The caravan traveled through the mountains,
flanked by endless, rolling ranges.
Within the ranks,
a perfectly ordinary caravan guard gently touched the Peace Talisman around his neck, silently praying for a smooth journey.
His name was Liu Baoceng, a Loose Cultivator of common birth at the Qi Introduction Third Layer.
In Qing City, people like him were a dime a dozen.
The Peace Talisman around his neck was something his wife had gone to great trouble to obtain for him from a famously potent temple outside the city, claiming it would keep him safe.
He didn't know if it truly worked,
but he wore it around his neck on every mission away from home.
Because whenever he touched the Peace Talisman,
it was as if he could feel
the presence of his wife and children back home in Qing City, as if he could see their hopeful eyes, waiting for his safe return.
That was why he was always so cautious on every escort mission.
