The second memory was from five days ago, when the original owner had been searching for food outside the city. Beneath a large tree, she’d spotted a man in white robes sitting in meditation. Captivated by his appearance, she’d been instantly struck by his beauty, and in a fit of foolish infatuation, had stared at him for a long time.
Disturbed by her gaze, the man had opened his eyes, given her a cold look, risen, and flown away.
“So it’s you! How many days has it been, and you still haven’t left this place? Tsk, and you’re injured too. It wasn’t that man in black who hurt you, was it? I wonder if he’ll come chasing after us… If he does, I’m not getting involved.”
Handsome as he was—and though he’d indirectly saved her life today—her own life mattered more, didn’t it?
After all, good looks are precious, but life is even more valuable.
Muttering to herself, she dragged him with great effort onto the open ground, finally managing to pull him up.
Seeing that he was still bleeding, she smiled somewhat lecherously. “Handsome, you’re wounded. Let me take a look at your injuries—I’m not trying to take advantage of you, okay?”
With that, she reached out and undid his clothes.
Whoa—he actually had eight-pack abs!
Her eyes sparkled, and before her brain could catch up, her little hand was already touching those abs. “The feel is really nice, but this wound of yours is a bit of an eyesore!” After copping a feel, she examined the injury. “Pretty deep too. Lucky you ran into me—if not, you’d have either drowned or bled to death.”
She rummaged through her basket and found the leftover hemostatic medicine she’d prepared, chewed it into a paste in her mouth, and applied it to his wound.
This medicine was made from herbs the original owner had dug up. Worried she might encounter danger and bleed in the future, she’d gathered more and stored them in her basket.
The herb’s clotting effect was decent—after applying it that morning, the bleeding from her head had stopped. But his wound was different; even with the herb, the bleeding didn’t fully stop, only slowed.
You Yu stared at the ancient-looking ring on his hand, guessing it was likely the spatial ring mentioned in the book. There must be good stuff inside, but unfortunately, only its owner could use it.
“I’ve done everything I can. Whether you live or die is up to you now.” You Yu gave his abs one last reluctant glance, draped his clothes back over him, and went off to gather firewood for a campfire.
…
When Huangfu Yuan woke from his coma, the first thing he smelled was a rich, savory aroma.
He was still alive?
—Your life force is too faint, barely there at all. Whether you encounter it or not depends on your luck.
The man had said that if he didn’t find it, he would die.
But whether his life force existed or not—even that man couldn’t calculate it.
His death tribulation… had he passed it?
“Yo, you’re awake? I thought you weren’t going to make it.”
The voice by his ear caught him off guard, and he instinctively turned his head to look.
A girl as thin as a bean sprout held a freshly roasted wild chicken in her hands. Her eyes, reflecting the firelight, sparkled brightly as she looked at him—admiring, yet pure.
Though the bloody gash on her head was a bit of an eyesore.
Was this the little girl he’d seen under the tree that day?
No. Those eyes—this was not the same person.
He sat up, his voice weak. “You saved me?”
“If you mean pulling you out of the pond and putting some clotting herbs on you, then yes, that was me,” You Yu said. “But those herbs didn’t do much for your wound—your bleeding never stopped.”
Huangfu Yuan touched the wound on his abdomen, looked down at the crushed herbs, and frowned deeply. Glancing at the dirt staining his white robes, he took out a bottle of medicinal pills from his spatial ring, popped one into his mouth, then walked behind a large tree.
When he emerged, he was no longer the disheveled mess from before—he had regained his usual cold, aloof bearing.
You Yu watched and couldn’t help murmuring in admiration: “Tsk, easy on the eyes!”
Huangfu Yuan’s gaze flickered. He returned, took out a chair, and sat down. “You saved me. What reward do you want?”
You Yu’s eyes instantly brightened even more. “You’re a Xiuxian cultivator, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then give me ten thousand Lingshi.” Judging by the quality of his clothes, You Yu figured he probably wasn’t short on money.
Huangfu Yuan produced a storage bag and tossed it to her. She caught it and tried to open it to see what Lingshi looked like, only to find she couldn’t open it at all.
“You haven’t cultivated, so you can’t open a storage bag,” Huangfu Yuan explained for her.
You Yu shot him a look: Then why give it to me if I can’t open it?
Her questioning gaze was too obvious for him to ignore. He explained, “Ten thousand Lingshi—your basket couldn’t hold even one percent of them. How would you carry them?”
“Fair point. I’ll look at it once I can cultivate.” You Yu tucked the storage bag away and held out the roasted chicken to him. “Want some?”
Huangfu Yuan looked at the charred black skin of the chicken and frowned slightly.
“No need. I’ve already achieved Bigu.”
“Oh. Then I’ll just eat it myself.” You Yu was confident in her grilling skills. Even though the seasonings were lacking, the taste was still quite good.
This chicken had been found when she went to collect firewood—it had flown straight into a tree in front of her and killed itself.
Pick it up or not?
For meat that delivered itself to her doorstep, hesitating even a single second would be an insult to this chicken’s spirit of self-sacrifice!
She’d only eaten some fruit today, and her stomach had long been growling. She didn’t stop until she’d eaten half the chicken.
Huangfu Yuan watched her eat, a hint of confusion concealed in his eyes.
“I am Huangfu Yuan. What is your name?”
“My name is You Yu.”
Squid?
The edible kind?
“It’s You Yu—You from Chi You, and Yu from rainy day.”
You Yu felt helpless. Who was to blame that her orphanage director and this author shared the same taste in names?
Huangfu Yuan lowered his gaze. That wasn’t important.
“Why are you in the deep mountains? You’re an ordinary person—aren’t you afraid of the wild beasts?”
“I’m heading to Mo Cheng to participate in the Linggen tests held by the major sects.”
“I recall the tests are being held in Jingzhou today. It’s quite close from here.”
“That’s exactly why I missed it. I can only go for the next round. I heard there’s another one in Mo Cheng in ten days.”
“That’s true, but for an ordinary person, it takes at least half a month to get from here to Mo Cheng. If you plan to cross the mountain range, the tests will likely be over before you even arrive.”
You Yu froze. “That far?”
“Mm.”
“Then I won’t make it in time!” You Yu cried out, feeling that the roasted chicken in her hand had lost its appeal.
“I can take you there, as payment for you saving me.”
“Really? Thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome.”
Huangfu Yuan was badly injured. After saying this, he closed his eyes and fell silent.
You Yu didn’t disturb him. After finishing the roasted chicken, she went to the pool’s edge to soak her feet.
Anyway, the water had been contaminated by him, so it wasn’t drinkable anymore.
Blisters had formed on her feet from walking, and the pool water was ice-cold—perfect for soaking them.
While soaking her feet, she recalled the contents of the book, confirming that neither the male lead nor the supporting male characters were named Huangfu Yuan. So he shouldn’t be one of the female lead’s fish in the pond.
Good thing he wasn’t—otherwise, it would be a waste of such a handsome face.
Moreover, the name had never been mentioned in the entire story. He probably wasn’t from any major sect either—likely a Sanxiu.
She’d heard that Sanxiu generally didn’t have very high Xiuwei, because they had few resources and found it difficult to advance.
Such a handsome Sanxiu—what a pity.