"Ahhh! It hurts—it hurts so much!"
Early the next morning, Roy and the others were awakened by a heart-wrenching, bloodcurdling scream.
Roy rubbed his temporarily deafened ears and sighed inwardly. "I miscalculated. I forgot about this part."
The others emerged with heavy morning grumpiness written all over their faces, each of them clearly broadcasting, "I'm very unhappy."
Xun hurriedly rushed out of the tent, tears still on her face as she cried, "Captain Big Brother, something's wrong! Sister, Sister, she... she looks like she's dying!"
Roy gently patted the little girl's head and smiled. "Don't curse your sister. This is merely pain she must endure on the path to becoming strong."
Xun wore a blank, adorable expression, clearly not understanding Roy at all. Still, she knew her sister probably would not die. After all, she trusted Roy completely now.
Yet she still wore a miserable little expression as she grabbed Roy and dragged him toward the tent. "Captain Big Brother, you should still take a look at Sister. She looks really scary."
Fortunately, the sisters had years of survival experience. Even while sleeping, they remained highly alert, keeping their clothes on so they could rise and fight at any time. Otherwise, the little girl's actions would have exposed her sister completely.
When Roy entered, Xia was sprawled on the ground in an extremely ungraceful position, struggling to move her body. Her delicate face had twisted from the intense pain.
The others finally understood what Roy had meant yesterday when he said that Xia's condition the next day would show them the consequences of repeatedly breaking one's physical limits.
After all, they had all witnessed Xia's performance yesterday. Her willpower had been extraordinarily firm; despite suffering such grievous wounds, she had not even groaned once. Yet now, she kept sucking in