"Oh, heavens, this really is astonishing. Truly, you're the most outstanding person I've ever met," Yenaier praised him generously after hearing what he said.
"You're outstanding too. At the very least, you're the second woman I've known who could fight on a battlefield."
"The second? Ah, then the first must be Ma Linya?" Her eyes flickered, and her voice seemed to waver slightly.
Zeng Mu nodded. "You know her?"
"I suppose so. She treated my wounds, and we talked once or twice. We know each other's names, at least."
"Whew... She's still in Sand City. I wonder if she's had dinner yet, and what she ate. Though it couldn't have been as good as ours." With that, Zeng Mu turned his gaze toward the moon in the night sky. Its extraordinary serenity left him feeling fulfilled and relaxed.
Yenaier said nothing more. The atmosphere quietly settled into silence, leaving only the sound of their breathing, which the drifting breeze swept away and scattered through the endless, ink-black forest.
"Someone, come here!" The sudden shout startled them.
Both sprang to their feet and turned toward the voice. It had come from the doorway of the camp's wooden cabin.
By the time they raced over, a ring of people had already gathered. Yetos and several others were there too.
"What happened? What's wrong?" Yenaier pushed through the crowd, with Zeng Mu squeezing in almost flush against her back.
At that moment, he caught the faint scent of her body. It was wonderfully fresh, with a trace of plant roots and stems. Ah, yes. It's the intoxicating fragrance of lotus blossoms.
Unfortunately, he had little attention to spare for that unusual fragrance. After squeezing forward a few steps, he saw Yetos and the others.
The cabin's single door stood open, revealing fine silver