He turned to one of the men in the group, who had been silent the entire time.
"Go and inform the elders. Tell them we have visitors who claim to have come through a portal. We will take them to the outer grounds for now."
The man nodded and hurried off into the forest, his figure disappearing into the shadows.
Xi Ping glanced at Jake nervously. "Outer grounds? That sounds... kinda serious."
"Yeah, no kidding," Jake muttered, crossing his arms. "But I guess it's better than being thrown out."
The silver-haired woman stepped closer to them, her expression softening.
"Don't worry. As long as you don't mean any harm, no one here will hurt you. But you must follow the rules of the sect."
Su Jiyai let out another bark, and the woman's smile widened.
"You really are special, aren't you?" she said, looking at the wolf cub. "I've never seen a spirit beast like you before."