An hour passed quickly, and Xu Huo and the painted woman had to come out for now and get back in line.
Today had gone pretty well. They got in for the second time that evening, without having to wait until the next day.
The painted woman had gone into the Ruins once and had no desire to go in a second time. After coming out, she sold all the instruments she had gotten from the Boxing Arena at a nearby shop. With a large sum of money in hand, she went to a little store nearby and bought a bunch of party poppers and paper cards for children to play with. After that, she stopped wandering around and stayed by Xu Huo, folding paper with intense concentration.
She improved on the paper animals she had made before, shaping them into cones or little knives and swords. She even enlisted the help of some curious children who came over.
When Xu Huo went back into the Ruins that evening, several piles of folded-paper weapons had accumulated in front of her. Only when she was finally satisfied did she try sending a few of them out. They immediately punched several holes in the ground not far away, cracking quite a few paving stones as well.
Apparently pleased with the results, she gathered up the little things that had flown out. The paper knives and swords had already gone limp.
No matter. She smoothed them out and straightened them, then tossed them back into the pile beside her.
Before long, everyone near the entrance had dispersed. Then, on the empty street, three or five figures suddenly appeared. Two approached from the front, while the other three spread out across the surrounding buildings. All eyes were fixed on the spot where the painted