At the edge of the park, the halos of the streetlights were shattered by the dense foliage.
In the shadows beyond the wall, Su Wenxuan's heart hammered—half from anxiety, half from the sheer relief of almost having back what she'd lost.
Time crawled by, each second stretching into an eternity.
The noise from within the park seemed to fade, leaving only the rustle of leaves in the night wind and the sound of her own suppressed breathing.
'It's here!'
An extremely faint RUSTLE came from the weeds at the base of the wall.
Su Wenxuan held her breath.
A shadow, no thicker than a finger, emerged. Even in the dim light, it glinted with a faint, dark-gold luster. It slid silently from the gap in the drainage grate at the corner of the wall, moving like a liquid.
It was the snake!
The little snake seemed to hesitate. Its slender body paused for a few seconds on the cold ground, its triangular head raised slightly, forked tongue flicking rapidly as it tasted the air for information.
