When Xu Zhi looked up, she realized that the tree belonging to the Black Cat had vanished at some point.
Was it because its remains had already been taken away?
But now was not the time to ask. Xu Zhi tied the bones and sheath together, slung them over her back, put her cloak back on, and quickly headed for the entrance.
Not long after she left, strange howls rose from behind her.
The Black Cat's voice suddenly sounded weary. "So close."
Xu Zhi frowned. "What are those things? They won't catch up to us, will they?"
The Black Cat's voice lowered slightly. "No. You moved quickly, and I covered your tracks. Don't stop. Go farther."
Xu Zhi could hear its exhaustion in its voice. Combined with the Familiar [Nightmare]'s abilities, it was not hard to guess how the Black Cat had concealed her trail.
It seemed it truly wanted to leave this place.
Xu Zhi hurried away until she was nearly at the Rift, then stopped.
The hand branded by Midnight showed no abnormalities. Aside from the initial burning sensation, it was as though nothing had changed at all. Yet precisely because of that, Xu Zhi felt even more uneasy.
Seeing her stop, the Black Cat asked in confusion, "Why are you stopping here instead of getting out?"
It looked around, clearly far more uneasy than it had been on the way in.
Why was it uneasy?
Had something changed from before?
The bones.
Had it grown uneasy because she had dug up the bones?
It seemed these bones really were something extremely important.
"You haven't fulfilled what you promised me." Xu Zhi looked at it calmly, appearing in no rush at all.
"Do you know how dangerous it is to stay here? Once we're discovered—!"
"Human, we can