The clearly written operating notes in the corner, the marks of three thousand years of wear on the stone platform.
She had not missed a single one of the soot stains on the kitchen stove, and had even taken several extra close-ups of the faint row of notches in the bedroom corner.
Yang Wanqing had dragged her onto the Stargazing Platform, where they lay for nearly an hour, heads together, watching the cloud bands move across Blue Star.
Until their stomachs growled at the same time.
"Come on, let's go. I'm hungry." Yang Wanqing climbed off the platform and brushed the dust from her sleeves. "Let's find Master and go home."
When the two found Chen Hao, he was still on the stone bridge with the railings.
He sat cross-legged, the Guixu Pearl floating before him and giving off an extremely faint glow.
Chen Hao's eyes were closed, and he seemed to be using the Guixu Pearl to temper his body.
But there were subtle disturbances in the air before him, making it clear that his awareness of his surroundings remained uninterrupted.
Chen Siyao walked over without a word and stood beside him.
Yang Wanqing ran up, gripped the railing with both hands, and leaned out. She glanced down into the thirty-meter drop and immediately drew back.
"Let's go home, Master. I'm hungry."
Chen Hao opened his eyes. There was none of the disorientation of someone just emerging from cultivation; his gaze was as clear as ever. "Finished looking around?"
"Yes, Master. We should head back."
"All right." Chen Hao stood, without asking where they had gone or what they had seen.
He picked up the Guixu Pearl and traced his fingertips through empty space, silently tearing open a rift that extended into the air above.
He pulled it apart