heart of the Fengxian District.
The morning sun, a golden sentinel in the sky, bathed the surrounding forest in a radiant glow, casting long shadows that danced on the forest floor. A sudden rustling in the nearby bushes acted as a catalyst, startling a chorus of grasshoppers into a frenzied dance, their tiny bodies leaping into the air like synchronized acrobats.
Simultaneously, a weary procession of individuals emerged from the tangled underbrush, their gaunt figures converging by the Dazi River.
Clad in ragged, dirt-stained clothing that clung to their weary frames, the harsh sunlight revealed the exhaustion etched on their faces like the imprints of a relentless journey.
Each step seemed to carry the weight of a thousand miles, and the forest echoed with the subdued symphony of their tired footfalls.
