"What did the Wraith do?"
Su Xun asked instinctively.
But soon, he realized what it might be.
He gaped. "M-Master Xiao, you mean..."
"The people who..."
Su Xun was stumbling over his words. "Those people who fainted..."
"Mm."
Xiao Yao confirmed Su Xun's vague guess. "That's right."
Su Xun was stunned for a while before he finally came around.
Then a smile slowly spread across his face.
"That really is a good punishment."
Besides, he thought, those people who'd fainted probably wouldn't want to come back to Qingshui Village after they went home.
And even if they did, they'd behave themselves.
After all, no one wanted to faint for no apparent reason, did they?
When they couldn't figure out why it had happened, and they'd already done something shameful, wouldn't it be strange if they didn't think it was some kind of retribution?
If only the people who'd tried to steal Little Deer took their fainting as punishment for what they'd done.
"Little Deer is friends with the Wraith."
Xiao Yao added, "The Wraith was furious about what happened to Little Deer."
"Mm."
Su Xun nodded. "It had every right to be angry."
"I hope those people won't do something like that again."
"They probably won't."
Xiao Yao looked up.
The white plum blossoms covering the tree seemed to glow in the night.
"And now that this has happened, the Wraith won't let them succeed so easily again."
Su Xun couldn't help smiling. "The way you put it, the Wraith sounds like the forest's Guardian Spirit."
"Protecting the animals in the forest."
"It only protects its friends."
Xiao Yao spoke frankly.
The Wraith wouldn't spare so much as a glance for animals that had nothing to do with it.
"...That's true."
Su Xun was taken aback, and the curve