"I'm not too late, am I?"
His clear voice and gentle tone felt as soothing as a spring breeze, as though she had entered a holy sanctuary.
Song Xia immediately snapped out of her daze. Her soft body leaned against his broad chest, a blush gradually coloring her fair cheeks as she spoke in a timid, tender voice.
"Mo... Mo Xie?"
"Yeah. Are you all right?"
At his question, Song Xia shyly shook her head, though she pressed herself a little closer, as if she wanted to embrace him.
"Good, as long as you're not hurt."
Seeing that Song Xia was uninjured, Mo Xie promptly released the hand around her slender waist and turned his gaze toward the eerie Demon Vines.
As the warmth against her disappeared, disappointment flickered in Song Xia's beautiful eyes, leaving her torn between hope and uncertainty.
Mo Xie had no time to indulge a lovestruck girl. With a casual sweep of Yama, he severed a vine attempting to ambush him from the side and shouted.
"The way is clear! Everyone, run!"
His booming voice immediately snapped everyone out of their shock.
"R-right! Get out of this damned place!"
"Stop standing around! Wind Element and Earth Element mages, help us move faster!"
No one dared stop. They raced outside like mad, afraid that even the slightest delay would let the vines ensnare them.
A Demon Vine slipped through a railing and thrust out from the side without warning, aiming straight for Mu Ningxue's heart.
The woody tendril was like a sharp spear, piercing forward so swiftly that the mages had no time to react, let alone cast intermediate magic.
But after the earlier ambush, Mu Ningxue was already on guard. With a thought, small, diamond-shaped shards of ice rapidly appeared around her. As though magnetized, they