Night falls and with the sun out, the temperature immediately turns colder, forcing the group to put on an extra layer.
"…"
Continuing to move, Long Hua throws his usual fur-hooded black coat on, and looks up at the skies.
In the sun's place is the moon, and different from the outside world—
"Captain, isn't this sight what you've always dreamt of? A gearless sky?"
Towards Long Hua's remark, Ye Chen does find the situation somewhat pleasing, but—
"Now if only this wasn't a sky crafted out of Immortal tech…"
"Should just consider ourselves lucky, how many people out there—can say that they've stood beneath a gearless sky?"
Looking upwards, both Qing Yue and Yu Ji have to agree with Li Xue, while Ye Chen replies—
"Ai, true enough. In any case, I think we've walked enough for today. Let's set up camp the moment we find a suitable location."
Walking a bit further along, the group finds a patch of sand that is flat, and takes out their camping equipment from the storage pouch.
There isn't much to say—in regards to how the area near them looked like, but a few meters in front of them, there is a hill of sand that looks climbable.
With the tents and fire setup, the group sits down together to eat.
While eating, Ye Chen asks—
"So, who's up for night watch duty?"
Other than Long Hua, everyone else is as tired as they could be.
However, keeping an eye out for any abrupt changes to the situation, or hidden dangers is still necessary, especially so since this environment is completely foreign to them.
Shrugging his shoulders, Long Hua replies—
"I'm fine with being the first one up."
"You and me like last time then."
As soon as they are done eating, Li Xue, Yu Ji, and Qing Yue head off into the tents to sleep.
Due to how hectic the events—that occurred during the daytime were, none of them had any trouble falling asleep quickly.
"…"
"…"
Other than the sound of the firewood cracking under the heat, there was no other sound to be heard.
Time passes slowly in this manner, and eventually—
"…Why does it seem like our office always gets shafted when there's a task up?"
Deciding to finally speak, Long Hua chooses this topic, to which, Ye Chen replies—
"Hell if I know… Also, surnamed Long, I feel like I'm finally starting to see the genuine you."
"Hmm. What do you mean by that, surnamed Ye?"
Taking out his fishing rod, and extending it fully, Long Hua examines the tool with narrowed eyes.
Prior to this trip, he had used the Divine Weapon of Tai Xuan to modify it, so despite it having the appearance of a fishing rod, it is nevertheless a magic treasure of the Qi Condensation realm. And as it is a magic treasure, another unique feature of it—is its line, which can be extended endlessly, so long as it is provided with spirit Qi.
(If push comes to shove, this fishing rod can act as a sword.)
Just as Long Hua had thought of this, Ye Chen finished getting his thoughts in order, and says—
"I've been trying to figure out what sort of people, the three—that I'm in charge of, are. Qing Yue and Yu Ji, I've mostly figured out. But you… You're still a bit of a mystery."
Raising an eye, Long Hua asks—
"What do you think of Qing Yue and Yu Ji then?"
"Qing Yue might seem unreliable at first glance, but she's got a sharper head on her shoulders than she lets on. During our retreat, she was the first to think of providing us with a means of getting away faster without being told. I think she's been holding back. As for Yu Ji, I feel like he's a bit naïve, despite him being an assassin. If there's money to be made, he'd be the first to jump at it—for the sake of his little sister, which makes him seem… Too easy to manipulate, I suppose?"
"I see."
Towards Long Hua's reaction that seems rather dispassionate, Ye Chen raises an eye, and changes the topic by asking—
"So, surnamed Long, why did you bring a fishing rod—of all things?"
"My doctor said my Hazard Level's abrupt increase was unnerving, so I decided to not use my Relic unless it's absolutely necessary."
With how unusual this "Relic" is, Long Hua isn't keen on relying on it.
"Uh? Wasn't yours only 200 last time?"
"…A certain incident occurred when I was on a job for my Guild. Let's just say, that job required me to get extra serious."
To make this lie seem more convincing, Long Hua narrows his eyes greatly, making it seem as if he's scheming to kill a hateful enemy—the moment he meets them again.
(A certain incident… Was it during that time when he asked for a day off?)
Under ordinary circumstances, Ye Chen would think to ask for an official doctor's report; however, with how rocky the issue of trust already is, he doesn't wish to risk it.
Shrugging a shoulder, Ye Chen asks—
"…Since you don't trust your back to anyone, I'm assuming you got a pouch hidden away somewhere?"
Raising a light chuckle, Long Hua takes out his personal storage pouch, and dangles it around, while replying—
"Nabbed it off someone else."
"Sticky hands as they say."
Collapsing the fishing rod, and storing it away, Long Hua is just about to grab the calabash for a drink, however—
"...…Surnamed Ye, was that hill…? Always that tall?"
"…"
Looking at the same hill, Ye Chen slowly rises to a stand.
Before, the hill looked scalable, but now—