Rustle, rustle~
The soft patter of raindrops striking leaves echoed in his ears, with the faint sound of waves in the distance.
His mind was muddled, as though his soul had left its shell and drifted into dark nothingness. He could not even feel the pain in his body.
He did not know how long this lasted before a gentle voice suddenly sounded beside his ear:
"Ye Jingtang? Ye Jingtang?..."
The calls brought Ye Jingtang back to his senses. The rain around him gradually became clearer, and with it came searing pain and weakness from the depths of his soul.
"Ugh..."
Ye Jingtang kept his eyes closed and took a long time to recover before realizing he was being carried on someone's back, his chin resting on a shoulder. The breathing beside his ear was heavy; the sound alone conveyed utter exhaustion.
Forcing down the discomfort deep within his soul, Ye Jingtang opened his eyes a little and saw a slightly pale cheek. Though it was right before him, it was blurred, even trailing afterimages, as though he were severely nearsighted.
Only after he struggled to focus did the cheek gradually become clear. She was looking ahead, her eyes filled with astonishment and uncertainty, as though she had seen something extraordinary.
Ye Jingtang followed Ice Lump's gaze. His nearly unfocused eyes cleared somewhat, and the same astonishment appeared in them:
"So big..."
They were inside the island, standing among the trees, with an enormous hill rising straight from the ground ahead.
Ye Jingtang had initially thought the distant hill was floating above the ground, but when lightning flashed across the sky, he discovered it was actually a canopy that blotted out the heavens and the sun.
The trunk beneath that canopy stood at the far end of his view, its