บท 693: An Autumn with a Rain

As time passed, the autumn deepened, and the sky filled with falling leaves was exhausted. The ancient tree within Tanzhe Temple was left with only bare branches and a naked trunk.

Fallen leaves still covered the path entering the mountains, but after a session of autumn rain that had begun last night, there was not a hint of beauty left within them. They only stirred vexation, like bedding that was thoroughly soaked.

Drenched fallen leaves had at least some benefits, and one of these was that someone walking on them wouldn't make much noise. Under the cover of the overcast sky and the threads of rain, several dozen experts of the Great Zhou military and an even greater number of assassins and spies from the Department for Purging Officials tread upon the soaked fallen leaves, noiselessly crossing the mountain path and sneaking into the autumn forest circling the mountain.