At night, under the bamboo forest's shelter, everything seemed particularly peaceful.
For the first time since entering Ailao Mountain, Lin Yu'an enjoyed a period of high-quality deep sleep.
The warm shelter, ample food, and the campfire that burned all night along with the heat-reflecting wall together created a safe, civilized island, restoring both his physical and mental state.
As the sky was only just hinting at dawn, when the first strands of gray-white morning light struggled to penetrate the dense bamboo canopy and dyed the thin fog into a bewitching silvery gray, Lin Yu'an opened his eyes.
He didn't get up immediately but lay quietly for a few seconds, allowing his senses to fully awaken from sleep.
He listened carefully to the pulse of the forest at dawn—the sound of the distant stream and the morning bird songs.
Everything was normal.
