"Yes, it should last a few more days without any problem," Shen Heng replied in a deep voice.
"No!" a voice echoed from inside the cave.
Shen Heng was slightly taken aback, and his gaze unconsciously turned towards Le Gu Nan.
She saw Le Gu Nan looking at her intently and said:
"You still need to use your abilities to find the Calamity Beast during the day. Although I don't know how much mental strain that takes on you, it must be considerable."
"If you don't rest, even for just a few days, it will be hard to keep going."
"Therefore, you cannot keep watch alone."
The resolute words echoed within the cave.
Shen Heng silently watched Le Gu Nan; this was a rare sight of him so focused, but...
Shen Heng turned around, took a bite of the pork leg on the knife, and then pondered what Le Gu Nan had said.
He wasn't lying; Le Gu Nan's abilities are indeed not suited for night watch.
Although he took turns keeping watch with others during the training camp simulation, the wilderness was not the same as the simulated city.
In the simulated city, they spend the night hiding in high-rise buildings.
In such places, it is not difficult to observe the Calamity Beast, and as long as they do not make any noise, the Calamity Beast will have a hard time finding them.
Moreover, even if they found it, the simulated Calamity Beast was only at the Third Tier, and there were several of them at that time, so they weren't afraid at all.
But now, we are in the real mountains and fields.
Although ordinary people can also keep watch at night.
However, without the ability, it is very difficult to observe the Calamity Beast in the distance.
All they can do is notify you to wake up in time when the Calamity Beast appears nearby.
While this approach isn't entirely unacceptable, perhaps due to the limitations of using one's abilities for too long, Shen Heng prefers to keep things under his control.
Instead of waking up to be told that a Calamity Beast is 20 or 30 meters away and you should prepare for battle.
"How about this?" a gentle voice asked.
Shen Heng looked up and heard Le Gu Nan make a suggestion.
"You take the first half of the night watch, and for a longer period, while I take the second half, for a shorter period, so that we can include the time around dawn."
"During that period, although it wasn't very bright yet, there was already some light, so it wasn't very dangerous."
After thinking for a moment, Shen Heng slowly nodded.
"Okay, I'll stay until 5 a. m., and then you'll stay for the rest of the time."
"Five o'clock...?"
Le Gu Nan quickly recalled the knowledge he had learned, then looked at Shen Heng.
"It's December now, and at this time of day, it should be dawn in Longzhou around eight o'clock."
"So, does that mean I only need to keep watch from 5 a. m. to 8 a. m.?"
"Hmm." Shen Heng nodded.
"Two or three hours?" Le Gu Nan turned to look at Shen Heng. "Is that enough?"
"That's enough. I don't usually sleep much longer than this," Shen Heng said in a deep voice.
Le Gu Nan looked at Shen Heng, pondered for a while, and finally nodded slowly.
After they finished eating, the two practiced their cultivation for a while longer.
Then, perhaps sensing that it was about time, Le Gu Nan stood up.
After searching the cave for a moment, he walked to a wall and sat down.
She leaned against the wall, wrapped her arms around her curled-up legs, and gently rested her head on her knees.
Shen Heng glanced at Le Gu Nan, and seeing that the other looked like he was about to fall asleep, he said:
"You can go out and, with your abilities, simply make a wooden plank bed for resting."
Upon hearing this, Le Gu Nan raised his head and looked directly at Shen Heng.
After staring at each other for a while, neither of them spoke.
"What's wrong?" Shen Heng asked, looking at Le Gu Nan.
"I don't have a princess complex," Le Gu Nan said earnestly, enunciating each word clearly.
Shen Heng was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said:
"I didn't say you have princess syndrome, it's just that the human body is more comfortable sleeping in a relaxed state."
"If there weren't the conditions, that would be fine, but since there are, there's no need to deliberately make things difficult for yourself."
"Of course, if you're looking for this opportunity to improve yourself, I have no objection."
"However, when you're on night watch later, I'll need you to get me a bed."
Upon hearing this, Le Gu Nan's cheeks flushed slightly pink.
She didn't reply, but silently stood up and walked out.
A moment later, he came back dragging a log.
The silver-gray threads slid into the log through her fingers, and the wood quickly stretched out.
Soon, a square wooden bed appeared in the cave.
Shen Heng glanced at the smooth wooden bed and said:
"You could raise a guardrail on one side, so I can't see you directly, and you'll probably sleep more comfortably."
Le Gu Nan glanced at Shen Heng, pondered for a moment, and slowly shook his head.
"That won't be necessary."
Shen Heng nodded and said nothing more.
Time flows slowly.
Outside the cave, a cold wind blew silently.
Inside the cave, the dim firelight illuminated two figures.
One sat quietly by the fire, while the other slept soundly at the edge of the cave.
Three days later.
The thick soles of my hiking boots touched the ground.
Shen Heng stood on a small slope, raised his long sword, and smashed it against the rocks beside him.
"Clang--"
The sound waves spread out rapidly under Shen Heng's control.
A moment later, accompanied by the echoing sound waves, the surrounding scene rapidly constructed in Shen Heng's mind.
Gravel, weeds, trees, mountainside...
After a while, Shen Heng slowly opened his eyes.
"Did you find it?" Le Gu Nan asked from the side.
"It's not on this mountain!" Shen Heng calmly stated the result.
His gaze swept across the crisscrossing trees ahead, choosing his next direction.
Le Gu Nan stood beside him, nodded gently, and waited quietly.
Over the past three days, she has grown accustomed to this situation: moving forward, waiting, moving forward, waiting...
Perhaps because it was her first time traveling in such a remote area, she didn't feel bored; instead, she still felt a sense of novelty, it's just...
Le Gu Nan gently turned his head, feeling the faint stickiness on his body.
It's a bit uncomfortable not being able to take a shower!
Oh, and also, with Shen Heng leading the way, they basically didn't see any other creatures except when they were hunting and gathering food!
However, these things aren't very important.
Compared to all that, she felt quite comfortable in the forest, free from those complicated interpersonal relationships...
While he was pondering, Shen Heng, who seemed to have chosen a direction, walked in again.
Seeing this, Le Gu Nan quickly interrupted his thoughts and hurried after him.
The two continued on their way.
Time slowly passed until noon.
On a huge rock in the mountains, two figures were sitting and eating lunch.
Shen Heng opened his mouth, tore off a piece from the long-cold roasted meat, and began to chew it in large bites.
At one point, he paused in his speech and looked in one direction.
Noticing Shen Heng's unusual behavior, Le Gu Nan looked over with some confusion.
"What's wrong?"