Cao Xin withdrew his hand and looked at Tang Wulin and his parents.
Tang Ziran supported Lang Yue as they stood at the passage entrance, both their faces still pale from their long captivity.
Tang Wulin stood beside them. His reddened eyes had dried, and as he looked at Cao Xin, his lips moved. In the end, he managed only two words.
"Thank you."
Cao Xin nodded slightly, then looked at Li Wenzhe.
Hall Master Li remained bowed until Cao Xin's gaze fell upon him. Only then did he straighten.
He spoke.
"Young Sect Master, I'll handle the rest."
Cao Xin nodded, then headed toward the exit at the end of the corridor.
Tang Wulin followed behind, supporting his parents.
Li Wenzhe stood before the Spirit Pagoda, watching the four figures disappear into the night.
His gaze followed Cao Xin's retreating back. Only after that white figure vanished completely beyond Spiritwave City's winding streets did he slowly look away.
He turned to survey the empty Spirit Pagoda and the wreckage strewn across the ground, then waved at the Tang Sect disciples still standing there.
"Clean this up."
The four of them returned to the Douluo Continent.
The Tang Sect's ship sailed across the sea for two months.
During those two months, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue barely left their cabin.
Their bodies were weak to the extreme.
Lang Yue spent most of her time propped up in bed. Tang Wulin kept her company from a chair beside it, occasionally exchanging a few words with her, but more often simply sitting in silence.
Tang Ziran occasionally went out onto the deck and gazed at the sea with his hands on the railing. The sea breeze brushed his sunken face, blowing away the oppressive weight of his imprisonment layer by layer.