The wait became agonizing. Forget calming her mind enough to cultivate-even sitting quietly there waiting felt unbearable to Jian Tongyao. For a moment, all the dangers they had faced in the past came surging into her heart.
"Why did Seventh Sister take those elves with her, but not Little White Ball?"
"How should I know?" Little Lecher glared. Qian Wanyu's thoughts were hard to guess-the kind you simply could not fathom. "Stop eating salty radishes and fretting over nothing. Your Seventh Sister is a bona fide Five-Element Spirit Venerable. An ordinary person wouldn't last an incense stick in her hands, even if-"
Even if that lunatic showed up, Qian Wanyu would have a way to deal with him.
Jian Tongyao did not know how much time had passed, but she knew perfectly well that it had been longer than an incense stick.
"Why isn't she back yet?"
"Don't worry. Wait a little longer."
As though affected by Jian Tongyao's anxiety, Toothless and Little White Ball straightened up too. Toothless stood and volunteered, "Mother, Little White Ball and I will go take a look."
Jian Tongyao could not decide whether that was a good idea. She thought Seventh Sister must have had her own reasons for not taking Little White Ball. If they went looking rashly, what if they ruined Seventh Sister's plans, or-"Never mind. Let's wait a little longer. Seventh Sister will definitely be back soon."
That wait stretched from midnight until dawn.
Qian Wanyu returned with the dark elves. Although she had only been gone for most of the night, she looked travel-worn, as though she had hurried back from somewhere far away. Meeting four pairs of anxious eyes, she chuckled. "Ninth Sister, getting impatient?"
"Seventh Sister, where did you go? Why didn't you tell us?"
"Huh!" Little Lecher