Quinn Shepherd thought for a moment. Elias Mornwind, the sect master of the River Lee Sect, is a second-rank official, but this elder named Leonard Goodwin is first-rank—he must be even more formidable!
"What this elder said is true," he said to Lina the Spirit Fox.
Lina the Spirit Fox asked in confusion, "How do you know he's telling the truth?"
"The mist was exhaled by the dragon soul."
Quinn pointed at the soul of the dragon mother drifting through the hall. Wherever the dragon soul passed, the mist thickened, and where the mist spread, the dry corpses would stand upright again, as if they could sense Quinn's location and drift toward him on their own.
"This mist can put these corpses into a state between life and death. It's a way to protect her child—and also to defend this palace," Quinn analyzed.
Lina had noticed this too: whenever the mist from the dragon mother's soul dispersed, the corpses would collapse and lie motionless. But when the mist returned, the corpses would revive and try to attack anyone who entered.
These corpses seemed to be the palace's guardians, protecting the hall from intruders who might steal the dragon pearl or disturb the injured young dragon.
As for where these corpses came from, it was likely just as the elder said—the dragon pearl was to blame, draining the qi and blood of any warrior who entered the Dragon Palace to keep the young dragon in the ice alive.
Quinn hesitated. "Elder Leonard, I truly wish to help, but my strength is limited. I'm afraid my heart is willing but my power falls short."