Daoist Yangmei looked at Qin Xi and said to him, "If you go to sleep now, you can still get two hours. I'll watch for a while."
Qin Xi was very surprised. Daoist Yangmei usually loved sleeping more than anything, and he had not expected him to wake up today.
He looked over at Di Qun and Ao Xin. These past few nights, the two of them had been taking turns keeping watch, and they had also been traveling long distances the whole time. It had truly been exhausting, so neither of them showed any sign of waking.
Qin Xi also wanted to conserve his strength and keep his spirits up, so he looked at Daoist Yangmei and said, "All right, then I'll go rest first. If you get tired, you must call me. I'll get up and switch with you."
Daoist Yangmei nodded drowsily in Qin Xi's direction, then sat down directly beside the fire. Without any politeness, he said to Qin Xi, "Go sleep, go sleep."
Qin Xi did not stand on ceremony. He walked straight to the pile of grass where Daoist Yangmei had just been lying and lay down. It was as if sleepiness swept over him all at once. After all, traveling every day was truly exhausting. Once Qin Xi closed his eyes, he felt himself sink into a daze and fall asleep.
Daoist Yangmei looked out at the pitch-black night. The moon hung high in the sky, and the few stars beside it still twinkled there, as if blinking while watching everyone below rest, and watching everything unfold.
Daoist Yangmei stoked the fire, making it burn even brighter and stronger, so that the few of them could feel warm.
By daybreak, the sun had slowly climbed into the sky and was hanging high overhead.