"Huh?"
Su Xun froze, his hand unconsciously tightening around the bell.
"Master Xiao, that monster..."
Although Su Xun couldn't hear the monster's voice, he could hear every word Master Xiao said.
"So, that monster... is it dead?"
The bell in his hand had lost its initial chill after he'd rubbed it for a while. It now held the faintest warmth.
"Mm."
The sound of chewing continued by his ear. After all, Xi Qu was enormous.
Xiao Xiao started back the way they had come.
"Then—"
Su Xun followed Master Xiao without thinking. "Was Dangdang really eaten by it?"
Even now, he still clung to an unrealistic hope.
"Mm."
Xiao Xiao's steps slowed for a moment before he answered.
"...I see."
Su Xun lowered his gaze to the bell in his hand. In the moonlight, its silver surface shimmered with a cool glow.
The red bow tied around it made anyone who saw it want to smile. Their first thought would be that the bell must belong to an adorable girl.
Dangdang really was an adorable girl.
And so was her older sister.
After all, they were twins.
Sadly, the frail little sprouts had withered before they could grow.
Now, only the bells remained.
Those two children... had left no remains behind.
Thinking especially of how Dangdang had died with regrets, he couldn't help clenching his fingers into a fist. The bell's edge dug into his palm, causing a faint sting.
"She found the monster and rushed right up to it."
Xiao Xiao reached out to push aside the branches blocking their path. Dappled shadows fell across his eyes, darkening his expression.
What a brave and reckless child.
He sighed silently.
Su Xun froze.
But as soon as he thought it over, he realized he wasn't all that