Chapter 2181

Even if it was for the sake of forging a Ten-Tailed Elythune, Louise would never give up on Shannon. However, that was precisely the reason for Thalia's reluctance. Why did Shannon's importance have to be weighed through her value and potential? To Thalia, Shannon was perfect as she was. "I'll think of a way to bring her back, not because she's the reincarnation of the Ten-Tailed Elythune, but because she's my daughter." With that, Thalia turned around and left without looking at Louise's reaction. Once she exited the courtyard where the Soul Tree stood, she turned into the long corridor, only to find Reuben standing at the end of it. When he saw her, his striking brows settled into a calm, unreadable expression. "You shouldn't have spoken to Mother like that." The anger that had just been suppressed within Thalia flared up again. "Well, wait till your child's soul goes missing, then you'll finally realize how much I was holding back earlier. In this mess, neither Shannon nor I is the one in the wrong." She paused, unsatisfied, and added, "Of course, you will never understand, considering you're childless." Reuben was speechless. What a clear, indiscriminate attack. His eyes darkened slightly, but when they met Thalia's tear-reddened ones, all the emotions in them faded into helplessness. Lowering his gaze, Reuben insisted on explaining, "Mother wasn't trying to—" As soon as he spoke, an all-too-familiar divine soul energy suddenly swept through Wynthorpe Manor. Thalia snapped her head around, a flash of light igniting in her eyes. She was about to rush off when Reuben stepped forward first, grabbing her arm. In the blink of an eye, the two reappeared before the Soul Tree. Just as when Thalia had left, Louise still stood beneath the three. Her long hair trailed across the fallen leaves, untouched by even a trace of dirt. Now, under the Soul Tree, two more figures stood beside her. They were Shannon and Benjamin. Their souls had stepped out of the ghost gate, only to return to their bodies in the very next instant. The couple wasn't surprised to see Louise. After all, they had entered the time-travelling portal through her domain. Before they could react, though, another familiar presence bolted toward them. "Shannon!" Shannon turned around and was pulled into a familiar, warm embrace. Thalia's voice trembled slightly with emotion. The tears she had held back spilled over again the moment she felt the familiar presence in her arms. She clutched Shannon tightly and suddenly burst into tears. "Oh, Shannon, you're finally back!" Shannon hadn't expected that the first thing to greet her upon her return would be her wailing mother. She instinctively reciprocated the hug, though her expression remained somewhat dazed, unsure of what had happened while she and Benjamin were gone. She glanced at him, then over at Reuben standing at the side. She couldn't help but recall the flower that three-year-old Thalia had held that ended up sliced in half. Then, her eyes narrowed sharply with her brows raised, as if questioning him, "Did you give my mom a hard time while I was away?" Reuben was rendered speechless.