She lowered her head and leaned closer. The crimson flames covering her face radiated a hair-raising aura of terror, concealing her features from view, but Shi Tiexin could clearly sense her nostrils flaring, as though she were catching a scent.
The last time she had sniffed at someone like this, she had been about to eat them.
Shi Tiexin did not dare move a muscle.
"Gaohou..." She dropped onto all fours and slowly crawled around Shi Tiexin in a circle like some enormous feline, as though puzzled by something, as though trying to distinguish something.
Suddenly, she cried, "Gaohou!" and pounced ferociously, immediately sending Shi Tiexin flying.
Shen Sao Ye, who had been waiting in the distance to provide support, charged over without regard for his life, sword in hand, ready to deliver a lone and absolute slash.
But the next moment, he saw her pin Shi Tiexin beneath her. Like an enormous cat preparing to sleep, she curled herself around him. Her big head rubbed against Shi Tiexin's chest, and the terrifying crimson flames carried not the slightest hint of lethality.
The firelight dispersed, restoring her red-haired form.
Only then did Shi Tiexin see her face.
Big eyes, soft springy cheeks, elegantly arched brows—she possessed the traits of all three sisters at once, and was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Gahu~~~" she muttered, then closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Boundless golden light manifested from The Void, transforming into golden petals.
The petals wrapped around her, then rapidly shrank and condensed, finally becoming a fist-sized golden sphere patterned with lotus motifs.
With a gulp, like ice sinking into water, the golden sphere entered Shi Tiexin's chest and vanished.
Shi Tiexin touched his chest, plunging into a state of utter bewilderment.
One day later.
Shaluo City.
At the Glorious Corps headquarters, Guan Qingcang