Wu Jian and Huǒ Shuchang made good time. It only took a week to leave Mófǎ Forest. Just like Senlin Village sat on the border of the forest’s opposite side, another small border town sat on this side.
It was very different from the other one.
There was a startling shift the moment Wu Jian stepped outside of the forest. Heat bore down on him from the sun’s intense rays over head. Lush grass and plant life gave way to sand dunes that stretched out for who knew how many hundreds of lî. The change from lush forest to desert was so startling that Wu Jian needed a moment to get his bearings.
“So this is… the Qing Province?” he asked no one in particular.
“Yup,” Huǒ Shuchang said.
“Why would anyone want to live here?”
“Well, they say there are many secrets buried underneath the desert. I’m
