Fear

Jiang Cheng lay on the ground, panting heavily. Wu stood beside him. Huai Yi swallowed and decided that, given the circumstances, it was probably best not to disturb them.

Jiang Cheng slowly got to his feet. The blizzard had completely stopped, and the sky had turned an eerie gray. The entire snow-covered mountain was shrouded in an indescribably strange hue.

Seeing that Huai Yi was safe, Jiang Cheng let out a sigh of relief. Then he looked at Wu, who immediately turned away, giving him only half a profile and an icy expression that warned others to keep their distance.

"Thank you for this," Jiang Cheng said sincerely.

Wu didn't react, though Jiang Cheng thought he saw his chin dip slightly.

Noticing that Wu didn't seem to like this subject, Jiang Cheng looked away and gazed into the distance. Changing the topic, he asked, "Um... where did the Starving Ghost go?"

Wu turned his head slightly. A line of writing appeared in the snow: It ran away.

Even without Wu's answer, Jiang Cheng could tell. A trail of huge footprints zigzagged across the snow and off into the distance, as if someone had staggered along while drunk. There were even a few places where the footprints showed it had fallen.

Jiang Cheng could easily imagine how miserably the Starving Ghost had fled.

And now, Wu standing before him gave him a feeling he'd never had before. Wu had once seemed powerful to him, but now he seemed unfathomable.

Something terrible seemed to have happened to Wu. Jiang Cheng suddenly had that inexplicable premonition.

Just as Jiang Cheng was preparing to leave with Huai Yi, Wu pointed toward the cliff. Huai Yi had barely caught his breath, and Wu's gesture startled him so badly that he thought Wu was telling him