At the highest point of the grassy slope stood a ten-meter-tall parasol tree. Its leaves had all fallen, leaving only sturdy, gnarled branches like hundreds of black hands reaching straight into the sky.
"Nair, what did you bring me here for? Don't tell me you wanted me to look at this tree?"
"More or less." Only then did Yenaier release his hand, which had grown a little clammy.
"But you still guessed wrong. Stop talking and sit down to wait. You'll understand when you see it." With that, she sat cross-legged on the soft grass, a faint dampness slowly seeping up from the earth.
Zeng Mu could only follow her lead and sit cross-legged on the ground. Perhaps because he had spent so long in the flower hall earlier, he was now acutely sensitive to the smells of the surrounding grass. The tart scent of green grass and the pungent smell of dried grass crept into his nose and mouth just as the dampness seeped beneath him. It seemed as though the entire world was covered in grass.
Looking up from this angle, he could take in the whole panorama of the Temple Capital. The night sky occupied seven-tenths of the view, countless stars and the Milky Way glittering and swirling within it-the traces of time.
Amid the chirping of crickets and the calls of owls, Zeng Mu suddenly noticed a flash of light disappear. But by the time he shifted his gaze toward it, it was nowhere to be found.
Two seconds later, a second flash appeared. This time, it left a trail that lasted two full seconds, stretching into a brilliant white tail like a sprite slipping silently across the night sky.
"Wow! A shooting star!" Astonishment filled Zeng Mu's face. He stood as he spoke, not even