Question: What did emotions like joy, heartache, and shock have in common when they reached their peak?
The answer was—being unable to breathe.
Zheng Qing had thought that only when facing Su Shijun would he be stunned breathless by her astonishing beauty. But now, seeing Jiang Yu standing prettily in the night, he realized in surprise and relief that he had somehow found that same feeling from the first time he had faced Su Shijun after she took off her glasses.
Even without a mirror, he knew his face must be exceptionally red right now.
He believed that the witch opposite him must have sensed the emotion bursting from the depths of his heart. Otherwise, why would she have come sprinting over the instant she saw him?
In a flash, a string of thoughts ran through the young wizard's mind. He had even begun considering what kind of psychological shock embracing the witch in full view of everyone would bring his companions.
Then.
The next second.
Bang!
Jiang Yu, who had come rushing over, planted both hands on his chest and shoved hard, sending him straight into the Tree hollow carved beneath the withered oak—the entrance to Quankelai Market.
Zheng Qing felt the world spin. It was as if the witch's forceful shove had blocked his chest, leaving him unable to breathe. Stranger still, although it had been his arm that brushed through the crack of the Tree hollow, his neck was what hurt instead.
Both sides of his neck felt as though they had been sliced by knives.
He raised a hand instinctively to touch his neck. His fingers met something cold and slick, then felt two narrow slits beneath his ears opening and closing desperately in the air—
Breathe—
Inhale—
Smack!
The young wizard crashed heavily into the