Li Hongluan sat there, listening to Zhao Yun bustle about, and felt especially at peace. For a moment, she wondered, Why contend with the Heavenly Dao? Why seek the pinnacle of martial cultivation?
Immortality was far too elusive. Having someone by her side, living quietly, occasionally watching the lights, then going home after the moon set—that was nice too.
Days passed one after another, and the two of them remained there.
"It's my turn to stand watch."
Li Hongluan smiled, glanced at the setting sun, gave her spot to Zhao Yun, and scratched another mark into the boulder before going to sleep.
"Time really flies. We've been here for over two months already, and who knows when the Purple Youshi Orchid will bloom."
As soon as she said that, Li Hongluan regretted it slightly. Ye Nishang was in Changsheng City. Though Elder Zhou was protecting her, she was gravely ill and might have only a little over a year left to live. Zhao Yun did not say it aloud, but he must have been waiting for the Purple Youshi Orchid to bloom.
Zhao Yun spoke firmly. "We've done everything we can. All that remains is to wait."
"Hey, seriously, we've been incredibly lucky these past two months. Nothing has happened at all. I'm starting to think this doesn't feel like the legendary Demon Slaying Abyss. Maybe even the heavens are helping us. When the Purple Youshi Orchid blooms, we'll definitely be here to see it."
"That's right. Hurry back and sleep."
Li Hongluan lay down in the thatched hut. With Zhao Yun standing guard outside, she felt especially safe. Before long, she fell asleep.
"Rumble, rumble rumble, moo!"
Strange sounds rose from within Demon Slaying Abyss again. After more than two months, Li Hongluan had grown used to them. She