Seeing Xuan Mo completely unconscious, Shu Ning couldn’t worry about anything else.
She immediately used Instant Teleportation [2] to take him back to her cave.
After gently placing Xuan Mo on her bed, she quickly used Instant Teleportation [3] to fetch some river water.
She carefully removed his beast-hide tunic, which had been whipped to shreds, only to find that parts of the hide had fused with his flesh and blood.
She looked at his gory wounds, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down.
Still, her hands trembled slightly as she cleaned them.
Then, she quickly used Instant Teleportation [4] to retrieve some medicinal herbs from the place she’d gathered them before and crushed them into a pulp.
After applying the herbal poultice, she bandaged his wounds with a clean piece of beast hide.
Her nerves were stretched taut the entire time; she didn’t dare relax for even a moment.
Once his wounds were treated, she gently covered him with a blanket.
Just as Shu Ning was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she noticed his face was pale, his lips were chapped, and cold sweat was constantly beading on his forehead.
She reached out and touched his forehead.
“You’re burning up,” Shu Ning said with a frown.
After placing a damp piece of fur on his forehead, she opened her encyclopedia to search for the nearest fever-reducing herb that could be eaten raw.
‘Thankfully, it isn’t very far.
But it’s in a place I’ve never been, so I’ll have to go out and search.’
Shu Ning didn’t dare to delay and immediately rushed toward the herb’s location.
Even though she was exhausted, she didn’t stop to rest.
After gathering the herb, she used her last Instant Teleportation [5] of the day to return to the cave.
By now, the sun was about to set.
Shu Ning stared at the herb in front of her, facing a dilemma.
‘It can be eaten raw, but he’s unconscious right now…’
‘Should I…
feed it to him…
mouth-to-mouth?’
She looked at Xuan Mo, still feverish and deathly pale…
‘To hell with it!’
Shu Ning put the herb in her mouth and began to chew.
Then, she leaned down, gently opened his mouth, and fed the masticated herb to him…
‘I’m sorry, Xuan Mo!’
Shu Ning kept her eyes squeezed shut.
After feeding Xuan Mo the medicine, her face felt scorching hot, a deep blush spreading all the way to her ears.
After all that, Shu Ning’s taut nerves finally eased a little, but she still didn’t dare to rest.
The herb wouldn’t take effect that quickly.
Xuan Mo’s body was still burning hot, though he was no longer sweating as profusely as before.
Shu Ning continued to apply the damp piece of fur to his forehead.
‘I hope his fever breaks soon.’
…
“Cold…
so cold…”
“What?” Shu Ning, her expression weary, looked at the still-unconscious man, unable to make out what he was saying.
“Cold…”
“Cold?
Okay, okay, just hold on a second.”
After hearing his words clearly, Shu Ning looked around the cave for another fur blanket, but she had thrown nearly everything out before.
There was nothing to be found.
“So cold…
so cold…”
The man continued to murmur about being cold.
With no other choice, Shu Ning climbed onto the bed, lay down, and held him.
“So cold…” the man murmured again.
Shu Ning could only hold him tighter.
The man stopped murmuring about the cold, and the deep crease between his brows finally relaxed.
Only then did Shu Ning relax a little.
But by this point, she was utterly exhausted and fell asleep before she knew it.
「The next morning.」
Xuan Mo opened his eyes.
He stared at the unfamiliar cave ceiling, and his sharp instincts made him try to sit up at once, but a wave of pain wracked his body, preventing him from moving.
It was only then that he noticed Shu Ning, sleeping soundly on her side next to him.
She slept peacefully, her long, thick eyelashes casting shadows beneath her closed eyes.
Her even breaths rose and fell, and everything about her seemed to say how exhausted she had been the night before.
‘Could it really have been her…’
Yesterday, on the Sacrificial Altar, he had vaguely seen a large figure repeatedly calling his name.
‘She was the one who saved me.’
‘But why would she save me?’
‘This wasn’t her style at all.’
‘The old her was arrogant and unreasonable, someone who only knew how to bully others.’
‘Knowing he wouldn’t fight back when struck or talk back when cursed, she especially loved to single him out for torment from among her three Beast Husbands.’
‘Usually, though, he just stayed far away from her, making sure she couldn’t find him.’
‘And now, she had actually clashed with the Wolf Clan Beastmen just to save him.’
Her hand was resting on his chest, making it a little difficult to breathe.
Just as he was about to move it, Shu Ning woke up.
