He slept until three in the afternoon.
When Zhao Xun woke, he felt considerably more refreshed.
Lying on the hard ground was nowhere near as soft and comfortable as sleeping in a bed, but he had never been picky about his surroundings.
He crawled out of his sleeping bag, packed it away, and stretched luxuriously.
He glanced at the blossoms on the wintersweet trees. There was indeed no dew left to collect, so he turned into a sparrow and flew back to the valley.
He caught twenty-odd small shrimp and fish in the stream, cleaned them with his knife, then roasted them from a short distance away with a small fireball. He took the chili powder out of his Hiking Backpack and sprinkled it over them, completing a delicious lunch.
Only after enjoying his fill did Zhao Xun head into the Frog Barrier.
The moment he stepped inside, the intermittent chirping of insects and croaking of frogs vanished.
The silence was almost unsettling.
"Frog Prince," Zhao Xun called loudly. "Come out and talk."
A reply soon came from the distance. "Have you gathered everything?"
"Not yet," Zhao Xun answered truthfully. "It's dry up on the mountain, so collecting dew takes a long time. Once the sun came up, most of the remaining dew evaporated. I have to wait until evening to collect more."
"Then why are you here now?" The Frog Prince's voice was much closer than before.
Zhao Xun looked carefully and soon noticed blades of grass swaying intermittently, accompanied by a faint rustling that gradually approached him.
"I can't collect any dew right now anyway, so I came to chat," Zhao Xun replied.
"About what?" The Frog Prince finally reached Zhao Xun's feet and craned his head up with some difficulty. "Have you found the Glowstone and ten