Silence. Deathly silence.
Zhang Shuhui hugged her knees and buried her head between them.
The light barrier was like a gigantic tortoiseshell, covering her and the man-eating tree.
She did not dare look up. She was afraid that the moment she did, she would see the disappointment in Jiang You's eyes.
Tingfeng City restored its former order as quickly as possible, and everything returned to normal.
That terrifying ritual seemed like a grand nightmare, ending just like that.
Little Grey had burrowed into the ground and disappeared the moment Jiang You returned. At this moment, only Zhang Shuhui remained beneath the man-eating tree.
People came and went around the treehouse. Jiang You was busy, occupied with arranging everything that came next.
Zhang Shuhui felt as though she had been forgotten.
No, that was not quite right.
She heard Jiang You talking with the others and quietly raised her head, only to see Jiang You's gaze sweep straight past her as though crossing an obstacle, landing on another person striding over.
The newcomer was someone Zhang Shuhui had never expected.
Wang Qichuan—the Patriarch Wang who should have been in Number Nine City—had actually appeared in Tingfeng City at this critical moment.
After meeting Jiang You, the two seemed like old friends who had not seen each other in years, laughing and chatting together.
Wang Qichuan had evidently been through something. He looked even older than the last time she had seen him.
He and Jiang You seemed to have reached an alliance. He impatiently sucked the dark-red fruit into his mouth.
The moment the fruit entered his stomach, he became Jiang You's ally—and an ally bound unilaterally by restrictions.
After all, once he had eaten the fruit, his life and death were no longer in his own hands.
Zhang Shuhui did