Her heart sank further.
Her team. The elves. None of them knew Ji Xiulan. To them, he'd be just another intruder, a dangerous one. If Ye Qingxue or Nie Ziyu confronted him, things could escalate quickly.
She cursed softly under her breath and took off down the mountain path.
The night air was sharp and cool, slicing through the lingering heat of the spring. The forest canopy above whispered restlessly, as though sensing her urgency. The moon hung high, pale and unblinking, illuminating her path as she sprinted through the glades.
Her boots barely made a sound against the mossy ground, her movements fluid despite her exhaustion. Steam rose faintly from her still-damp hair, trailing behind her like smoke.
Her thoughts, however, were anything but calm.
'Why now? Why him?'
Out of all the people who could've appeared in this dungeon, why did it have to be Ji Xiulan, the one man whose existence tangled fate itself into knots?
