Although she didn’t feel any joy, she still forced herself to smile at him.
Muir’s heart ached when he saw her pale smile. How he wished he could get caught in Curtis’s stead, making Bai Qingqing feel a little better.
“What should we do now? Everything is prepared, and we’re only lacking Curtis. However, we can’t summon him back at all.” Parker felt dejected as he poked the firewood in his hand harshly into the ground.
Bai Qingqing grabbed his other hand. When he sensed the gentle feeling on the back of his hand, Parker’s irritation calmed down a little.
“Don’t be like this. It’ll get better.” Bai Qingqing sounded certain, but they were now at their wits’ end. She had no idea if this affirmative tone was more of consoling the others or herself.
Winston was the most composed of them all. After staying silent for very long, he finally spoke up, “We can only give up on Curtis now.”
The atmosphere instantly froze up and Bai Qingqing looked at him, her eyes filled with disbelief. She then felt a rush of fury. This was the first time she felt so angry toward her mate.
“What do you mean by this? Do you want Curtis to die?”
Winston’s countenance didn’t change at all even though he was yelled at by his mate. He spoke calmly, “Curtis might not necessarily die. Unlike the scorpion beastmen, he can hold his breath for a long period of time. He won’t drown to death. His defense against fire is also stronger than ordinary beastmen. We can fill in more water before we light up the fire, trying our best to reduce the time he’d be burned by fire.”
Bai Qingqing still couldn’t accept this. She spoke up with a pale countenance, “This is gambling with Curtis’s life on the line. What if he gets into an accident? What if the scorpion beastman realizes that there’s no escaping death and he gets Curtis to die together with him?”
This was extremely likely to happen. As long as Saint Zachary still had one last bit of strength, he’d definitely pull one additional enemy down with him. This was natural behavior. Water and fire disasters were less serious in comparison.
Winston stayed silent.
In the past, Bai Qingqing felt that Winston was very reliable given how composed he always was. It gave her peace of mind. However, she now hated him a lot, feeling that he was cold-blooded and heartless.
If Curtis was in his shoes, he’d probably choose to do the same. However, Curtis had always been cold-blooded, and Bai Qingqing was used to it. She was unable to accept it when she suddenly realized that Winston, who was the most good-natured and got along the most amicably with her other mates, was also so heartless.
Tears kept falling down, and Bai Qingqing saw through her blurred vision that Winston remained as solemn as before. She was so angry that she punched his shoulder a few times, criticizing him and objecting.
Winston stayed motionless like a wooden pillar, allowing Bai Qingqing to hit him. His body was sturdy as a rock, and not only did Bai Qingqing not hurt him, her fists turned red instead. She felt even angrier and leaned her back against Parker, kicking non-stop at him. She looked like a child kicking up a fuss because she couldn’t be satisfied.
After Bai Qingqing was done venting, she looked toward Parker with swollen eyes, saying in a crying tone, “Parker, let’s not care about Winston. Let’s think of a way out ourselves. You go look for Saint Zachary and negotiate the terms with him.”
Parker’s heart ached as he carried Bai Qingqing up, wiping off the tears from her face. He then spoke with great difficulty, “I’ll listen to Winston.”
The grief on Bai Qingqing’s face froze up. With Winston acting as the cushion in front, Parker’s words couldn’t create astonishing great waves in her heart anymore. Feeling lonely, she slouched her body and lowered her eyes, and the tears fell even faster.
Could they only gamble with Curtis’s life on the line?
Bai Qingqing tried hard to think of ways that could increase the chances of Curtis’s survival. However, to her grief, she realized that chances were as slim as buying a lottery ticket.
Muir silently watched this scene. Despite how strongly he felt like hugging Bai Qingqing into his arms to console her, he didn’t move his body at all.
