“Hmm…”
Su Jinxue woke up again.
This time, she was woken up by hunger.
To be precise, she was enticed awake by the aroma of roasted meat.
She hadn't smelled meat in three days.
In the snowy depths of winter, those few fruits and snow water could only keep her from dying temporarily.
Being full was impossible.
After three days, she was so hungry her stomach was practically touching her back.
If she hadn't felt like she was about to starve to death, she wouldn't have risked her life fighting the old wolf.
The pain in her body had lessened somewhat, but waves of weakness still made it difficult for her to even turn her head.
She looked in the direction from which the aroma was wafting.
The strange Sword Cultivator had somehow caught a small wild boar and was rotating it on a wooden stick over the fire.
The bonfire licked at the thick boar hide, sizzling with grease.
As the Sword Cultivator turned his wrist, translucent droplets of oil fell into the fire, bursting into sparks in the heart of the flames.
Every falling drop of grease stirred up a rich, smoky aroma.
Su Jinxue’s throat unconsciously bobbed.
Gurgle gurgle~~
The scent of the meat made her stomach cramp.
In a daze,
she saw the aromas take shape, transforming into countless threads that pulled her body, making her crawl towards the roasting rack.
“Hm? You’re awake?”
Zhu Yu’s voice called her back to her senses.
Hmm…
What… what am I doing…?
Realizing her Gaffe.
Su Jinxue’s willpower was so strong that it suppressed her survival instinct.
The little girl who had been drooling just moments ago hugged her broken sword and sat back in the corner.
Her wary gaze remained.
This time, there was also a hint of disdain.
“Bad… bad person!”
He actually forcibly restrained her and hit her butt!
Even her parents had never hit her like that!
Zhu Yu chuckled:
“You little girl, you can’t tell right from wrong. I saved your life, and you turn around and scold me?”
Su Jinxue grunted, not answering.
Her eyes, however, were very honest, occasionally glancing at the roasted wild boar.
She was truly starving.
“I am magnanimous; I won’t bother arguing with you.” Zhu Yu tore off a roasted rib, its hot juices overflowing. “Eat, it’s better to be a well-fed ghost than a starving soul.”
With the meat offered before her, Su Jinxue instead looked away.
She would rather starve to death!
Die outside!
Than eat a single bite of that hooligan’s food!
Grumble~
Her stomach rumbled loudly.
Gulp~
The saliva she secreted also wouldn’t stop.
But Su Jinxue still persisted.
She had already lost her family.
If she lost her self-respect too, then she would truly have nothing left.
Hmm… right!
Didn’t I fight a wolf?
I can still eat wolf meat!
The wolf was lying calmly in the cave, its hide already removed.
Clearly, the Sword Cultivator had done it.
Su Jinxue had no mind to bother with such trivial matters.
Anyway, wolf hide wasn't edible.
Exerting all her strength to resist the temptation of the roasted rib,
she held her sword upside down, using the broken blade as support, and stumbled towards the old wolf.
Zhu Yu raised an eyebrow, curious to see what this stubborn girl would do.
Swish—
The broken sword struck at the wolf’s leg, but was bounced off by the leg bone due to insufficient force.
Su Jinxue’s face paled further.
The sword hilt vibrated, numbing her tiger’s mouth.
Having not eaten for three days, her arms felt like they were filled with lead; each swing required her to lean against the rock wall to catch her breath.
Zhu Yu propped his chin, watching the scene like a show, and took a bite of the rib he had torn off.
After only a couple of chews, his brows furrowed even tighter than before.
Without the marinating step and lacking seasonings,
the all-natural roasted wild boar meat was truly not good.
Compared to this, Xuan Ying’s wolfberry chicken soup was much more delicious.
He put down the rib and turned his gaze back to Su Jinxue.
“There’s a tendon in the wolf’s hind leg; cutting diagonally along the muscle grain will be easier.”
The little girl ignored him, stubbornly changing her angle to hack.
This time, the broken sword got stuck in a bone joint.
