March fifteenth. A full moon hung overhead.
A campfire burned in a relatively open clearing.
Brother Jiang lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes vacant.
Meng Chunqiu also sat on the ground, leaning against a boulder as he gazed up at the moon over the distant mountains. Darkness had fallen, and moonlight washed over the stone, coating its surface in what looked like a thin layer of frost. He could not help remembering his dream of writing poetry.
Unfortunately, right now he was just a pig watcher.
Thump...
A figure dropped from the sky.
The two turned their heads mechanically.
"Brother Chen..."
Jiang Lai sounded feeble.
"Brother Chen..."
Meng Chunqiu sounded listless.
Meng Chunqiu asked quietly, "Finished your video call with your girlfriend who isn't your girlfriend?"
"Yep!"
Chen Shu nodded and walked toward them. "Why are you two so lifeless? Did something happen between you in the short hour I was gone?"
"Brother Jiang's out of strength..."
"And you?"
"I've lost my dream..."
"Didn't you replace it with a new dream? Becoming a Ninth Tier cultivator and holding up the Royal Family?"
"Yeah..."
Meng Chunqiu's face was numb. "I came here to experience danger and the thrill of battle. At the very least, I wanted to help you somehow. Instead, I've spent all three days sitting in the same place from morning till night, watching a herd of pigs..."
"Hey now." Chen Shu made a sound of disagreement. "Brother Meng, you're just not thinking flexibly. Those pigs are only stunned. If you want some fun, you can wake one up and play with it. It doesn't matter if it runs away."
"I can't beat one..."
"Then you've got no one else to blame."
"Ah..."
Meng Chunqiu sighed at length, forced himself to his feet, picked up the shaker cup