At that thought, Zuo Xiaonian was instantly as eager to return home as an arrow loosed from its bow. She turned at once and headed home.
Just then, amid the clouds and mist in the sky behind Zuo Xiaonian, a figure slowly appeared. Watching her retreating back as she sped away, the figure murmured, "What did this girl come all the way up here for? Just to look at the scenery?"
"Why did she look so troubled?"
Elsewhere.
After Zuo Xiaonian left.
With Zuo Xiaonian's speed, and with her heart set on going home, she returned almost in the blink of an eye.
Zuo Xiaoduo had not yet finished school.
The house was silent. Neither Zuo Changlu nor Wu Yuting was home.
Looking at everything arranged in this home, at every piece of furniture, she felt a warmth that put her completely at ease. Zuo Xiaonian gazed blankly at it all, filled with an indescribable reluctance to part with it.
If I can't make it through this ordeal...
This home will never belong to me again...
I can't accept that. I can't bear to leave it!
Zuo Xiaonian slipped silently into Zuo Xiaoduo's room; only after catching that familiar scent did she feel her heart, which had been drifting and swaying in midair all this time, slowly settle down.
She walked slowly into the room and gently sat on Zuo Xiaoduo's bed. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and murmured, "Doggo, you have to protect your big sister."
While speaking with Grandma He earlier, Zuo Xiaonian had felt something very clearly all along.
This Phoenix Vein Power was a tribulation destined for me!
Certain death!
I can't do it earlier or put it off. I have to reach a specific time before I can break through.
*During