After suffering that bitter humiliation yesterday, Xing Yan had been dispirited and out of sorts, his mood gloomy and his ribs aching. That evening, little Qiong Rong had volunteered to massage his chest. Mindful of propriety between the sexes, he had tried to fend her off, only for the nimble little girl's elbows to jab his bruises several times, making him grimace in pain. After all that commotion, he had not gone to sleep until deep into the night. Once he finally slipped into dreams, he inevitably lingered there. Though he had meant to rise early, when he awoke the following morning, the sunlight streaming through the gap in his tent's window curtain had already reached his bedding.
Ah, she came to make a racket last night, but now she won't come wake me.
After inwardly grumbling a little about the innocent, lively girl, Xing Yan hurriedly rolled out of bed, splashed some water from the copper basin beside it onto his face, briefly tidied himself and rinsed his mouth, then rushed out of the tent to head for the Military Drill Ground and meet the enemy in battle. Outside, however, he found Qiong Rong already waiting, pacing back and forth. When he asked, it turned out she had been afraid of disturbing his sleep. Though she had peeked in several times and even slipped inside for a closer look, she had never dared wake him. Hearing this, Xing Yan silently withdrew his complaints, caught her little hand, and whisked her off toward the Command Platform in the waters beyond Startling Waves Island.
Once outside, he saw that it was indeed getting late. The tents along the road, slanting morning sunlight falling across them, were already quiet and nearly deserted. Not only Xing Yan but Qiong Rong knew they were