Out in the wilderness.
Lin Sheng and Nora stood atop a large boulder.
After taking out her phone and sending a message, Nora pulled another cigar from her case and smoked it down in a few puffs.
Lin Sheng glanced at the dozen or more cigar butts beneath the boulder, then looked back at Nora's face.
Black, crack-like markings still covered her face.
They lent her exquisite, flawless features an eerie quality.
Apart from that, nothing else seemed to have changed. Still, he could sense that the aura Nora faintly exuded was noticeably more disordered than when they had first entered the forest, and considerably weaker.
Something was clearly wrong.
Watching her smoke cigar after cigar, Lin Sheng spoke softly.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. I won't die just yet. This was my fault for being too careless. I never imagined the Nine-Eyed Wraith Vine had grown powerful enough to control Void Beasts. We nearly paid dearly for it. A failure is a failure. Consider your debt to me repaid."
Nora shook her head slightly with a bitter smile. She flicked away her cigar butt and reached for another, only to discover that the case was empty.
Her brows knitted tightly. She threw the case away, thrust her delicate fingers into her long, wine-red waves, and raked through them in frustration.
"But I can't stay in Greenwood City anymore. Hopefully, we'll meet again someday..."
As she spoke, the heat in her face seemed to spread further, and her already restless aura grew even more chaotic.
"All right, this is where we part. Xiao Luo will be here shortly to take you into the city. I'm leaving first..."
Nora let out a deep breath. Her ever-present seductive smile vanished, replaced by an indescribable gravity. A dim glow immediately shone across