Fear

The sun peeked from behind the horizon, lighting the desolated Tiang'an up as if it were in flames. ZhiYi was up and standing before the doors, guarding the building with PingZe.

MingYu and the rest were still taking rest, sleeping huddled together to keep warm, but ZhiYi couldn't sleep, so he had stayed awake.

Xie Qiang had returned an hour earlier. The wolf had lost the scent of the female wolf shifter on the outer perimeters of Tiang'an. She had gotten away. It was not the ideal situation, but she didn't pose a threat to any of them currently. They could overlook it, for now.

The silence was comforting, only the faint chirping of early birds filled the crisp morning air, but there was a tinge of worry still lingering over them. It was Xie Qiang who broke the silence as he appeared before the two men, dressed in his blinding yellow robes.

"You let Lan Guan-Yin live," Xie Qiang said, keeping his voice low to not alert the sleeping figures.