Su Shijun did not stop the Little White Person from leaving.
She accepted the apology readily.
The Black Cat breathed a small sigh of relief, then motioned for the Little White Person to split off a few Paper People quickly. The sooner they finished the transaction, the sooner he could leave this office that made him so uncomfortable.
The Little White Person opened her palm.
A white Yan Hua slowly rose from her palm. As faint magic stirred, the flower grew larger and larger, its white "petals" unfurling layer by layer until it looked rather like a blooming peony.
But that splendor was fleeting.
A moment later, the Yan Hua exhausted its magic and its base withered. Its petals, however, remained as vivid as before. The Little White Person held them to her lips and blew gently. They drifted free and fluttered down. In an instant, the palm-sized white petals became palm-sized white Paper People, swaying as they huddled together and found their footing in her hand.
They looked left and right.
They looked almost exactly like the Yan Hua the Black Cat had seen earlier in Qian Zi'ang's Photo-capturing Flower.
"Almost" was the word because the First Generation Paper Person in that recording had been only "vaguely human-shaped," its whole body seemingly molded from "a crumpled wad of Silkworm Skin Paper." These Second Generation Paper People, which Yan Hua had split off herself, had much clearer forms. Their paper was smoother and considerably thicker, too.
Only their faces remained blank.
But on closer inspection, faint features could just be made out.
As for the crooked Yan Hua tucked atop each head, it no longer looked as wilted as the original. It was full and lively.
"Where are you planning to take her?"
Several vines reached out of thin air,