By the time Shen Fei woke, it was already light outside.
Light filtered through the gaps in the window paper and fell across the quilt, forming a long, slender band of warm yellow.
The first thing he felt when he opened his eyes was a soothing warmth from the burns on his right arm. The cooling sensation of the ointment was gradually seeping deep into his skin, easing the stinging pain left by the burns.
He turned his head and saw Xiao Ning'er asleep against the edge of the bed, her head resting on her folded arms and her face turned toward him. Her breathing was even, and her lashes cast faint little shadows in the morning light.
She must have stayed by his side all night.
Shen Fei could see a half-full cup of water beside her hand, long since gone cold. Several rolls of Inscription Diagrams lay spread across the table, their corners weighed down by a pen. The ink on its tip had dried, as though she had stopped halfway through writing.
Her shoulders were slightly hunched in her sleep. The position could hardly have been comfortable, but she showed no sign of waking.
The morning light fell across her profile, softening her features. She looked far gentler than that lightning-wreathed figure on the battlefield.
Shen Fei did not hurry to move.
He simply lay there with his head turned toward her. Under the ointment's effects, the burns on his right arm continued to give off a soothing warmth. The bruises along his left ribs had been coated with brown ointment, and pressing them no longer brought that piercing, heart-deep pain.
He tried moving his right leg. Most of the dull pain in his knee had faded. It still ached a little, but at least it could