Dusk deepened.
The slightly cool evening breeze carried the scent of grass and trees. The bright white moon spilled down watery light, while overhead stretched a dazzling river of stars, seeming close enough to touch.
As the night breeze drifted by, wave after wave rippled across the boundless grassland, bringing a sense of the vast, mysterious desolation of heaven and earth.
Nights in the mountains and forests were not silent. Countless unknown insects chirped without pause, their calls distant and profound, like nature whispering.
The campfire still burned, casting an orange-red glow.
Yao Ziyan lay on the grass, quietly gazing at the clear night sky, lost in thought. Qing Yuan lay not far away, her dress and long hair spread across the ground. Her breathing was even, and she seemed to have already fallen asleep.
The two were at the border between the grassland and the forest, with a lake nearby.
The lake water was clear, its surface like a mirror reflecting the stars filling the sky and the bright white moon, as though another world existed beneath the water.
"Are you asleep?" Yao Ziyan asked softly.
"No." Qing Yuan answered with her eyes closed. "What is it?"
"Nothing." Yao Ziyan said no more.
Qing Yuan opened her eyes and glanced at her, then looked at the starry sky as well. It was indeed beautiful, but it looked like this every day. She had no idea what there was to see.
"There is a legend where I come from. Every star is a world, a world similar to the Tianlan Continent." Yao Ziyan looked at the night sky, starlight seeming to flicker in her eyes. "Countless stars mean countless worlds."
Qing Yuan smiled. "Maybe it really is as you say, but no one can currently go to the stars to