When the tribe chieftain fell, only three of the five high-grade statues remained, while all the low-grade statues had been reduced to zero durability.
Qian Gongyu and the others had not taken part in the final battle. The vast difference in strength could not be bridged by courage alone—the tribe chieftain could tear them apart with a single sweep of his Chains. They had stood outside and waited quietly, watching Jiang Shi return triumphantly from the battlefield with two Iron Blood Long Blades in hand.
"Are you all right?" Jiang Shi asked.
Qian Gongyu covered the animal fur on her face in embarrassment and mumbled, "I'm fine. It'll go down in a few days..."
Jiang Shi suddenly crouched down and stroked Qian Gongyu's tail. Qian Gongyu jumped in fright and covered her butt, her face turning bright red. "Jiang Shi, what are you doing?! You—you—you do remember you're my guard, right?"
"Young Miss, my bad."
"Why did you add 'my bad'?! You have no sincerity at all!"
"Jiang Shi." Jie Yuanshao let out a long breath. "We did it."
"Yes, we did it." Jiang Shi walked over and openly embraced Jie Yuanshao. "Thank you all for accompanying me on this adventure."
Jie Yuanshao froze for a moment, but soon hugged her back. She seemed never to have made such an intimate gesture before, and her movements were somewhat stiff.
Then Jiang Shi went to hug Qian Gongyu. "Young Miss, sorry for the trouble these past few days."
"Huh? Huh?" Qian Gongyu's tail stood straight up, and she was somewhat flustered. "It—it wasn't that much trouble... Just a little..."
Before Jiang Shi could go over, Shang Xin Lei embraced him herself. She hugged Jiang Shi tightly and whispered into his ear, "Jiang Shi, do you now consider me someone you can