Lin Qin stayed in Dragon Rock Territory for three days.
During those three days, he went nowhere and simply remained in the stone building with Aileen. His Wind Element divine clone had stayed here for over a thousand years without ever leaving, but having his true body return was different in the end.
The two of them did not speak much. Most of the time, they simply sat quietly together, watching the sunrise and sunset, watching the clouds drift and gather.
On the first morning, Aileen rose early. When she opened the door, Lin Qin had already been standing in the open space before the stone building for a long time. The morning mist had not yet dispersed, blanketing the valley in white. The distant ridge resembled a blurred stroke of ink. She walked to his side without saying anything and merely stood beside him. Dew dampened her hair, and she lightly gathered it back with one hand.
"The fog here is still this thick," she said.
"Mm."
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing." Lin Qin paused. "I just wanted to take a look."
Aileen glanced at him, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
On the second afternoon, it rained. The rain was not heavy, pattering softly against the stone building's roof in a fine, lingering rhythm. They sat beneath the eaves and watched rainwater stream down between the tiles, forming a small curtain of water before them. The air was filled with the scent of earth and grass, damp yet fresh.
On the third evening, the sky cleared. The setting sun emerged from behind the clouds, dyeing the entire valley gold and red. The stone walls glowed beneath its light, as though coated in a thin layer of honey. The mountains in the distance layered upon one another