“You’re awake?” Shu Ning said excitedly when she saw that he was conscious.
Realizing she was lying beside him, Shu Ning scrambled to get up.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
When the man didn’t say anything, Shu Ning explained, “You had a fever yesterday.
You were burning up one minute and freezing the next, and I didn’t have any extra blankets, so…”
“It’s fine,” Xuan Mo said weakly, his thin lips barely parting.
“About yesterday…
thank you.”
“Don’t mention it, really,” Shu Ning said with a small smile.
“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
“No.”
“That’s good.
But don’t move around too much today.
You have too many wounds,” Shu Ning advised.
“If you don’t mind, you can stay here for now,” Shu Ning said, getting up and straightening her clothes.
“Just lie down and rest.
Are you hungry?
I’ll go get you something to eat.” She saw him weakly trying to sit up and gently pushed him back down.
“I…”
“You must be hungry.
Just lie here and wait for me to get back.” Not giving him a chance to refuse, Shu Ning turned and left the cave.
Xuan Mo watched Shu Ning’s retreating figure, and a warm feeling spread through his chest.
‘It seems she really has changed.’
…
Shu Ning was now wandering through the forest.
‘Where can I find some prey?’ she wondered.
This was her first time hunting by herself.
‘I’ve got it!
I’ll catch some fish!’
Shu Ning used Instant Teleportation to get to the riverbank.
Spotting a fat fish in the water, she blinked into the river, caught it, and then blinked back to the bank.
She started a fire at the mouth of the cave and began to roast the fish.
Xuan Mo frowned as the smell of smoke reached him.
He had only ever smelled that odor when the forest was on fire.
A sense of foreboding filled his mind.
‘This is bad!’
After struggling to his feet, he was just about to get off the bed when he heard Shu Ning’s voice—
“The roasted fish is ready!”
Shu Ning happily brought the cooked fish inside.
“Why are you up?
Lie back down, quickly.” Shu Ning hurried over to him.
“What’s happening outside?” Xuan Mo asked, his voice weak but urgent.
“Outside?
Nothing’s happening outside,” Shu Ning replied, confused.
Suddenly, she remembered the fire and explained, “It’s nothing, I was just roasting fish outside.”
Xuan Mo looked at Shu Ning in confusion.
“Roasted fish?”
“That’s right.
I was using fire to cook it.
Here, try my roasted fish.” Shu Ning held out one of the fish to him.
Xuan Mo’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Try it,” Shu Ning said, looking at him expectantly.
Xuan Mo looked at Shu Ning, then at the skewered, roasted fish in her hand, and took it.
“Be careful, it’s hot.” With that, she sat on the edge of the bed and started eating the other fish.
“Mm, it’s not bad,” Xuan Mo said with approval as he ate the fish, which had been prepared in a way he’d never experienced before.
“If you like it, eat up!” Shu Ning said, satisfied.
“How did you make this?” Xuan Mo asked.
He had only ever eaten raw fish, which was fresh and delicious.
But cooked this way, the meat was crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, a unique experience.
“I roasted it with fire!” Shu Ning said proudly.
“Fire?” Xuan Mo looked at her, uncomprehending.
“Mhm.
I’ll show you when you’re better.
For now, you just need to rest,” Shu Ning said, looking worriedly at the weakened man.
She had already put out the fire outside before coming back in.
Xuan Mo didn’t respond.
He still hadn’t grown accustomed to this drastic change in her.
He simply lowered his head and continued eating the roasted fish in his hands.
‘If only I had salt,’ Shu Ning lamented inwardly once again.
‘I meant to look for some last time, but I forgot.’
‘Oh, right.
Xuan Mo…’
Shu Ning looked at his lips, which were so dry they were peeling.
‘But I don’t have anything to carry water in.’
After finishing her fish, Shu Ning decided to make a bowl.
Walking to the entrance of the cave, Shu Ning picked up a chainsaw and sawed off a piece of wood.
She then used Jintong’s Big Bone Knife to hack it into a rough shape before carving it with Yiyuan’s smaller Bone Knife.
Meanwhile, Xuan Mo sat up on the bed and observed his surroundings.
‘It’s much cleaner in here than before, and that awful smell is gone.’
‘And this door at the entrance…
did she make it herself?’
‘This female…
she’s become a stranger lately.
And yet, he found he much preferred her this way.’
As Xuan Mo’s thoughts drifted, he felt an inexplicable sense of comfort in this place and slowly drifted back to sleep…