The evening breeze was cool in the dense forest, and the leaves rustled softly.
Li Xiang leaned over Amaryllis, pinning her down with a palm held firmly over the girl's lips.
Only after making sure she would not make a sound did Li Xiang slowly ease the pressure.
She took a long, deep breath, suppressing her lingering wariness and tension, then looked calmly at the girl before her.
"I'm going to ask you a few questions. Just answer honestly."
"Is there a chief ruling this island?"
"Does he oppress the people here however he likes and force them to do things they don't want to?"
At those words, Amaryllis's eyes instantly reddened, and she nodded emphatically.
Seeing the hurt in her eyes, Li Xiang's heart sank, and she pressed on.
"Then... have you or anyone you know ever been petrified by that green light?"
Amaryllis shuddered slightly, her slender shoulders trembling. She nodded hard again, tears already welling in her eyes.
Her reaction told Li Xiang everything.
Li Xiang suppressed her anger and continued gently, "Those people who were petrified were important to you, weren't they?"
Amaryllis felt her nose sting. Biting her lower lip hard, she gave another trembling nod.
She remembered wanting to escape the endless oppression and control when she was little, wanting to reach the free world beyond the island.
But every attempt to flee had come at a cruel price.
To protect her when she was young, her companions had stepped forward time and again, taking punishments in her place and drawing the guards away.
Of the friends she had grown up with, some had died beneath the guards' blades, while others had been instantly petrified by that eerie green light, turned into cold statues that eventually sank into the depths of the sea.
One