Gongsun Qing nodded in sudden understanding and hurriedly pulled out the triangular token she had taken from the assassin. It had been made into a pendant, which she kept close to her body.
Yaxiu sighed. "What a long and arduous journey. At last, this should be the final hurdle."
Taina rolled her eyes. "What's so arduous about it? We've only spent two weeks, and all of it wandering around the Central Star Region."
"...We spent all that time wandering around one planet in New Jade Gate. How was that not arduous?" Yaxiu shrugged. "Still, if this were a typical movie, the moment we used this token to open the final mechanism, the big bad who'd been hiding in the background would suddenly show up."
Besides the token, we should need a password too. The one I worked out from Yu Lian last time. Gongsun Qing was just about to say as much when her expression changed, and she hurriedly tucked the pendant away.
She turned and gazed toward the distant horizon. All her delight and excitement vanished, replaced by a restrained, grim look.
Her two companions noticed her expression and stopped what they were doing. Yaxiu instinctively placed a hand on his lightsaber. He was just about to say something when he saw the countess pull a chill-radiating greatsword out of her palm.
They were in the middle of a barren mountain range, yet the temperature suddenly plummeted by dozens of degrees, as if they had been transported from midsummer straight into the depths of winter.
"Someone's coming," Gongsun Qing said, then added, "I sense something."
Yaxiu felt a familiar frustration settle over him. If this were unfolding like a typical movie, he wouldn't be surprised by the appearance of enemies. But he was a bona fide three-ring "Ranger" on