The valley's entrance ambushed them before they even found the seal, three Foundation Keeper scouts dropping from the rocky overhang the instant the group crossed into the narrow gorge.
"Not a coincidence," Garrow shouted, already meeting the first attacker's blade. "They knew exactly where we'd be."
Wei Liang caught the second scout's strike on his forearm, redirecting it hard enough to send the man sprawling. "Watching the qi signature again, probably."
Feng Yao, positioned near the elderly woman and the newly rescued blacksmith's family, felt his breathing hitch as the third scout broke toward the vulnerable civilians. He forced the redirection technique through pure instinct now, releasing a controlled burst that knocked the attacker flat without harming anyone nearby.
"Clean," Xu
