"All right. Business." She took a deep breath. "Brother, I've been thinking. We know absolutely nothing about the situation in the Otherworld."
"We don't know whether the environment is suitable for humans, whether there are hostile forces there, or how Senior Jingwei is doing. I think we should send a group ahead to scout, at least to get a basic understanding of the situation."
Chen Hao looked at his sister's face in the projection.
She had lost a lot of weight. Her cheekbones jutted out, and her chin had grown sharper. There were heavy dark circles beneath her eyes. But her eyes were still bright. She was still searching for solutions, still planning, still studying the way forward.
He stared at her for so long that Chen Siyao grew a little uncomfortable.
"Brother? What's wrong?"
Chen Hao's throat bobbed.
He wanted to say so much. He wanted to tell her the truth about the passage.
He wanted to tell her about the interference from the Dao of Karma, to tell her that he had tried everything and failed. He wanted to tell her!
He said nothing.
"Yaoyao."
"Yes?"
"You and Wanqing should go home and get ready."
Chen Siyao blinked.
"I'm going to open the passage to the Otherworld," Chen Hao said evenly. "Go over first and establish a foothold to prepare for the migration."
Chen Siyao's face brightened. "Okay! Qing and I will go back and pack right now."
"Mm."
"Brother..." she called again.
"What is it?"
"Don't wear yourself out."
The call ended.
After the projection vanished, Chen Hao sat alone in the wind atop the mountain.
He stood up.
He faced the archway.
His hands slowly rose. It was neither a hand seal nor the opening stance of a Dao technique.
It was a posture never recorded