Chapter 10: Recovering from Injury (1) Part 1

Helping you bathe is impossible.

The dream was like deep water, sapping the body of all strength, causing a constant sinking sensation.

Chaotic scenes flickered back and forth, a persistent buzzing filling her ears.

She instinctively moved her arm, and the back of her hand was stained with black ink. Yun Jinxue looked down and saw the rows of text in her textbook.

The teacher at the podium loudly declared, “In life, we shall return together; after death, we shall long for each other. Let’s examine the translation of this line…”

Yun Jinxue took out her ruler, placed it against the textbook, and drew a colorful straight line under a line of verse.

“Senior Sister!”

Hm? Who is calling me?

“Senior Sister!”

She turned her head, past the countless hazy faces of her classmates, and saw a figure outside the window.

Who is it?

The voice was urgent. Yun Jinxue felt she needed to go and see, so she stood up.

In an instant, light flooded into the classroom, and she opened her eyes.

The cave ceiling spun gently, birds chirped chaotically, and the background sound was the rustling of wind through forest leaves.

As if breaking through the water’s surface, her breathing instantly cleared. The scenery before her was a sharp, vivid world, completely different from the dream.

The memory of everything that happened before she lost consciousness accelerated in her mind until it locked into place.

Yun Jinxue exhaled deeply and smiled. “Great, I’m still alive.”

Just now, it seems I dreamed of high school.

Ah, if this were modern society, the little villain problem would be much easier to solve. Just call the police.

Amused by her own thought, her consciousness fully awakened.

It was warm beneath her. Sunlight streamed into the cave, a corner of it falling on the back of her hand, making that patch of skin slightly hot and outlining a shallow bite mark.

There was no sound of another person nearby. The little villain was probably not inside the cave.

But since she herself was still safe here, the kid should be alright too.

She tried to push herself up from the ground, but her whole body was weak. Fortunately, after resting for so long, she had managed to gather some strength.

Leaning her back against the cave wall, the coolness cleared her mind.

Yun Jinxue touched her lower abdomen and thought: System, do you know how I fled into here after I lost consciousness yesterday?

Mi Ba: 【No idea. I observe the world through you, so when you’re unconscious, I am forced into dormancy too.】

Her hand gently rubbed her wound intermittently. Yun Jinxue sighed: Fine.

As she rubbed, she realized the sensation was different from before. Yun Jinxue looked down.

The clothes around her waist were completely torn, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin.

The cloth she’d used yesterday to bind the wound had been replaced with a long gray strip. Judging by the material, it seemed to be Jiang Yanyu’s belt.

Using a belt to wrap a wound… practical, but also somewhat amusing.

The pain was still very clear, but compared to the near-death agony of yesterday, it was much better.

She lifted the collar at her shoulder. The spot burned by the white mist sprayed by that harelip girl was now a patch of red, like a splash of light cinnabar.

A stinging pain flared up. Yun Jinxue hissed softly, carefully covering it with her collar again.

She tried to mobilize her spiritual power, but a suffocating pain struck her chest, nearly making her cough up blood.

Sigh, how long will I need to recover from this?

The back of her head bumped against the cave wall. Yun Jinxue sensed something was missing and reached up to touch her head. It turned out her jade crown had been removed.

Now, her black hair cascaded freely, like a waterfall of ink. Some of it fell over her chest, a few stray strands clinging to her cheeks.

Paired with her pale face, she looked the picture of a delicate, sickly beauty.

Yun Jinxue looked around and found her jade crown in the pile of dry grass.

She reached out to grab it, but a rapid series of footsteps suddenly came from outside the cave.

Yun Jinxue looked up to see the little villain, who had removed her belt and was now dressed in loose, disheveled clothes, running in from outside.

Her entire body was bathed in sunlight, her trouser legs rolled up high, her skin speckled with water droplets. Though young, she was already tall and slender, making one couldn’t help but admire what a clear and elegant young girl she was.

She seemed to be holding something in her hands, anxious and flustered from trying to keep it steady, her face full of disgust.

She looked up and noticed her Senior Sister was awake. Only then did her expression soften slightly.

Yun Jinxue asked, “Windy, what’s wrong?”

Jiang Yanyu was holding a bowl folded from leaves. Her technique was poor, leaving several gaps in the bowl, causing water to drip frantically.

By the time she hurried over, only half the water remained.

“Hurry, hurry, Senior Sister! Drink it quickly!”

Influenced by her urgent tone, Yun Jinxue lowered her head and drank the water from the edge of the bowl.

