Mutual Assistance

Aside from the killing aura, there was also a hazy, grim aura clinging to him.

"Killing aura, death aura... no wonder he's so badly injured," Shen Shuibi's expression soured, becoming quite grave.

The old horse finally reached them.

However, before it could even stop, its legs gave out, and it collapsed to the ground with a weak whinny.

Shen Shuibi immediately jumped down from Li Qi's neck and hurried to the old horse's side, stroking its mane and neck.

Fortunately, her body itself was immaculate. Even though the old horse was dirty, covered in grime and congealed blood clots, she didn't get any of it on herself.

Stones and dust naturally slid off her, leaving no trace, as if she had a hydrophobic layer. Nothing could stick to her clothes or skin; even sticky mud and blood clots simply rolled off.

She wouldn't get wet walking in the rain, nor dirty walking through mud puddles. All filth seemed unable to approach her.

Even more miraculously, after she finished stroking it, the old horse's severely tangled mane, which Li Qi had thought would need to be entirely shaved off, had miraculously untangled itself.

It seemed that Shen Shuibi, as a maidservant to Lady Luofu, must have been no ordinary person before her cultivation was crippled. She was definitely a master, right?

Perhaps a high-ranking expert of the fifth or sixth rank?

Thinking about it, it was truly kind of her to be so quick to get close to him and not show any disdain.

Li Qi thought to himself.

Although, she was a bit foolish. He wondered if she had injured her brain when she crippled her cultivation.

"Li Qi, go bring the luggage over. I'll check his injuries first," Shen Shuibi said to Li Qi.

Then, she lowered her head and began to clean the filth off the old horse.

She didn't even need water; where her hand passed, the filth simply fell away to the ground.

As if feeling it wasn't quite right, she patted the horse and whispered something to it.

The old horse let out a whinny and, mustering its strength, struggled to get back up.

After standing up, the old horse walked over to Li Qi and let out a neigh, as if greeting him.

Li Qi heard the horse's whinny sound weak and shook his head. "There's a small river in the mountain stream below. You should go there to wash. You can wash off the blood and clean your wounds. I'll go get the luggage; there's medicine inside."

The old horse whinnied again. For some reason, though Li Qi couldn't understand the sound, he could feel it was a sound of gratitude.

"No need to thank me. We help each other, we help each other," Li Qi waved his hand and then turned to leave.

He went back to get the luggage.

By the time he got back, the soup was lukewarm, and the rice cakes soaked in it were a mess.

Oh well.

He added some coarse brown salt, slurped it down, and finished his lunch, half-eating and half-drinking.

In this short time, in the wilderness, no one had passed by, and his hidden luggage was still there.

Shouldering his luggage, he set off again.

This time, he didn't use the Great Forest Wood Qi. He only had three wisps left, so he had to use them sparingly.

Without the help of the Great Forest Wood Qi, his return trip was much slower.

It took a full four kèshí—half an hour—before he finally made it back.

Traveling with a backpack was exhausting. He panted, wiped the sweat from his brow, and looked down from the cliff.

At the small river below, Shen Shuibi had almost finished cleaning the old horse.

The old horse looked much better. Its dirt was completely gone, its wounds had been rinsed clean with water, and its previous pathetic state had vanished. Although still weak, its impression had changed from a decrepit prisoner to a sickly but majestic elder.

Truly majestic. Even though the horse looked quite thin and its muscles had atrophied considerably, its bones were broad. Standing up, it was still over eight chǐ tall, meaning over two meters, much taller than Li Qi.

Its mane, though streaked with white, was exceptionally elegant and flowed with grace as it moved.

Its large eyes were bright and piercing, shimmering with intelligence and humanity, even seeming capable of speech.

Looking at the aged Dragon Steed, Li Qi had to admit.

He was so handsome.

More handsome than himself.

Li Qi suddenly realized a horse was more handsome than him and felt a pang of resentment, but he quickly dismissed these feelings.

Why should he argue with a horse!

"Li Qi! You're back? I've almost finished cleaning his wounds. I was just waiting for you to bring the medicine!"

"Also, I've spoken with him, and we'll help him recover, and then he'll carry us on our journey!" Shen Shuibi happily ran up to Li Qi, smiling brightly. "Now it's great! The journey that would have taken a year or more will probably only take half a month!"

"That's good, that's good," Li Qi smiled too.

Even in its current state, this old horse could probably still travel eight hundred lǐ a day. With proper care, it could run less in the first few days. Once its injuries healed, he wouldn't have to trek so far on his own.

"Old horse, I'll call you that from now on. I don't know your name. Come over here, let me put medicine on your wounds! We've agreed, don't run off after taking the medicine!" Li Qi took the wound healing powder from his backpack and called out to the old horse.

The horse seemed to understand human speech. It walked over, snorted at Li Qi, then obediently turned around, presenting its wounds to him.

"He's thanking you," Shen Shuibi said.

"You're welcome," Li Qi replied casually, then began applying medicine to the horse.

However, this old horse seemed quite fond of Li Qi, nuzzling him whenever it turned its head.

Li Qi felt a chill crawl up his spine, because this was a stallion.

Damn, the horse is so thick.

Scared.

But the old horse didn't stop. Instead, it let out a series of whinnies from time to time, as if it were speaking.

Li Qi couldn't understand.

But Shen Shuibi could.

"He's saying he wants you to lend him a wisp of Azure Dragon Spirit Qi," Shen Shuibi translated for Li Qi at that moment.

"A wisp of Azure Dragon Spirit Qi? So that's what it came for?" Li Qi scratched his head.

Shen Shuibi had already told him earlier that this horse had come to him specifically for this.

The horse nudged Li Qi with its nose, whinnying in his ear.

Li Qi felt another wave of revulsion and took a step back.

"He says it's a mutual exchange. You saved his life, and he will repay you," Shen Shuibi continued to translate.

"Repay me? How else can he repay me besides giving me a ride?" Li Qi said.

However, he still waved his hand. "Never mind. It's also for us to get on the road faster. Forget about repayment; just make sure you run fast when we're traveling."

After all, as long as it was spring, he could obtain a wisp of Azure Dragon Spirit Qi every day. If he didn't use it when he needed to, it would be no different than not having it at all.