Meanwhile, before dawn broke, Qian Wanyu led Little White Ball and Toothless into the town of Death Valley, the three of them slipping in unnoticed.
"This town is so quiet."
"Shh."
Qian Wanyu still remembered the scene when they had first come here. The town had hardly been bustling with crowds, but its shopkeepers and peddlers had still been working hard to make a living. Aside from their fear of Death Valley, everything had seemed to be proceeding in an orderly fashion.
"The town of Death Valley has always been quiet at night."
"But we didn't see anyone during the day, either."
"True."
Along the way, they had seen so many fleeing civilians, entire villages whose inhabitants had vanished... After all that, the deserted town of Death Valley hardly seemed strange anymore.
Qian Wanyu sent out a wisp of her consciousness and soon confirmed that there was not a trace of human life in the shops, inns, or houses. Clearly, at some unknown point, everyone here had left-or died.
"The people are gone, but quite a few Death Spirit Masters have gathered here."
"Ah!" After her initial surprise, Toothless immediately wanted to release her fire-element spiritual power. It would light their way and guard against sneak attacks from those Death Spirit Masters.
"Wait." Qian Wanyu pressed down on her hand. "They haven't noticed us yet. The moment you release those flames, you'll expose us completely. Keep moving."
Toothless held her breath and withdrew her spiritual power.
Little White Ball secretly took her hand and explained in a voice only the two of them could hear, "The black mist Master released contains the aura of these Death Spirit Masters. They won't be able to tell us apart for a while."
Toothless nodded slightly. *No wonder the whole street is so quiet.