For a long moment...
None of them spoke.
Only the sound of breathing filled the air.
Gradually, they began to recover, though the fatigue remained deep, their limbs heavy and unresponsive, their strength nearly drained to nothing.
Even as martial artists—
They had reached their limit.
Li Shu turned her head weakly, glancing back into the darkness they had escaped from, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke. "Sister Xianling… they didn't follow us, right?"
Mu Xianling also looked back, her gaze sharp despite her exhaustion, as if trying to pierce through the layers of shadow.
After a moment, she nodded. "They shouldn't have. That monster was too strong… it likely stopped them."
Relief came.
But it was fragile.
Li Shu's body suddenly shook. "I was so scared…"
Her voice cracked, and as the memory resurfaced, her eyes reddened almost instantly, tears welling up before she could stop them.
"If that monster hadn't appeared… we might have…"
She couldn't finish.
