Only when the last trace of deep crimson had settled and all the Hellfire had wound itself around the Deadwood Branch
did the Fat Wizard finally raise a hand and fan himself.
"So hot!"
He stuck out his tongue as he spoke.
Dylan gave him a strange look.
Before he could speak,
Jiang Yu's bright voice rang out. "Hot? I can't feel any heat at all—I thought underworld flames like Hellfire had no temperature."
Her voice immediately drew everyone's attention.
"Jiang Yu?"
Zhang Jixin's first reaction was wariness. The death-induced Xiao Xiao had left a deep impression on him, so he questioned her at once. "You're back? Did the rest of you hear her speak?"
The other wizards nodded in unison.
"Yeah."
"I heard her while the Doctor was performing the ritual," the Fat Wizard added.
"Being careful is a good thing—but I really am me."
The barrier nearby silently collapsed, and Jiang Yu strolled out. She wandered over to the burning Deadwood Branch and studied the bright red glow in the cracks of its bark, her hands behind her back. Then she repeated what she had told the Fat Wizard earlier. "Now that the Ritual Array is basically finished, I figured it would be safe to come out. Anyway, thanks for all your hard work!"
"Where are your other 'parts'?" Zhang Jixin glanced upward, as though hoping to see beyond the green sky overhead.
"They're coming back through the Tree."
Jiang Yu pointed at the great tree beside her. Tilting her head, she frowned slightly as she searched for the right words. "It'll probably take a little longer. Well, put simply, I gained quite a lot up there, but there's a difference in dimensions between that place and reality. So I need to use the Xuanhuang Wood as a