“Ugh… ugh ah…”
Su Jinxue was woken up by the pain.
The wounds all over her body gnawed at her nerves.
The pain made her body go rigid.
Agonized groans escaped her throat.
Until a warm palm rested on her wrist.
A gentle power flowed through her limbs, dispelling the agonizing pain that tormented her.
It made her let out a soft hum.
Su Jinxue’s eyelids fluttered.
She opened her eyes, and what came into view was a young man with a face as fair as jade.
“You are… mm…”
She instinctively wanted to get up and defend herself—just like a small wildcat full of wariness and hostility towards the outside world.
But this intense reaction aggravated her injuries.
The wounds, which Zhu Yu had bandaged during her unconsciousness, tore open again.
Blood seeped through the bandages.
Su Jinxue cried out in pain, her small body curling into a ball.
Zhu Yu was helpless.
Do I look like a bad person?
When I was teaching in the small town, everyone praised me as the most handsome young man in ten miles around!
“Be careful, your injuries are not light.”
Zhu Yu used one hand to release spiritual energy, alleviating her pain.
With the other hand, he took a cloth strip made from a sleeve and tried to re-bandage her.
However, the little girl was very stubborn.
Before she knew who Zhu Yu was, she refused to accept his kindness.
Su Jinxue endured the pain and retreated backward, biting her pale lower lip, her ice-blue eyes full of vigilance.
It was only because her legs were inconvenient at the moment, otherwise she would have probably turned and run.
“You… who… exactly are you?”
“Just a passing Sword Cultivator.”
Zhu Yu raised his hands and waved them, indicating he had no ill intentions.
“Sword… Cultivator…”
Su Jinxue was stunned for a moment, then eagerly looked around, as if searching for something.
“My… my sword?”
That broken sword was the last thing her parents left her.
She would rather lose an arm than lose the broken sword.
“It’s here.”
Zhu Yu took out the broken sword that was placed beside him.
The blade, which had been stained with mottled blood from not being maintained for many days, had also been wiped clean by him.
Su Jinxue almost “snatched” the broken sword back.
Clutching this only source of comfort to her chest, Su Jinxue finally calmed down and surveyed her surroundings.
She remembered being injured in a fight with an old wolf and finally collapsing in the snow.
Now, however, she was in a warm mountain cave with a fire burning.
Not only that, her body, which had been weak to the point of near death, now had strength.
Her wounds had also been Stop bleeding —though she had torn them open again herself.
Presumably, it was the Sword Cultivator in front of her who had saved her.
But why?
Why did he save her?
In this chaotic world, how many people would save others without reason?
“What do you… want?”
She asked.
The little girl was still young, and her voice sounded very childish, even a bit stuttering.
“I only… only have this broken… broken sword; I can’t… can’t give you anything.”
The little stutterer was quite wary.
“I don’t want your things either.”
Zhu Yu smiled.
“Saving you was just a matter of convenience; don’t take it to heart.”
“Your wound is bleeding again; let me re-dress it.”
Saying that, he reached out to her.
“I can… do it myself…”
Su Jinxue refused his kindness.
Anyone can say nice words; only he knew if he had ulterior motives.
Her parents had told her:
In this world, besides the sword in your hand, you can’t trust anyone!
Su Jinxue didn’t even want his cloth strips; she picked up the broken sword and was about to cut her own tattered, unrecognizable dark-colored outfit.
Zhu Yu frowned.
A burst of energy stopped Su Jinxue’s hand:
“How dirty are your clothes? How dare you use them to bandage a wound?”
“Be careful of filth entering your body; you’ll die a more painful death than being bitten by a wolf.”
“It’s… it’s none of your business…”
Seeing her resolute refusal to cooperate, Zhu Yu was helpless.
But it’s puberty, you know, that’s how it is.
This girl was also at the age to be a bit wild.
Children from ordinary families at this age are often a bit difficult to deal with.
What’s more, she had suffered a great disaster.
Her family all died at the hands of demons, and she herself nearly lost her life.
An adult wouldn’t fare much better.
And the system had already given him a heads-up; his purpose here was to fill her heart with love again!
“Don’t be stubborn.”
Zhu Yu waved his hand, and the energy gently lifted Su Jinxue into his arms.
“I saved your life, not for you to seek death again.”
“Also, I am your savior. I’m not asking you to repay me like a beast of burden, but at least be polite to me.”
Su Jinxue, however, didn’t listen to any of this.
She was like a provoked small beast, desperately twisting her body, even though the seeping blood soaked her clothes.
“Let… let me go…!”
But how could her strength overcome Zhu Yu’s?
Seeing that she couldn’t break free, she simply opened her mouth, baring her canine teeth, and made to bite.
She was even panting.
She was becoming more and more like a wildcat.
“Quiet.”
Zhu Yu didn’t indulge her, slapping her on the backside, and an invisible spiritual energy bound her tightly, sealing her mouth as well.
“If you want to live, don’t move.”
If he let her struggle any longer, she would bleed dry!
“Mmm… mmm mmm mmm…!”
Even though she had lost all strength and means, Su Jinxue still did not yield.
She glared fiercely with her eyes.
If looks could kill, Zhu Yu would have been torn to pieces.
But soon, Su Jinxue gave up.
Not because she was moved by Zhu Yu’s gentleness, but because her severe injuries had not healed, and after waking up, she had been through another ordeal, and the wisp of spiritual energy Zhu Yu had given her could no longer sustain the consumption.
She rolled her eyes and fainted again.
Fainting was good.
Let her mind calm down.
Zhu Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
Amidst the crackling of burning firewood.
The young man untied the blood-stained cloth strips from the little girl’s arm and used clean ones to stop the bleeding.
After bandaging the wound, he saw that her tattered clothes were no longer suitable to wear.
Not only were they torn and old, but they were also covered in bloodstains and dirt.
He needed to get her new clothes.
But where could he get new clothes?
“System?”
No response.
This thing had disappeared after sending him here.
Like it was dead.
There were no people in this desolate mountain wilderness, and he didn’t know the way to go to a human settlement to buy clothes.
Moreover, if he left, Su Jinxue would be unattended.
What if a wild beast snuck into the cave? Wouldn’t that be disastrous?
What should he do?
Zhu Yu pondered for a while, then saw the old wolf on the ground that Su Jinxue had bled dry.
A thought struck him.
Right, isn’t there ready-made wolf fur?
Wouldn’t it be good to sew a wolf fur coat for Su Jinxue?
Zhu Yu knew a few hunters in the small town and had asked them for some hunting and fur tanning techniques in his spare time.
After all, there wasn’t much entertainment in ancient times; he was just idle.
Zhu Yu still remembered the smoke tanning method, which was perfect for these conditions.
As soon as the idea came to him, he put it into action.
Zhu Yu gathered energy into a blade and skillfully peeled off the wolf fur.
This old wolf was quite large, standing as tall as an adult human when on its hind legs.
Fortunately, it had a lame leg and was already near death from cold and starvation.
Otherwise, Su Jinxue would have just been an extra meal for it.
But there are no if-onlys in a wolf’s life.
The fact was Su Jinxue was alive, and it was about to become a wolf fur coat.
Taking the wolf fur, Zhu Yu set up a wooden frame at the mouth of the cave, started another fire, and began to dry the fur.
With him as the boundary.
Outside the cave, a vast snowstorm raged, and winter was fierce.
Inside the cave, a bonfire flickered, creating its own world.
The thin girl lay on the pile of grass he had prepared, breathing steadily.
As Zhu Yu dried the wolf fur, an uninvited guest suddenly entered his senses.
He looked up and saw a wild boar.
Hey, what a coincidence!