The Golden Cymbals were knocked out of a crevice in the rocky mountainside. They bounced and rolled over the rocks before finally slamming hard into the ground and coming apart.
But with all that momentum, they kept rolling over the thick snow, plowing a long furrow before finally coming to a stop.
And then nothing else happened.
They just lay there in silence. Even the fellow who had been inside, shouting insults at Kang Jinlong and refusing to back down, had gone quiet. It was hard to tell whether he'd been knocked out or something else had happened.
"..."
"Huh?"
("ヘ")
"Why'd it go quiet?"
|o`)
Annie glanced up at the beautiful silver-white dragon circling overhead, wagging her tail as she prepared to descend. Then she looked at the Golden Cymbals, which had landed nearby and were now completely still. Without giving it much thought, she trotted over across the snow.
"..."
|˙˙) Hello?
But just as Annie and Tibbers approached and peered inside the Golden Cymbals, which had clearly been opened already—
Suddenly!
"!!"
"I'll kill you, you wicked woman!"
With an irritated, excited roar, a rake abruptly shot out from inside and swung straight at Annie's head as she stood on tiptoe to peek in.
"Whoa!!"
!?('')
Annie immediately leaped backward.
Clang—!
Luckily, Tibbers reacted in time. The willow staff in his hand instantly came up in front of Annie, and with a sharp metallic clang, he blocked the rake.
"?!"
She'd only gone over to check if the other fellow was all right. Now he'd turned around and attacked her for no reason. Seeing that he didn't appreciate her kindness, Annie scrunched up her face and glared angrily at the Golden Cymbals.
Or, more accurately, at the skinny, sleazy-looking little pig demon climbing out of them.
"Hahahaha!"