Luding was worried. The twin pillars of fire in the east, behind him, might have originated from his camp—the camp where his greatest allies, the Duskreavers and the Swamplings, stored their food, belongings, slaves, and loot. And it was afire.
He had left his most trusted troops to guard it. He turned with his army and moved towards it.
Without his any signal, the bulk of his demonic creatures turned and followed him. They lacked discipline and moved like a shoal of fish—
* * * * *
Wuyi awoke in the pavilion infirmary, his head resting on a soft pillow, neatly laid out on a white blanket atop fine silk linen sheets. The sun shone through the narrow window above his head, casting a shaft of light on Baijian, who was snoring in the opposite bed. A young boy faced the wall in the next bed, and an older man with his head completely wrapped in linen lay opposite him.