When she pulled the sword out, she stumbled, her lower back hitting a protruding rock.
Cold sweat trickled down her neck and into her collar, but she swallowed the cry of pain back into her throat.
Fortunately, her left arm wasn't hit.
If the wound opened up again, his robe would have to be turned into short sleeves.
Zhu Yu clapped his hands and walked forward to support Su Jinxue, who couldn't straighten her back:
“Don’t torment yourself.”
“Seeing you wandering alone in these deep mountains at such a young age, did something happen to your family?”
“When you were unconscious just now, you kept calling for your parents.”
“In today’s world, demons run rampant…”
“I guess your hometown was also ravaged by demons, and your parents fought to their deaths to stop the demons, allowing you to escape with your life.”
“Am I right?”
Su Jinxue’s body trembled, and she lowered her head, not speaking.
But tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes.
After all, she was still a child.
Zhu Yu squatted down, his gaze level with hers:
“By not cherishing yourself like this, are you being fair to your parents?”
A seemingly light sentence, yet it felt like a heavy hammer striking Su Jinxue’s heart.
The tears could no longer be stopped.
Tear drops, as large as beans, fell patter-patter.
Su Jinxue sniffled, trying hard to hold back her tears.
She turned her face away, not wanting him to see her crying.
—Don’t cry.
—Don’t let outsiders see your weakness.
Xue'er remembered her parents' teachings…
But the tears still fell uncontrollably.
They hit the cold ground, spreading into a small, dark stain.
“You’re all tear-stained like a little calico cat.”
Zhu Yu shook his sleeve and wiped her face.
Perhaps his words just now had an effect, for this time Su Jinxue only gently turned her face away.
Zhu Yu sighed.
With a gentle flick of his finger,
the golden-brown roasted rib floated in front of Su Jinxue, hovering within her reach.
The aroma of the meat juices wafted into her nostrils, and her stomach protested again with a rumble.
“Eat,” his voice softened slightly, “Only when you’re full will you have the strength to seek revenge.”
Su Jinxue’s shoulders trembled slightly, and she finally slowly reached out and grabbed the rib.
She lowered her head, staring at the meat, as if debating whether to put it into her mouth.
After all, she had sworn not long ago not to eat anything from Zhu Yu.
“Think of your parents; consider it for their sake.”
Zhu Yu’s words broke her resolve.
Su Jinxue bit fiercely into the rib, tears dripping onto the pork.
She ate while crying.
For some reason, Zhu Yu felt very much like a tasteless villain.
Saying lines like a villain threatening someone, using her parents to force her to eat.
But then he thought, I’m doing this for her own good!
So I’m still a good person.
Su Jinxue bit into the meat in large mouthfuls.
The meat juices burst in her mouth.
The rich aroma instantly overwhelmed all her senses.
She ate extremely fast, wolfing it down, gnawing even the scraps of meat off the bones until they were clean.
Zhu Yu watched her quietly until she finished every last bit of meat, then he spoke:
“Want more?”
She didn't speak, but her eyes had already given the answer.
Zhu Yu smiled and tore off another piece of meat for her:
“Eat, it’s all yours.”
Su Jinxue took the meat, eating a bit slower this time.
When she finally ate her fill and let out a satisfied sigh, she looked at Zhu Yu with a hoarse voice, embarrassed:
“I… thank… thank you…”
Zhu Yu teased:
“Oh, so you little girl can say thank you?”
Su Jinxue glared at him indignantly, but this time, there was less hostility in her eyes and more of a complex emotion.
She stammered:
“You… why… why…”
“Why did I save you?” Zhu Yu finished her sentence.
“Mm!”
Su Jinxue nodded heavily, looking him straight in the eye.
Everyone in the world has something they seek.
Su Jinxue didn’t believe Zhu Yu had saved her purely out of kindness.
If Great Gan truly still had such selfless cultivators, then it wouldn’t have perished.
Nor would it have allowed demons to wreak havoc among humans.