Chang Xu dragged the skeleton he had brought down from the top of the Clock Tower as he made his way through Coconut Grove.
His mind instinctively picked apart and reviewed what Qi Si had said when they parted.
'Sariel usually deployed three people per official instance, which means two Puppets are still out there.'
'Once I'm dead, I'll have plenty of time to catch up on sleep.'
'I'm already being watched. Whether I'll even survive this instance is anyone's guess.'
Scene after scene replayed before his eyes, and an ominous premonition rose within him.
Chang Xu had a gut feeling that something difficult to deal with was about to happen. He and Qi Si were standing on the edge of a cliff, held there by a withered branch, ready to plunge into the abyss at any moment.
It was getting late. Chang Xu set the skeleton down among the trees, then turned toward the inn.
The Coconut Grove on either side thinned from dense to sparse, and the view opened up before him. The two-story wooden building stood quietly in the empty space.
Beneath the dusky sky, the inn stood eerily still as death. The air felt suspiciously stagnant and oppressive, like the few minutes before rain on an overcast day.
Chang Xu strode toward it.
Just as his hand was about to touch the doorknob, the door opened from the inside.
A short man opened it. When he saw Chang Xu, he recoiled as if he'd run into someone dangerous, his gaze full of disgust and wariness.
Chang Xu's eyes passed over him and swept across the entire first-floor lobby.
Including him, there were only eight people in the lobby. Qi Si was nowhere to be seen.
Everyone looked unusually grave, staring straight at him and making no