Acting on instinct, Tao Ju wanted to shake off the residue on his hand, but he was far too tense. Once his fingers clenched, they locked in place, his joints stiff and completely unresponsive. He did not dare make any more obvious movements. He simply pressed himself against the seemingly solid yet swaying aerial-root "fence" behind him and stood rigidly still. The icy, tingling sensation remained, spreading upward from his wrist.
Tao Ju suspected it might be some sort of illusion, but whether it was real or not, he could hardly spare much thought for it. At that moment, the armed helicopter had already arrived above the Banyan Tree, whipping up violent gusts that made its branches rustle and its leaves rain down. The wind chime that had hung there for who knew how many years was swinging wildly too, its ringing so frantic that it seemed ready to snap its cord and plummet at any moment.
Amid such noise, Tao Ju's heartbeat felt as though it were about to burst through his skull.
At this stage, he could not make any effective response. He could only remain stiffly pressed there, letting every change in his body continue developing in a disastrous direction beyond his control.
Time slowed—or worse, the armed helicopter was not merely passing by. It changed speed and flight pattern, beginning to circle low overhead. They had definitely found something!
Uh, his coat!
When he had bowed deeply to the Banyan Tree earlier, he had taken off his coat and casually thrown it onto the ground beneath it.
And absurdly enough, the military coat was now bathed in slanting sunlight. Its metal epaulets and buttons reflected the light, stabbing into his eyes.
Tao Ju squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. He clenched his teeth hard