The stream flowed down the back of the hill, wound around several blue-gray rocks, and gathered in a hollow to form a shallow pool.
The water was clear to the bottom, revealing small white stones and a few dead branches beneath it.
Occasionally, a few silver-scaled fish swam through the gaps between the rocks, their tail fins breaking the surface and sending out fine rings of ripples.
Lin Shisan sat on a flat rock beside the pool, turning Magnetic Mountain over and over in his hand as he examined it.
The dark brown patterns on its surface still flowed, but they moved a little more slowly than before, their spiritual glow so dim it seemed veiled in mist.
He tried feeding a wisp of Dragon Breath into it. The patterns flashed for a moment, then dimmed again.
"Still no response?"
Bai Youyou's voice came from behind him, languid with the drowsiness of someone who had just woken up.
She stood barefoot on the wet grass, her long hair loose over her shoulders, wearing a baggy green robe.
Its collar hung slightly open, revealing the delicate white expanse of her collarbones.
Morning light filtered through the edge of the gray-white sky, gilding her face with a thin layer of gold. Even the tips of her eyelashes were dotted with tiny flecks of light.
Lin Shisan put Magnetic Mountain away and shook his head, though his eyes never left her face.
After more than a year here, her complexion was a little darker than it had been in the Dragon Palace, and the coolness in her features had softened somewhat.
Bai Youyou walked over and sat beside him on the rock, her shoulder touching his.
She carried the faint scent of fresh grass, mingled with the coolness of morning dew, a reassuring