The sky paled to the white of a fish's belly, and lights came on one after another in the Dongming Tribe's encampment as early risers opened their roadside stalls.
In a tent at the rear, Niao Niao had woken up feeling a little hungry and landed at the head of the bed, looking down at Ye Jingtang:
"Chirp chirp?"
On the bed, Ye Jingtang's lashes stirred. The moment his thoughts cleared, he felt refreshed, all the weariness of his long journey swept away. This might have been his first truly comfortable sleep in half a month.
Ye Jingtang gently exhaled a stale breath and opened his eyes. Seeing Niao Niao's round head upside down, he curled his lips into a smile and raised a hand to gently move the arm resting on him...
Huh??
Why was there an arm draped over me?!
Ye Jingtang snapped fully awake and briefly recalled what had happened-yesterday, he and Perfected Person Xuanji had sat on the bed, wandering through a dreamlike realm, then lain down to look at the stars, and then...
Then he had no idea when he had fallen asleep...
No way...
Ye Jingtang inwardly sensed trouble. His face, which had been glowing with health, visibly paled. He glanced sideways, and the first thing he saw was a woman's fair, flawless, breathtaking cheek. Her Ink-Black Long Hair was tied with a ribbon, and she lay on the same pillow barely two feet away, close enough that he could kiss her with a slight dip of his head.
Although her looks and bearing were beyond reproach, her sleeping posture was hardly graceful. She lay sprawled facedown on the bed, her right arm across his chest, still holding a little sundial.
!
Ye Jingtang stiffened slightly and stole a glance downward-Perfected Person Xuanji was