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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Xue had a deep wound on his back from a sharp stone, and his lower back was bruised and sore from the impact. One of his legs was limping from a fall. His bones were likely not broken, but his clothes were torn by branches, making him look utterly miserable, far from the graceful demeanor of a young master he usually portrayed.
She couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she helped him find a clean rock to sit on, then reached out to tear at his clothing.
Zhong Xue was quite straightforward, stripping off his clothes so she could clean the wound.
To her surprise, although he didn't appear particularly robust, his muscles were quite solid. However, his back was covered in numerous scars, resembling the markings of a centipede. These were likely left from battles, and compared to those old wounds, this new injury seemed trivial.
Every time she went out, Zhong Xue carried Wound Medicine with her. She grabbed a handful and slathered it on as if she were plastering a wall. He winced in pain and hissed repeatedly.
San Chun found it too noisy and slapped him heavily on the shoulder. "You are Lord Jun; at least maintain some dignity. Do you wail like this on the battlefield when you're injured?"
"Of course not." He stroked his chin, showing no shame and even a hint of pride. "In front of those subordinate generals, I must appear immensely strong to earn their trust, but in front of you, there is no need."
"Why is that?"
He pouted. "Do you think you would like me more just because This Lord can grit his teeth and endure the pain?"
San Chun somewhat agreed; she certainly wouldn't like him for that reason. However, she enjoyed watching his pitiful state and applied another handful of medicine to his wound, satisfied with the sounds he made.
Zhong Xue didn't expect her to be skilled or gentle; she had treated his wounds before and although she had been particularly careful, her technique left much to be desired.
Once she finished applying the medicine, San Chun remembered how Qing used to apply it and had wanted to hear him cry out earlier but had completely forgotten in the moment. Feeling embarrassed to scrape it off and reapply, she could only make do with what she had done.
She tore off a large piece of his clothing to wrap around the wound. With some effort now put into it, it looked somewhat presentable.
After applying the medicine, she helped him sit down on a clean spot to rest for a while.
At this time, it was getting late, and there were many fierce beasts and wolves in the mountains. With their injuries, they couldn't continue their journey; they needed to figure out how to find shelter in the mountains first.
She stood up and looked around, noticing a lake not far away. Where there was water, there would naturally be fish, so they wouldn't have to worry about food. The mountains were full of trees, so gathering some dry branches wouldn't be difficult either. However, given their injuries, neither going into the lake nor chopping wood was feasible as both required physical strength, which they lacked.
She poked Zhong Xue's arm, wanting to discuss what to do with him, but when she turned around, she found that the usually eloquent Chengyang Jun looked as limp as a half-dead fish.
She couldn't help but laugh a little and deliberately teased him, "You look so unenergetic. How will you fend off the wolves and fierce beasts later?"
Zhong Xue closed his eyes to rest and replied faintly, "Aren't you here?"
Did he really think she would save him?
Grinding her teeth, she pressed on, "It hurts a lot when fierce beasts bite."
He weakly retorted, "Haven't you experienced it? You know what it feels like."
San Chun got annoyed, thinking he was cursing her. She angrily kicked his leg and said, "You're the one who will be eaten by the beasts; they'll tear you apart."
Though she said this, if a fierce beast really came, she would suffer too. Struggling to get up, she thought about catching two fish from the lake and gathering some dry branches to start a fire. This place seemed untouched by humans; the fish appeared almost foolish and didn't flee at the sight of people. There were plenty of fish in the lake, and with little effort, she caught two. Using a wooden fork as a grill, she built a fire and began preparing to roast the fish.
Seeing the fire made her feel much more at ease. She skillfully used his dagger to scale and gut the fish before placing them on the fire.
Zhong Xue watched as she misused her precious blade without stopping her, only shaking his head and sighing. The number of times this girl wasted resources was too many; he was too tired to care.
He asked, "When you fell off the cliff, where did you throw my sword? If I can retrieve it, I would give it to her."
San Chun thought for a moment and decided that since it wasn't dark yet, she should find the sword first to avoid encountering a fierce beast at night without any weapon to defend herself.
She picked up a thick branch to use as a torch and looked around the place where she had fallen. Indeed, within a hundred feet, she found the sword, but next to it lay a pile of white bones, massive in size, seemingly the remains of some fierce beast.
Her heart suddenly raced, and an inexplicable scene flashed through her mind: several wild beasts were devouring a corpse, tearing apart the bloody flesh in a gruesome manner. Thinking of what Zhong Xue had just cursed her with made her scalp tingle even more.
"No—" she screamed and hurriedly fled, leaving the torch behind without a second thought.
She stumbled back, her face pale as a ghost.
Zhong Xue saw her panicked expression and widened his eyes in surprise. "What happened?"
"Bones, white bones, so many white bones," San Chun murmured, sitting down on the ground in despair. All she could think about were those bones. This fear seemed different from her fear of heights on the cliff; it was a deep-seated terror, akin to how some people fear snakes while others dread cockroaches.
