Secret Forest Mutation

Qian Renxue slowly opened her eyes. In an instant, she keenly sensed a significant rise in the Soul Power within her body. A brand-new force flowed joyfully through her veins like a babbling stream.

She rose lightly and stretched her limbs, her gaze settling on Jia Youcai.

He was covered in wounds, with blood streaming from several cuts. His clothes had been slashed to rags and were stained with blood. Qian Renxue's heart tightened, and she said anxiously, "How did you get hurt so badly? Hurry, we need to treat your wounds."

Seeing Qian Renxue's worried expression, Jia Youcai quickly waved his hand and grinned foolishly. "Don't worry, Xuexue. I'm tough. These little injuries are nothing."

Qian Renxue frowned slightly, her expression serious. "This forest is full of danger. You mustn't take injuries lightly. We need to find somewhere safe to treat you as soon as possible."

Jia Youcai nodded. "All right, I'll listen to you. Lead the way, Xuexue."

At that moment, Jia Youcai had adjusted his pain level to twenty percent. Though seriously wounded, he did not feel intense pain, only fatigue and weakness.

Qian Renxue remembered a little cabin deep in the forest. It was quiet and safe, so she said, "I know a place. Follow me."

The two continued along the winding path, with Qian Renxue carefully supporting Jia Youcai.

Before they had gone far, a burst of noisy commotion came from ahead, as though many people were arguing fiercely.

Qian Renxue frowned. She had wanted to sneak closer and investigate, but considering Jia Youcai's injuries, she decided to take him for treatment first. Ignoring the noise, she headed straight toward the little cabin.

Through gaps in the dense branches and leaves, they could vaguely see a group of people gathered together.

At their head stood a burly man with a fierce, fleshy face. Holding an enormous axe, he roared menacingly at a scrawny youth, "Kid, hand over the treasure you're carrying if you know what's good for you. Otherwise, I'll split you in two with my axe!"

The youth clutched a shabby bundle tightly to his chest and said in a trembling voice, "Th-this was left to me by my grandfather. I can't give it to you!"

The burly man sneered disdainfully. "Grandfather? Your grandfather's been dead for ages. What use is this piece of junk? Hand it over nicely, and maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll spare your life."

But Qian Renxue's mind was entirely on Jia Youcai's injuries. Without pausing in the slightest, she led him onward at a faster pace.

Jia Youcai cast a sidelong glance at the scene and muttered to himself, Shouldn't this be when a quest gets triggered, then I beat these people up and collect the quest reward?

Yet as Jia Youcai passed by, the system showed no reaction whatsoever. He could not help sighing inwardly. This system really is open-ended. Without a reward, I can't be bothered getting involved anyway. They're just NPCs in a game.

After a long trek, they finally arrived at Qian Renxue's little cabin.

The cabin stood in a secluded valley, surrounded by lush trees and blooming flowers. Qian Renxue gently pushed open the door and helped Jia Youcai inside.

The cabin was simply yet warmly furnished, with a small wooden bed, a few basic pieces of furniture, and some herbs.

Qian Renxue had Jia Youcai lie on the bed, then began searching through the herbs. With practiced hands, she crushed them and gently applied them to his wounds before carefully wrapping them with clean strips of cloth.

"Jia Youcai, get some proper rest first," Qian Renxue said softly.

Watching Qian Renxue's earnest expression, Jia Youcai felt a warmth rise in his heart. "Xuexue, thank you."

Qian Renxue smiled. "Why thank me? We're partners. Looking after each other is only natural. Sleep for a while. I'll go find you something to eat."

Jia Youcai nodded slightly, his eyes following her until she left the cabin.

Then he slowly rose to his feet and raised a hand to open the system interface.

The system interface was designed with extreme simplicity. Several icons lined the upper-right corner: First Charge Benefits, Cumulative Charge Benefits, Shop, Card Pool, Settings, and more. The options on the right were much the same, including the Character Panel, Costumes, Martial Soul Interface, Soul Ring Interface, and Soul Bone Interface.

On the left was the Quest Interface. Completing the corresponding quests could earn Soul Power, but there were no other rewards.

In the upper-left corner was the map. Opening it revealed several points that could be teleported to directly. In relatively densely populated areas, there was roughly one teleportation point per district, but most of the map was currently shrouded in gray.

Jia Youcai carefully looked over the system interface and unexpectedly discovered that there was not even a backpack option for storing items. That meant everything he obtained would have to be handled and arranged by himself.

Judging by the current situation, this system interface seemed utterly useless unless he spent money to top up.

Jia Youcai let out a helpless sigh, then closed the system interface.

He wandered aimlessly around the cabin for a while, then opened the window and looked outside. In a daze, he seemed to hear a faint noise. After determining its direction, Jia Youcai stepped outside.

Following the subtle sound, Jia Youcai cautiously made his way behind the cabin.

As his footsteps drew closer, the sound became clearer and clearer. He pushed aside the branches before him and suddenly remembered—wasn't this where the conflict had happened earlier?

He continued forward, but when he saw the scene before him, Jia Youcai was so frightened that he staggered back several steps.

The scrawny youth who had been threatened by the burly man in the forest lay quietly in a pool of blood. His body had already gone cold, his eyes were shut tight, and dried tear tracks remained on his face. His expression was still filled with terror.

Jia Youcai murmured softly, "No way... Is this really that realistic? He... he was just beaten to death?"

At that moment, a hand rested on Jia Youcai's shoulder, followed by a soft voice. "Why did you come out?"

Jia Youcai abruptly turned around. "I... I was worried about you, so I came out to take a look."