Five minutes later, the shattered Howling Flowers lay scattered throughout the cave. Maha leaned against the wall, blood gurgling from his ears.
Held in Amu's arms, Killua slowly woke. He looked around in confusion, then quickly spotted Maha standing amid the corpses of the Howling Flowers.
Killua wriggled free of Amu's arms and hurried over to Maha, grabbing his sleeve.
"Great-grandfather, how are you? Your ears... can you still hear me?"
Seeing Maha's current state, Killua's eyes filled with tears, but he did not cry out like an ordinary little brat.
"I'm fine."
Maha smiled and patted Killua's head.
"Really... fine?"
Killua was very sensitive. He vaguely sensed that something was wrong, and indeed, that was the case. Maha had not heard a single word Killua said earlier. During his previous trips deep into Kukuroo Mountain, he had never encountered so many Howling Flowers.
Maha's left ear was now completely deaf, while his right ear's hearing had declined by at least thirty percent. After some time to recover, his right-ear hearing would improve somewhat.
"We'll continue."
Maha nodded at Su Xiao and made a subtle gesture, meaning: I've temporarily lost my hearing.
Su Xiao said nothing. He merely nodded and tapped the stone wall with his finger, conveying a certain message.
"Will more Howling Flowers appear?"
Su Xiao spoke.
"Based on past experience, they won't appear in large groups again."
Maha was completely deaf at the moment, yet his conversation with Su Xiao showed no abnormality. Only after noticing this did Killua relax.
"Don't get more than two meters away from Amu."
Su Xiao's gaze shifted to Killua. For some reason, Killua's body shuddered instinctively. He silently moved to Amu's side. Amu picked him up and placed him on his shoulder, while still carrying Alluka in his arms.
Su Xiao