It was already pitch-black, and they couldn't cultivate or speak. Besides sleeping, there didn't seem to be anything else to do. At first, they could still make out one another's shining eyes in the darkness and hear faint rustling, as if someone were raising a hand, turning over, or feeling around for something. Before long, all they could hear was one another's steady breathing.
Lin Jue occasionally felt for the Firewood Knife and whistle-staff beside him, but gradually drifted off to sleep as well.
Even as he slept, he stayed somewhat alert.
At the slightest disturbance, Lin Jue would wake. Sometimes nothing stirred, but after feeling he'd slept for a while, he would wake anyway, feel the silver in his arms, then go back to sleep.
No one knew how much time passed. In any case, the night was at its darkest.
In the pitch-black darkness, the little fox suddenly opened its eyes, as though it had caught some movement. It raised its head first.
But it wasn't looking toward the lattice window in the wall beside it. It was looking toward the very back of the temple, behind the Divine Statue. Even in the darkness, it could see a pitch-black hole there.
Its bright, lively eyes darted twice. It didn't make a sound, but lowered its head again and gently nudged Lin Jue with its moist nose.
Lin Jue hadn't been sleeping deeply, so he woke at once.
But he made the same choice as the little fox—
He kept his eyes closed, maintained his breathing, and said nothing.
One remained sitting against the wall, alert and watchful; the other stayed curled into a ball, peering toward that spot through a tiny gap between its fluffy forepaws.
"Whoosh..."
Suddenly, a plume of gray smoke billowed out of the hole.