The further they went the more traps were found. Each more wicked than the last, but also just as deteriorated from time and weather. The howls had either stopped growing louder, or were so loud that an increase in volume did not register. They were loud and they hurt the ears and made hearing anything else difficult.

Daqiang stopped talking entirely, moving what debris he could until they came to a place where there was visible new growth trees compared to the others around - they were shorter and smaller around the trunk than the others. He pointed to the ground and then held a hand out over the spot. In his palm, blue fire blossomed and he aimed it with the intention of blasting the first level of dirt and plant life free.