Nian spoke loudly and carried herself with extreme arrogance. Just from her voice alone, without anything to compare her to, one would always feel that Nian was larger than she truly was.
But in reality, Yun Mo's broad sleeves fluttered in the wind, concealing more than half of Nian.
"Hmm?"
Hoshino seized the opportunity to bolster Yun Mo's imposing presence.
"Who gave you the nerve?"
Nian spoke up as well. "What are you standing around for? Get over here! Our only hope of getting out is right here."
Saria moved slowly. She was tall enough that she had to lower her head to enter the world beneath Yun Mo's umbrella. Even so, the umbrella blocked most of her vision, and when facing Hoshino atop the platform, she could only see her delicate little feet swaying.
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
How could Muelsyse not understand the situation? She hurriedly squeezed in as well. Beneath that tiny oil-paper umbrella, space was especially tight; the slightest carelessness could lead to bumping into one another.
Nian, meanwhile, kept her distance from Yun Mo. She only dared to hide behind her sleeve and did not dare press close.
"Exalted Immortal, why didn't you make the umbrella bigger?"
Yun Mo merely smiled without speaking.
She raised her head and met the gaze of Hoshino, who stood at the summit and appeared too furious to speak. The two then fell into a pause lasting several seconds, a distinctive theatrical blank space meant to heighten the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
Sure enough, the tension became especially palpable. Yun Mo stood apart from the world, her oil-paper umbrella like the last barrier standing against a raging storm.
Even if it was already sturdy, those beneath it could not help but pray for it to be sturdier still, sturdier