As night deepened, the campfire crackled and emitted a small halo of light around it.

Several hikers were already asleep wrapped in emergency blankets, their breathing even and steady.

The mountains and forests were filled only with the chirping of various unknown insects and the occasional hooting of owls from afar, making them seem exceptionally quiet.

Zhang Shaozhong sat by the fire, hugging his knees, on duty for the first night shift.

He was actually exhausted, his eyelids were drooping, but he didn't dare to sleep.

On one hand, it was out of a sense of responsibility; on the other hand... he was genuinely worried about these two "time bombs" around him.

Although Ling Qingxue and Ye Meier also lay down, neither of them were asleep.

The two were eight feet apart, each with their backs to the other, wrapped in the thin emergency blanket, their bodies taut, as if they might spring up at any moment and strike each other.

As time passed, perhaps it was the quiet of the night that made people lower their guard, or perhaps it was the extreme fatigue of the day that left them with no energy to maintain that sharp hostility; the tension in the air seemed to have subsided slightly.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the coolness of the deep mountains.

Achoo!

Ye Meier couldn't help but sneeze slightly. She instinctively pulled the emergency blanket tighter around herself, muttering under her breath.

"What a piece of junk! It doesn't keep you warm at all... Mortal stuff is just so cheap..."

Ling Qingxue on the other side also seemed to shiver slightly from the cold, but she didn't say anything and just silently endured it.

Zhang Shaozhong felt a little reluctant, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke softly:

"Um... how about you move closer to the fire? It'll be warmer that way."

Neither of the two big shots moved or responded, as if they hadn't heard.

After a moment of silence, Ye Meier suddenly turned over, facing the fire, and looked at the leaping flames, asking a seemingly random question:

"Hey kid, is it always this dark and quiet at night in your later generations?"

Not even the sound of a night watchman's clapper?

Zhang Shaozhong was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening:

"Night watchman? That's ancient history, from hundreds of years ago!"

It's very bright at night now; the city is full of lights, called...streetlights!

There were also neon lights, all sorts of colors, making it almost as bright at night as during the day! It was bustling with activity!

Although Ling Qingxue did not turn around, she seemed to be listening attentively.

"A lamp? Like this bonfire?"

Night Enchantress looked at the campfire with a puzzled expression.

"It's much brighter and cleaner than this! And it uses electricity!"

Zhang Shaozhong explained.

"And there are plenty of ways to pass the time at night, like... watching TV? Uh, it's a kind of TV box that lets you see all sorts of pictures and sounds, or going out to play, having a late-night snack..."

"TV? Set-top box? Late-night snack?"

Ling Qingxue finally couldn't help but repeat it in a low voice, her tone filled with incomprehension.

"Mortals don't meditate peacefully at night, so why is it so noisy and exhausting?"

"Meditation?"

Zhang Shaozhong scratched his head.

"We ordinary people rarely meditate, at most... we do yoga? Or go for a run?"

"I work during the day... well, just work, it's exhausting, so at night I just want to relax."

"Mediocre and vulgar, indulging in pleasure, no wonder his spiritual energy has depleted to this extent."

Ling Qingxue commented lightly, with a hint of barely perceptible, superior regret.

Night Enchantress, however, became somewhat interested:

"Oh? Enjoyment? What kind of enjoyment is it? Compared to... um... listening to music and watching dance?"

She seemed to want to compare it to the Heavenly Demon Dance of the Demonic Cult, but stopped herself in time.

"There are so many!"

Seeing that they seemed somewhat interested, Zhang Shaozhong perked up and began gesturing in a low voice.

"There are movie theaters! It's like watching a super big screen in a dark room, it looks so real! There are karaoke rooms! You just hold up... uh, something like a megaphone and sing!"

There are also all sorts of delicious food, such as hot pot, barbecue, and crayfish...

He rambled on and on, and the two big shots seemed to understand only a little, but the words "delicious" seemed to touch them.

Ye Meier rubbed her slightly hungry stomach and pouted:

"They talked a good game, but in the end they just fed us those pig-swill-like flatbreads?"

Ling Qingxue didn't speak, but seemed to swallow slightly.

Zhang Shaozhong:

"...That's because the conditions are limited! Once we get down the mountain, I'll show you around!"

Another silence followed.

Watching the leaping flames and feeling this brief and eerie "peace," Zhang Shaozhong's suicidal curiosity resurfaced.

After much hesitation, he cautiously opened his mouth, trying to find out some "insider information".

"Um...you two...big shots?"

He carefully considered his words.

"You guys... what... um... what was it about that... that caused you to fight? And why did you chase me all the way to these deep mountains?"

He tried to make his tone sound like pure curiosity rather than inquiring.

The moment the words left his mouth, the atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point!

The slight sign of improvement just now has vanished without a trace!

Ling Qingxue whirled around, her profile, softened by the firelight, instantly turning frosty. Her eyes, sharp as knives, pierced Zhang Shaozhong, her voice icy and chilling:

"What's it to you? Ask one more question and I'll cut out your tongue!" (Although I can't do it right now, the tone is still very forceful.)

Ye Meier's eyes also sharpened, and she looked over with murderous intent:

"Kid, too much curiosity will kill you! Don't ask questions you shouldn't! If you keep asking around, I'll gouge your eyes out and soak them in wine!" (Again, this is just wishful thinking for now.)

Zhang Shaozhong shrank back in fright and quickly waved his hands:

"I didn't ask! I was just saying it offhand! Please calm down! Please calm down!"

He wanted to slap himself twice; he really knew how to rub salt in the wound!

Silence fell again around the campfire, broken only by the sound of the flames burning.

Ling Qingxue turned her back again, leaving only a cold and hard silhouette.

Night Enchantress snorted, lay back down, and covered her head with the emergency blanket.

Well, the slightest sign of improvement has been nipped in the bud by my own hand.

Zhang Shaozhong was filled with remorse and dared not speak carelessly again.

He listlessly added firewood, watching the flickering flames, his thoughts drifting far away.

These two women came from a world he could never have imagined, possessing powers he could only see in novels, yet they ended up in this predicament because of some inexplicable deep-seated hatred, and were bound together by an even more bizarre contract, along with himself, the unlucky guy...

This relationship is truly tangled and impossible to unravel.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but just as Zhang Shaozhong's eyelids were drooping wildly, he suddenly heard a very faint sigh, almost drowned out by the chirping of insects.

It sounded like it came from Ling Qingxue.

Immediately following was the faint rustling sound of Ye Meier turning over.

Then, everything fell silent again.

It was as if the sigh and the turning over just now were merely his illusion.

Zhang Shaozhong shook his head, forcing himself to stay focused and no longer letting his mind wander. He concentrated on tending to the campfire that provided warmth and a faint sense of security.

The night is long, and this is only the beginning.