When the meal was finished, they cleared away the containers with practiced efficiency. Mo Xing moved to the center of the room, arranging his cushion before settling into a cross-legged position. His eyes closed, and within moments his breathing shifted to the measured rhythm of deep cultivation, a subtle dark aura beginning to form around his silhouette.
Rather than joining him in meditation, Li Hua retrieved the ancient texts she had been studying earlier. The pavilion's warm illumination created perfect reading conditions as she spread several scrolls across the low table, her attention drawn to a particular treatise on spirit beast advancement. Little Firefly had returned to their inner space to continue his cultivation.
