Their days were so full of decisions and conversation that quiet moments had become a kind of luxury. Yan Cijin could sit beside Bai Li without needing to entertain her. Bai Li could rest her hand on Yan Cijin's knee and read a page from a book without worrying that the other woman would mistake the silence for indifference. They were close enough that affection did not need to announce itself every moment.
Still, the bell had left questions between them.
Yan Cijin set her cup down. "The vision felt different from ordinary spiritual perception."
Bai Li turned toward her. "How so?"
"It was too clear to be a simple illusion. I could see details in the gate, even the lines carved along its frame. But there was no sense of traveling or leaving the sanctuary. It was more like the image had been placed in my mind, except that I know you saw it too."
"I saw the same gate. I could not identify the stars. They were arranged in a pattern I do not remember seeing in any chart."
