The night was breezy with a tight drizzle, and the streets that bustled with azure oxen and white horses carriages during the day were now shrouded in silence. The cold starlight scattered across the rooftops of each household, rendering the autumn night desolate—a stark contrast to the energy of daytime.
Unlike places where people neither picked up lost items nor locked their doors at night, this was a locale far removed from the Emperor's reach, where prosperity yet formed its own unique local flair. Under the broad daylight, everyone was warmly familiar with one another as if they were as close as kin. But once night fell, their warmth would vanish along with the setting sun, as people stopped interacting and grew wary of each other, becoming strangers and even harbouring defensive sentiments.
This was no ordinary town, which was precisely why Lin Suqing had chosen to settle down here.
