Life in Aurora Village moved as slowly as water in a stream.
Whenever Long Qingyao carried her bamboo basket beneath the vines on the mountain wall, she would always see Qin He.
Sometimes, he leaned against the bluish stone outside the cave dwelling, a faint wisp of ink-dark air curling around his fingertips. His gaze was distant, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Sometimes, he crouched beside the stream with the children chasing butterflies, teasing little crabs in the cracks between stones with a twig and laughing heartily.
"Senior Qin, Aunt Zhang steamed star potato cakes today, and she also mixed some mountain pepper sauce."
She handed him the bamboo basket, her gaze falling on his fingertips—the wisp of dark air shimmered with flecks of golden light when it touched the sunlight, strikingly like threads of aurora in the night sky.
Qin He took the wooden box, pinched up a cake, and put it into his mouth. His brows lifted slightly. "This sauce has quite a kick. It suits my taste better than the dishes in Yunlai City's restaurants."
As he chewed the pastry, his gaze swept toward the village. "Your clansmen are learning to farm?"
"Yes. Uncle Li said the starfields must be plowed in the direction the aurora flows, or they won't grow good wheat."
Following his gaze, Long Qingyao saw several Dragon Clan disciples guiding plows alongside the village men. Their movements were awkward but earnest, and their trouser legs were smeared with black mud rich in spiritual energy.
"What a wondrous place." Qin He tossed the last bit of cake into his mouth.
Over the past dozen days, Qin He had gradually figured out the situation in the village.
Everyone here cultivated an art called the Star-Absorbing Art. They did not need to sit