Xiao Wu, who was rushing at the forefront, froze when her eyes met those teary blue ones, and she quickly called out to stop.
"Wait!"
Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Thread couldn't be reined in. The scorching, burning Phoenix Fire Thread passed above Xiao Wu, mixed with Dai Mubai's golden White Tiger Fierce Light Wave, and charged towards Tang Sui.
Xiao Wu was startled, but the next moment she remembered that Tang Sui was still in her incorporeal form and couldn't be hit by physical attacks.
"Boom—!"
The two powerful attacks missed their target, striking the black tide surrounding Tang Sui and erupting into countless streaks of fiery smoke.
"What's going on, Xiao Wu?" Ma Hongjun was bewildered. It was Ning Rongrong, who had been observing the battle from the rear, who broke the silence, shouting, "Everyone, stop! Sui Sui seems to have regained consciousness!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuji's bear paw, which had been raised halfway, paused. He looked at Tang Sui, who was still suspended in mid-air but had dispelled her incorporeal form, and the surrounding black tide was slowly dissipating. He felt a slight relief.
Finally, she's awake?
Unaware that they had narrowly escaped death, Zhao Wuji and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Wu stood below Tang Sui, gazing up at her in mid-air, and tried to soften her voice as she called out,
"Sui Sui, do you recognize who I am?"
Tang Sui stared blankly at the void ahead. The black mist receded like a tide, leaving no trace behind. The two liquefied masks returned to their jade-white appearance and floated serenely on either side of Tang Sui.
Crystal tears trickled down her cheeks, mixing with bloodstains on her pale little face, blooming like scarlet flowers, causing others to ache with pity.
"Teacher Zhao, what's wrong with her now?" Dai Mubai asked in surprise, looking at Tang Sui, who neither attacked nor made a sound, but simply wept blankly. Zhao Wuji slowly shook his head.
"I don't know. Perhaps... only Xiao San knows what's going on."
He looked at Tang San, who was still meditating and absorbing his spirit ring. The others also turned to look at Tang San. Ma Hongjun, exhausted, plopped down on the ground and wailed loudly, "Heavens, Xiao San, wake up quickly! We healers are really at our limit!"
His words immediately drew glares of death from Xiao Wu and the other two girls.
Ma Hongjun choked, and quickly changed his tune, calling out to Tang San.
"Xiao San."
"Xiao San, wake up quickly!"
"Tang San, please wake up!"
"Help! Xiao San, wake up quickly and coax your sister!"
...
Countless familiar voices mingled and intruded into his mind.
In his spiritual world, Tang San, who was battling the materialized spirit of the Faceless Demonic Spider, paused.
"These are... everyone's voices..."
The last sentence caught Tang San's attention.
Coax Sui Sui?
What happened outside? Sui Sui... Right, Sui Sui and Xiao Wu were both captured by the Titan Giant Ape, and before she was taken, Sui Sui was also... by the Titan Giant Ape.
Worry and longing for Tang Sui filled his mind. Tang San looked at the spiritual power of the Faceless Demonic Spider before him, his clear face tainted with icy ferocity. The clear black eyes lost their calm and gentle demeanor, replaced by a deep, slightly sinister red.
He had to get to his sister as soon as possible!
The moment this thought emerged, countless massive Blue Silver Grass vines erupted from the ground of his spiritual space, instantly coiling around the entire Faceless Demonic Spider.
"Roar—!"
The Faceless Demonic Spider let out a pained roar as the plant thorns, carrying the paralyzing toxin of the Mandrake Snake, on the Blue Silver Grass vines fiercely pierced its body.
Its soul consciousness, remaining in its spirit ring, did not understand why the previously weak vines had suddenly become so tenacious and powerful.
"I can't waste any more time here with you!"
Tang San looked coldly at the Faceless Demonic Spider and raised his hand, clenching his spread fingers tightly. The Blue Silver Grass vines that enwrapped the Faceless Demonic Spider tightened like a Mandrake Snake hunting its prey. Finally, with a resentful roar from the Faceless Demonic Spider, Tang San completely annihilated its last shred of soul consciousness, turning it into a blue-black light cluster floating in the void!
The once turbulent spiritual space returned to a calm and serene state after the Faceless Demonic Spider's demise.
The murky ground transformed into a pure land as smooth and flat as a mirror. Tang San stepped onto it, and ripples like water spread from beneath his feet.
This indicated that his state of mind had stabilized, returning to a state of utter tranquility.
Finally having dealt with the Faceless Demonic Spider, Tang San's taut nerves relaxed slightly. Just as he was about to absorb the energy dispersed in the spiritual space, his calm heart rippled, and a low weeping sound reached his ears.
Tang San froze, turned his head, and saw a familiar figure who had suddenly appeared in his spiritual space, her back to him, wearing a very familiar little dress. She was sitting on the ground, burying her head in her knees and weeping.
"...Sui Sui?"
Tang San's pupils contracted sharply, his voice hoarse and dry in a way he hadn't even noticed himself.
"Bro... Brother!"
Hearing the voice, Tang Sui looked up, her eyelashes and eyes still wet from tears, like a lost little cub who had cried herself out after being unable to find anyone. Her eyes were red, contrasting with her delicate and small face, which resembled a doll displayed in a shop window. It made people unconsciously want to pat the little one's head and tell her not to be afraid, that he was there.
Thinking this, Tang San did just that.
He moved gently, slowly approaching his sister, squatting down, and carefully pulling the weeping Tang Sui into his arms. It was like when Tang Sui had fallen and injured herself as a child, and Tang San would always gently place his hand on her back, patting and softly coaxing her.
This time, like before, Tang San, as he soothed his sister, did not notice that as he drew closer to Tang Sui, a hint of ominous black and red suddenly overflowed from their reflections in the clear, mirror-like water beneath their feet, slowly entwining and engulfing their reflections.
"Don't cry, Sui Sui, brother is here."
---
Author's Note ---
A small spoiler about the identity of the hand owner in the previous chapter: not the male lead, but someone important (ps: players of "Onmyoji" should be most familiar with this character)~
See you at midnight~