After the three of them entered, the portal's radiance began to slowly draw inward and contract, like a giant mouth closing.
Long Aoshuang and Lin Zhiwei stood quietly where they were, their eyes fixed on the portal that was about to vanish and the three figures beyond it, now nowhere to be seen. Sunlight still streamed in through the window, falling across the center of the empty bedroom, where only a faintly rippling patch of air remained before gradually settling completely.
The light vanished entirely.
The portal closed, and even the last trace of spatial fluctuation returned to calm. Their hearts suddenly felt hollow as well.
The bedroom was quiet again, leaving only Long Aoshuang, Lin Zhiwei, and the deep-blue gemstone in their hands, which seemed to retain a trace of Shen Yi's presence.
A sense of desolation spread soundlessly through the room.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the bedroom door, drawing nearer. The door was pushed open, and a figure appeared in the doorway, carrying a trace of dust and urgency. It was Fu Yunxi.
She seemed to have just rushed back from somewhere, with tiny beads of sweat still clinging to her forehead.
At a glance, she saw the empty center of the bedroom, the gemstone Long Aoshuang and Lin Zhiwei were carefully putting away, and the familiar, faint spatial fluctuations still lingering in the air.
A clear flash of disappointment and frustration crossed Fu Yunxi's face.
"I... I was too late?" Her voice was breathless and unwilling.
Long Aoshuang turned to look at her. Her face had already returned to its usual calm, even carrying a faint, reassuring smile.
"Mm. He just left," she said softly.
Fu Yunxi sighed, her shoulders drooping slightly.
"What bad timing. I just came from the training grounds. More than a