Fu Cai remained where she was, her gaze fixed on the cocoon at the center of the chrysanthemum field. Golden petals continued to return to the soil behind her, one after another, as if the land itself were undoing what had just been attempted.
Her expression barely shifted, yet disappointment settled across her face with unmistakable clarity.
"So this is how mortals end," she murmured softly."Bold with words… hesitant when truth demands its price."
Her gaze sharpened.
"If the heart-veins return," Fu Cai said coldly, "she dies."
A pause.
"What a foolish gamble."
She turned away.
The boundary of the Ghost Prison shimmered as she stepped through.
Outside the Ghost Prison domain, the group stood far closer than before, their unease thick enough to press against the air. No one spoke. No one dared to ask until Kiaria and Diala stepped forward together.
"How did it go?""Was it successful?"
Fu Cai answered only by shaking her head once.
