"Who are you?"
Xuan Hao waved the grilled fish in his hand and asked tentatively, "Want some?"
The little girl seemed startled by his voice and shrank back, but the tempting aroma held her fast.
She hesitated, then gave a small nod. Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
"Mm... hungry..."
Xuan Hao narrowed his eyes and looked her over.
There was no trace of Soul Power, nor the distinctive aura of a Soul Beast Transformation. She looked like an ordinary human child who had lost her way.
But could an ordinary child have survived this long out in the wilderness?
"Come here."
After a moment's thought, Xuan Hao beckoned and held out the grilled fish. "It's yours."
Whatever her story was, he was a "fugitive" himself now. Better not to make trouble.
If she really was an ordinary child, giving her something to eat was no big deal.
And if she was some ancient monster hiding her strength... all the more reason to treat her well.
The little girl's eyes lit up. She approached cautiously and took the fish, politely said "thank you," then started eating in great gulps without waiting for it to cool.
She was clearly starving.
As Xuan Hao grilled himself another fish, he asked casually, "What's your name, little one? Where do you live? How did you end up out here alone?"
The little girl paused mid-bite.
She looked up, a little oil still on her lips. Her purple eyes met Xuan Hao's, filled with a lost, helpless look that tugged at his heart.
"I... I don't know."
She shook her head and spoke softly. "I can't remember... I woke up here. I walked for so, so long... I was hungry..."
"Amnesia?" Xuan Hao raised an eyebrow.
Wasn't that a tired old plot?
Still, she didn't look as if she was lying.
"But you must have a name."
"A name..."
The little girl tilted her head, struggling to recall something. At last, she said uncertainly, "I think... someone called me... Na'er?"
"Na'er?"
Xuan Hao's hands froze.
Silver hair... purple eyes... amnesia... Na'er...
No way. Could she be...
Gu Yuena?!
The Silver Dragon King who was supposed to be recovering beneath the Lake of Life?!
How had she gotten out? And why did she look like this?
Xuan Hao felt his scalp prickle. He instinctively wanted to back away, but the little girl was still eating her fish without a care in the world, and he forced himself to stay put.
"Big brother, what's wrong?"
Na'er seemed to notice his reaction. "Are you hungry too? I could... give you half," she asked, sounding worried.
She reluctantly held out the half-eaten fish.
Xuan Hao looked at her small hand and gently pushed it back. "It's all right. I'm not hungry."
"You... eat up."
Wait, something's wrong!
If Gu Yuena was here, Di Tian was probably watching from the shadows!
Damn it! What happened to his danger sense?!
Why wasn't it reacting at all?!
Had Di Tian dropped Gu Yuena off and left?
Or had Gu Yuena teleported here herself using her spatial abilities?
But how did she know where he was?
Because they'd met in the Star Dou Great Forest?
His mind raced, and he stayed alert for the legendary Black Dragon King to reach out of the void and crush him with a claw. Even so, his hands kept working.
"Here. Careful, it's hot."
Xuan Hao handed her the last grilled fish.
Na'er took it. She still ate neatly, but she was by no means slow. In less than an hour, the two of them polished off the dozen or so green fish that had been piled up like a little hill.
"Burp~"
Na'er gave a tiny burp, then covered her mouth in embarrassment, her cheeks rosy.
"Full?"
Xuan Hao handed her a handkerchief and asked tentatively, "Um... Na'er, do you remember where you live? Or any family? I could take you home."
Na'er took the handkerchief and wiped her mouth. At his words, the light faded from her eyes. Hugging her knees, she stared blankly at the fire and shook her head.
"I don't remember... I really don't remember anything."
"My head's empty. There's just a name... No matter how hard I try, I can't remember anything else."
Xuan Hao sighed.
It seemed she really had lost her memory. Or perhaps the Silver Dragon King's divine consciousness had sealed it away, "resetting" her mind and leaving only her subconscious.