Her parched throat felt some relief. She smiled softly. “Thank you, Windy.”

Jiang Yanyu tossed the leaf bowl aside and let out a sigh of relief. “This thing is way too hard to manage.”

Yun Jinxue asked gently, “That must’ve been hard work. Have you had any water yourself?”

Jiang Yanyu replied, “Yes.”

Yun Jinxue looked around and asked, “How long was I unconscious?”

Jiang Yanyu said, “About a day and a night, I’d say.”

So it has been that long. But the silence around us means we must truly be safe now.

Recalling the anxiety she’d felt when the kid disappeared, Yun Jinxue still felt a lingering fear. “Did the thing in Spring Crossing Town hurt you?”

Jiang Yanyu shook her head. “No, it just captured me. But you, Senior Sister, were so badly injured.”

The crazy kid crouched in front of her, brow slightly furrowed, biting her lip, hands resting on her knees. She looked somewhat aggrieved.

Yun Jinxue smiled gently and shook her head. “I’m alright.”

As soon as she said this, she remembered the purpose of their trip.

They had come for the spirit fruit, yet ended up in such a miserable state. She hadn’t been able to get the thing she’d promised the kid. Would she be disappointed?

Just as she was about to apologize for returning empty-handed, Yun Jinxue saw something jump in the little villain’s arms.

Jiang Yanyu clearly felt it too. She looked down, just then realizing its presence.

She quickly stood up. Without her belt, her robe was a mess on her. But she was deft, and quickly pulled out a cool, silvery, lively creature and threw it to the ground.

It was a still-thrashing fish.

It had been pressed against Jiang Yanyu’s chest and had been still before, but now awake, it immediately began to flail wildly.

Jiang Yanyu looked down at the fish and said, “Can’t go another day without eating. So I went and caught a fish.”

Only then did Yun Jinxue remember: they hadn’t eaten properly since entering Spring Crossing. She’d been unconscious for a day and a night, so the crazy kid, unable to easily leave her side to find food, must be starving now.

Jiang Yanyu looked around, picked up Bright Star from the ground, and flicked the blade with her finger.

“Senior Sister, I want to prepare this fish. I don’t have a proper tool, can I use this?”

Yun Jinxue’s throat moved. “Ah… you can.”

Bright Star was still fine and silver-glowing, but without spiritual power flowing, the taint within it likely hadn’t faded. However, its edge was still sharp, more than enough to prepare fish meat.

Jiang Yanyu, carrying Bright Star in one hand and the fish in the other, went out cheerfully.

She wasn’t gone long before returning, all smiles.

She set the sword aside, strung the cleaned fish onto a stick, and squatted in front of the firewood pile, bashing two stones together frantically.

Yun Jinxue looked at Bright Star and felt a pang of guilt.

To think that Bright Star, a Divine Weapon crafted by a master and famous on weapon rankings, would one day be reduced to this.

This cannot be known by other weapons, or else Bright Star’s reputation would be completely ruined.

Over there, Jiang Yanyu had tried and failed multiple times to start a fire. She threw the stones aside and stared at the firewood pile, deep in thought.

Seeing this, Yun Jinxue attempted to stand.

But just sitting against the cave wall had already drained most of her strength. Now, her heart was willing but her body weak.

Jiang Yanyu stood up, intending to go out again to find some kindling to start the fire.

But who knew, the previously clear sky suddenly changed its mood in the blink of an eye.

Dark clouds gathered, a few rumbles of thunder roared, and rain came pouring down.

A curtain of rain hung outside the cave entrance. Jiang Yanyu stood behind it and watched for a moment, then turned back to look at the fish meat, seemingly pondering the possibility of eating it raw.

Yun Jinxue certainly couldn’t let her do that. “Windy, could you help me over? To the fire pile.”

Jiang Yanyu paused, then slowly walked over. “Alright.”

She draped her arm over the young girl’s thin shoulder. Being forcefully lifted aggravated her wound slightly; Yun Jinxue gritted her teeth and endured it, which the young girl seemed to sense.

Jiang Yanyu extended her other hand, wrapping it around her waist, steadying her more securely.

The two slowly walked to the firewood pile. Jiang Yanyu helped her sit down against the cave wall again.

Yun Jinxue steadied her breathing and raised her slender, jade-white arm. Her fingertip pointed at a piece of firewood.

Driving the little spiritual power she had left, the firewood ignited, the flames slowly spreading until the whole pile was burning.

The warm glow of the fire fell on Yun Jinxue’s face. She turned her head and smiled lightly. “There we go.”