Night gradually fell, and a chilly wind blew past them, making people unconsciously pull their clothes tighter.
Mingyou cleaned out the mashed potatoes on his leaf plate, but he was only half full at best.
Seeing that the Land of Water's ninjas each had only one portion, Mingyou was too embarrassed to ask for more.
After leaning against a large tree and chatting with Mei Terumi for a while longer, Mingyou took out his travel pack, retrieved his simple sleeping bag, spread it open, crawled inside, and closed his eyes to rest.
Though the sleeping bag shielded him from the cold wind, lying on the icy, hard ground was far from comfortable.
Even in such harsh conditions, Mingyou still fell asleep quickly.
The days of nonstop travel had truly exhausted him.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp."
The next morning, a streak of red dawn rose in the eastern sky. The early birds in the forest had already begun a new day's hunt for food.
Mingyou had gone to sleep early to begin with, and he woke from his slumber to the birds' cheerful songs.
He opened his eyes, slowly sat up, and looked around. On the sloping mountainside, sleeping bags leaned against large trees everywhere. It seemed the ninjas were all still sleeping soundly.
Quite a few ninjas stood watch around the camp's perimeter, still faithfully holding their posts.
However, Mei Terumi, who should have been sleeping beside Mingyou, had vanished at some point.
"She got up so early? Where did she go?"
Mingyou looked around, but he did not spot Mei Terumi anywhere.
He packed away his sleeping bag and walked toward a small stream not far outside the mountain camp.
He scooped up the clear, icy water and washed his face, then wandered around the area.
He had