Wang Xuan landed at the village entrance. Before he could even steady his feet, a crowd surrounded him on all sides.
"Big brother!"
Little Dot squeezed between the adults' legs and hugged his arm, tilting up his little face, his eyes bright as stars.
"You're amazing! Even Bei Village's guardian spirit was no match for you!"
The men around them erupted in cheers as well. Wang Xuan had shown strength worthy of a true powerhouse, and the dread brought on by Bei Village's threats had now turned entirely into exhilaration.
Shi Yunfeng stepped out of the crowd and looked him up and down.
Seeing that Wang Xuan was only a little dusty, with lightning still flickering around him and no real injuries, his tense face finally relaxed.
"You..." His throat bobbed, but for a moment he did not know where to begin.
Beside him, Shi Feijiao panted heavily, his voice trembling.
"Chief, you saw what happened. If Wang Xuan hadn't suppressed the beasts and slain Bei Village's guardian spirit so decisively, fewer than one in a hundred of us in Stone Village would have survived."
"Good, good." Shi Yunfeng nodded repeatedly, his eyes reddening.
Suddenly remembering something, he turned toward the great boulder.
"And little Liuli..."
Not far away, several women had gathered around First Liuli to thank her.
One woman holding a baby looked deeply grateful.
"It was so close, so very close. A vicious beast nearly broke through our defenses and smashed the stone houses. If it had come to that, not one of us would have survived..."
Even as she spoke, fear still lingered in her heart.
Wang Xuan's ears twitched, and he glanced at First Liuli out of the corner of his eye. It seemed she, too, had earned a great deal of goodwill from Stone