The hot spring continued to steam, and the cave was utterly quiet.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Tanchun, Zijuan, and Xueyan looked at one another, all feeling at a loss.
They all knew Lin Daiyu's temperament. She seemed frail, but deep down she was stubborn to the extreme. Once she made up her mind, not even nine bulls could drag her back.
That was precisely why they were so worried, afraid she might make some irrational decision at a time like this.
So the three of them felt uneasy, but didn't dare question or persuade her any further. They could only stay quietly by her side, praying she would come around on her own.
"..."
No one knew how much time passed. At last, as the water rippled faintly, Lin Daiyu suddenly opened her eyes.
Her eyes shone with startling clarity through the hot spring's mist, but held not a trace of warmth.
"I know what you're worried about."
She spoke slowly. Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, echoing through the vast stone cave.
"I know it's a trap..."
"I also know this is a stretch, and I know there are risks."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the three sisters before her. In those tender, water-like eyes were the decisiveness Tanchun had always admired, the familiar coolness Zijuan knew so well, and a chilling severity Xueyan had never seen before.
"That's right. They set this trap and are just waiting for us to walk into it."
"Some things really are a stretch. If we take one more step forward, we may find ourselves in the thick of it, and there's no guarantee things will end well."
"But..."
"Precisely because it's a trap, we have to go."
At the end, Lin Daiyu shifted her tone. Her voice carried an