"What will you do now? You can't stay out in the wilderness forever."
Na'er looked up at the dense woods around them. Fear flashed through her eyes, and she lowered her head without a word.
She didn't know where to go or what to do.
Seeing how pitiful she looked, Xuan Hao felt that strange sense of closeness again. Perhaps it was because he had a Silver Dragon Spirit too, but he felt a natural fondness for her.
Besides... if Di Tian really was watching, and Xuan Hao abandoned someone this important, a black dragon claw would probably turn him into minced meat the next second.
"All right."
Xuan Hao stood, brushed the grass from his backside, and held out a hand to Na'er.
"If you have nowhere to go... why not come with me for now?"
Na'er froze. Delight flashed in her eyes, then gave way to hesitation. "B-but... won't I be a burden, big brother? I can't do anything, and I eat a lot..."
"Don't worry. I can afford to look after one little girl," Xuan Hao said.
"Besides, if you stay out here alone and a wild beast carries you off—or traffickers kidnap and sell you—that would be trouble."
"Come with me, and at least you'll have a hot meal."
Na'er looked at his outstretched hand. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out and gently took it.
"Mm... thank you, big brother."
"Let's go."
Xuan Hao pulled her up, but as he was about to leave, his gaze fell on her thin, shabby clothes.
They clearly didn't fit, and branches had torn several holes in them, exposing her fair skin.
"You can't go around in that. It stands out too much, and it won't keep you warm."
Xuan Hao rummaged through his Storage Ring. He had no girls' clothes, only a few old outfits he had worn when he was six or seven.
"Here. I used to wear this."
He handed her a pale, moon-white outfit. "It's boys' clothing, but the fabric is good and sturdy. Go change behind those trees."
Na'er hugged the clothes to her chest and glanced at him shyly, her cheeks pink.
"Go on. I won't look." Xuan Hao turned his back to the woods. "I'll be right here. Call me if you need anything."
There was a faint rustling.
Before long, Na'er came out.
"Big... big brother, I'm done..."
Xuan Hao turned around. The moment he saw her, he stopped short.
The grubby little beggar was gone. In her place stood a dashing little boy... no, a little girl.
Her short silver hair gleamed in the sunlight. The white outfit set off her straight posture, and though it hung loosely on her, it couldn't conceal her cool, noble bearing.
But what struck Xuan Hao as strangest was...
In his old clothes, she looked as if she'd been made from the same mold as him!
The same silver hair, the same almost impossibly fine features—even their unapproachable air was similar.
The only difference was their eyes: his blue, hers purple.
If they went out and said they were siblings, no one would doubt it. People might even believe they were twins.
"The clothes are... a bit big, though."
He had worn them when he was six, but he'd grown early and had been taller than other children his age. Na'er, by contrast, looked small and thin, as if she hadn't been eating well.
The sleeves reached far past her hands, and the trouser legs dragged on the ground. The whole outfit hung off her as though she'd borrowed an adult's clothes.
"Hold still."
Xuan Hao sighed and took a sewing kit and small scissors from his Storage Ring.
"Sit down."
Na'er obediently sat on a rock. When Xuan Hao approached with needle and thread, her eyes widened in surprise. "Big brother... you know how to sew?"
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had the impression that such delicate work was for girls.
"What's so strange about that?"
Xuan Hao crouched before her, deftly rolled up the long trouser legs, trimmed them, and threaded his needle. "I used to be poor. When my clothes tore, I couldn't afford new ones, so I had to mend them myself. Sometimes I even picked up other people's scraps and made clothes from them."
"If I hadn't learned, I'd have frozen in winter and had nothing decent to wear in summer."
Hearing Xuan Hao speak so matter-of-factly about those hard years, Na'er felt an unexpected ache in her heart.
Though she had lost her memory, she somehow felt that life was far removed from her own.
Yet this big brother, who looked so noble, had endured so much?
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