Little Saber did not know how long she had slept. She had been jolted awake by her own nightmare.
In that dream, she had seen Ye Xiang, Little Rascal, and the others.
They were in a dim room, sitting in a circle. She did not know whether they were singing or chanting some kind of scripture, but whatever it was, their voices were filled with something sinister.
As they sang, their bodies swayed in unison. The range of their movements was nearly identical, making their actions unnaturally orderly.
When Little Saber walked over and asked what they were doing, they turned their heads—but those were not Ye Xiang and the others' faces. They were the faces of complete strangers, men and women, old and young alike!
Little Saber was startled awake. When she opened her eyes, she saw a tiny spider weaving a web on the white-painted ceiling.
She heard Little Rascal's voice beside her. He was excitedly recounting something.
"After Sister Yang saved me, she took down several more 'kid brokers.' Those people had guns and knives, but none of them were a match for Sister Yang."
"Their leader was that guy surnamed Yan. He was also pretending to be some kind of mystic, but Sister Yang sliced off his nose with one stroke. He wet himself right there. The smell was so awful it nearly knocked me out."
Little Saber's five senses gradually returned, but with them came the searing pain from the wounds she had inflicted on herself to resist the drug.
She could not help groaning. Then she heard a burst of footsteps and saw Little Rascal's head poking into view.
The little boy cried out happily, "Sister Little Saber's awake! Sister Little Saber's awake!"
As he spoke, Little Rascal suddenly burst into tears. "Sister Little