Zhong Xue realized what she must be thinking and secretly regretted bringing up that topic intentionally.
Fish were roasting on the wooden stick, emitting a faint aroma. To divert her attention, he asked when she had learned such good cooking skills.
San Chun did not respond. When he took her hand, he found it icy cold, colder than a human's hand should be.
He trembled slightly in his heart and deliberately touched and pinched her hand playfully, "Does it feel good to have This Lord holding your hand? Do you like me touching you?"
San Chun finally looked up at him and pouted, "What if I don't want to?"
He chuckled, "If you don't want to, then once we leave this cursed place, you can cut off the hand I touched with a knife to show your chastity."
San Chun huffed twice, "I'm not that intense."
Although she was angry at his nonsense, the fear in her heart had lessened. Just then, the fish was cooked; she took one and started to eat without caring about him. Since he was in the mood to tease her, his injuries should not be too serious.
Zhong Xue took another fish and noticed her expression had softened a bit, so he asked, "What did you see just now?"
"There was a pile of beast bones. If I’m not mistaken, there should be many large beasts in this mountain. It seems we need to be extra cautious spending the night here."
Zhong Xue nodded; there were indeed many ferocious beasts in the deep mountains. "It would be great if we could find a cave to hide in temporarily."
San Chun replied, "Are you going to look for one?"
"Yes."
This time he didn’t refuse; he found a thick branch to use as a cane and staggered away. He didn’t want her to see anything she shouldn’t, even if it hurt he had to endure it.
San Chun thought he was just pretending and could still walk; it seemed he had been teasing her on purpose earlier. She shouted at him, "Bring back a pack of ferocious beasts when you return!"
"Yes." Zhong Xue nodded, unexpectedly agreeing.
As soon as he left, the surroundings fell into silence.
Looking around, the bright moon hung high in the sky, its light dazzling. To the west was a lake, and to the east was a decaying Poplar Forest. Under the moonlight, the lake shimmered with an unusual brightness. The Poplar Forest was extremely strange; in December, these Poplars appeared withered and dead, with some brown leaves still hanging on the treetops, swaying precariously. Despite the wind blowing through, they remained completely still.
The Mountain Valley was terrifyingly quiet, with no bird calls, no insect chirps, and not a trace of life.
She suddenly regretted letting Zhong Xue go find some cave. She didn't want to admit she was scared, but couldn't help but grip her Iron Sword tightly in her right hand and her dagger firmly in her left, staring intently at her surroundings.
At that moment, a figure burst into her view. He leaned on a Wooden Stick, three legs on the ground, rushing like the wind through the Poplar Forest, his feet crushing the thick layer of fallen leaves. The Night Ravens were startled into flapping their wings.
He had stumbled when he left, but now he was moving swiftly as if chased by ghosts.
She perked up her ears and truly heard a wailing sound; then she saw real wolves—not just one, but a pack—a group of wolves chasing Zhong Xue. No wonder he was running so fast.
He had indeed brought back a group of fierce beasts as instructed.
Those dozens of glowing green eyes belonged to a large pack of Golden-Furred Mountain Wolves, exuding a murderous aura that made her hair stand on end. She instinctively wanted to turn and flee.
Zhong Xue ran close in an instant; only then did she see that he was standing on one foot while using the Wooden Stick to perform lightness skills.
Zhong Xue saw her too and shouted while running, "Quick, the sword!"
San Chun threw the Iron Sword with a flick of her hand, and the sword flew towards him in an arc. Just as she was about to catch it, she was violently bumped by a wolf, causing her to stumble and the sword to fall to the ground.
This wolf appeared to be a Wolf King. Its neck, chest, and belly were covered in large patches of grayish-white fur that shone like platinum, dazzling and radiating a fierce and proud aura.
It howled, and soon a dozen wolves surrounded him. San Chun realized it was too late to run; she seemed to have caught the attention of several robust wolves. Those wolves stared at her, some head-on while others from the side, their piercing gazes sending chills down her spine, making her feel an overwhelming urge to flee.
The closest to Zhong Xue were several giant wolves, as large as leopards, likely of general rank, twice as thick as the other wolves and one and a half times taller and longer. With another howl from the Wolf King, their long tails stood straight up like unsheathed military swords, poised and ready to pounce.
San Chun felt her hand trembling around the dagger, her legs shaking, her whole body quaking. She was genuinely terrified!
Looking at Zhong Xue, he was not much better off; he was drenched in sweat, and the well-treated wounds on his body had burst open from running, his back stained blood-red as if soaked in blood. His gaze was surprisingly fierce and menacing, exuding an intimidating aura that even the wolves seemed afraid of. They hesitated to attack immediately, perhaps intimidated by his presence as they searched for an opportunity.
As San Chun moved closer to him, she attempted to ease her fear with words.
"How did you attract the wolves?"
Zhong Xue grunted twice, "Do you think This Lord likes them?"
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