The days before her departure passed in a blur of focused refinement and comfortable silence. Li Hua lost herself in creating pills for her journey, while Mo Xing remained a steady presence beside her. He seemed content just to be there, requiring neither conversation nor attention, the quiet between them broken only by the gentle crackling of spiritual fire and the soft sounds of her work.
What started as potential distraction became something else entirely—a strange sort of intimacy built on shared silence and occasional glances, his unwavering presence as constant as the flames beneath her cauldron. Sometimes hours would pass with neither speaking, yet the space between them felt anything but empty.
