Xue Qingyi met his analytical gaze, a rare flicker of dissonance disturbing her preternaturally serene face. "Ah... this..."
"Don't start faltering now," Cain continued, his voice utterly devoid of mockery, which somehow made it more unnerving. It was the calm, detached tone of a researcher observing a specimen. "I am simply pointing out the discrepancy. You were so aligned with those righteous folk. Arrogantly certain in the absolute correctness of your path. Now... hmm... you are far more pliable."
Yulong snorted, her crimson eyes narrowing. "She's a snake, Cain! A frozen snake that knows it's cornered. She's just shedding her skin to trick us!"
Xue Qingyi was silent for a long, heavy moment. The bone-white, skeletal trees of the Epoch Forest seemed to press in, the ancient, sorrowful atmosphere amplifying the quiet. Her gaze dropped from Cain's fathomless eyes to the bone-dust covering the ground.
