A Night in the Wilderness

It was true that he hadn't made a move; reaching out had simply been instinctive.

Ma Feifei stared blankly at the black-clad woman who had fallen into his arms, utterly baffled.

"But her body is really cold!" Holding the woman in black, Ma Feifei felt the bone-piercing chill radiating from her body and could not help shuddering.

"Shopkeeper, are you all right?" Yang Chengzhi walked over from the side, concerned after seeing Ma Feifei suddenly tremble.

Without realizing it, Yang Chengzhi's form of address for Ma Feifei had changed. More than that, even his tone now carried a measure of respect. Clearly, Ma Feifei had become someone worthy of admiration in his eyes.

Ma Feifei did not care much about that. Looking at the unfamiliar woman in his arms, he said, "She seems to be injured. Brother Yang, do you have any medicine for wounds?"

Hearing this, Yang Chengzhi did not understand why Ma Feifei wanted to save someone he had just injured, but he did not ask. Instead, he took out a small bottle and said, "These are Hundred Spirits Pills. They are highly effective at restoring one's inner breath."

For cultivators like them, unless an external wound proved fatal, it was impossible for someone to be knocked unconscious. Therefore, this unfamiliar woman could only have suffered internal injuries, and Hundred Spirits Pills were one of the most common healing spirit medicines on the market for such injuries.

First of all, the materials needed to make Hundred Spirits Pills were widely available, and their price was fairly affordable, so they were an essential healing medicine for adventurers traveling abroad.

Of course, there were countless healing medicines better than Hundred Spirits Pills, but ordinary people simply could not afford them.

Ma Feifei nodded. The two worked together to feed the Hundred Spirits Pill to the unfamiliar woman. By then, night had already fallen. With an injured person in tow, they did not continue hunting spirit beasts. Instead, they climbed a tree and settled in for the night.

The wilderness was extremely dangerous at night.

This was especially true in a place like Nine Heavens Mountain, where spirit beasts and adventurers frequently appeared. Here, it was not only nighttime attacks from spirit beasts that one had to guard against, but also adventurers brimming with greed.

Thus, adventurers who entered Nine Heavens Mountain to hunt spirit beasts generally traveled in groups, while few came in alone. Certainly, one reason was that more people made hunting spirit beasts easier, but another was to prevent being ambushed and killed by spirit beasts or adventurers when night fell.

Once everything had been settled, Yang Chengzhi took out some food from his spatial sachet. After the two had eaten their fill, he took up the duty of keeping watch and leaped onto a nearby tree to stand guard.

Ma Feifei leaned against the trunk, curiously taking in Nine Heavens Mountain at night.

Though Nine Heavens Mountain was pitch-black at night, it posed no great problem for cultivators. With Ma Feifei's ninth-stage Spirit Master cultivation, he could still see a hundred meters away at night as though it were daytime, though not quite as clearly.

This was Ma Feifei's first night spent outdoors since arriving in this world. Amid his curious expression was a trace of unfamiliarity, and he could not help taking out paper and pen to record how he felt at that moment.

"It's been nearly two months since I came to this wondrous world. Everything is so novel and thrilling, yet there is also a faint thread of fear and dread."

"There are cultivators here, the kind spoken of in legends. They can soar through the heavens and burrow through the earth, split mountains and rivers with their palms. They can live for a very long time, surviving for thousands of years without dying."

"There are also fierce beasts known as 'spirit beasts.' Not only are they immensely powerful, but they possess wisdom no less than that of humans."

"I don't know what other wondrous things this world holds. But what I have seen and heard must surely be no more than a drop in the vast ocean."

"I know I do not belong here, and I do not know why I appeared here. But since I have come, shouldn't I go and witness this world's wonders and beauty?"

"Even if I cannot become part of it, being a spectator would be enough."

Ma Feifei himself did not know why he was writing these things. A sudden impulse had struck him; he wanted to write, so he wrote. His heart was somewhat unsettled today. In the two months since arriving in this world, this was the first time his emotions had been so changeable.

Perhaps it was because this was his first time leaving Dubian Town. Perhaps it was because he had encountered spirit beasts for the first time. Or perhaps it was his first night spent in the wilderness.

"Maybe I should write an autobiography too! I'll call it Ma Feifei's Wondrous Life." Ma Feifei raised his eyes to the starry sky and murmured to himself.

"Cough~"

The silent night was jolted awake by that cough. Birds resting on the treetops were startled into flapping their wings twice.

It also alarmed Yang Chengzhi and pulled Ma Feifei back from his thoughts.

Watching the unfamiliar woman gradually open her eyes, Ma Feifei lifted a cup of water that had long been prepared and passed it to her. "You're awake. Have some water."

The unfamiliar woman did not take it. She looked at Ma Feifei expressionlessly, her eyes devoid of the slightest emotion.

Ma Feifei was feeling somewhat sentimental today, and his thoughts were not as lively and unrestrained as usual. Seeing that the unfamiliar woman only looked at him without accepting the water, he simply looked back at her. His gaze was kind and warm, faintly revealing a trace of loneliness.

After a long while, color finally appeared in the unfamiliar woman's eyes. It was confusion.

Slowly, her gaze softened. She reached out, silently accepted the cup, and drank the water.

"Have something to eat." Ma Feifei handed her a piece of meat.

The unfamiliar woman shook her head without saying a word.

Ma Feifei did not press her further. He set down the meat, leaned back against the tree again, and looked up at the sky. The pen in his hand spun endlessly under the unconscious movements of his fingers, quite beautifully.

He had learned this in his previous life after seeing others do it online to win their girlfriends' hearts—spinning a chopstick rapidly across one's fingers. And honestly, it had been quite hard to learn.

The unfamiliar woman, meanwhile, was drawn in by the movement of Ma Feifei's hand and stared fixedly at it.

The two sat facing each other like that. One looked up at the sky, while the other looked down at his hand. Neither spoke.

In the end, Ma Feifei did not even know when he had fallen asleep.

By the time he woke up, dawn had already broken.

The unfamiliar woman across from him was gone.

He glanced down and discovered that she was standing beneath the tree, using a piece of white cloth to wipe her sword. Yang Chengzhi stood beside her, glaring at her with an ugly expression.

"Did something happen after I fell asleep that I don't know about?" Seeing Yang Chengzhi's aggrieved expression, Ma Feifei could not help asking.

After tidying himself up, Ma Feifei sprang down from the tree.

"Brother Yang, I won't be accompanying you to hunt spirit beasts today. There's something to take care of at the Bookstore, so I need to hurry back." Ma Feifei glanced at the sky. The sun was already nearing its highest point; if he did not return soon, he might be late for his date that evening.

"Shopkeeper, we should return together," Yang Chengzhi said. He had only come to Nine Heavens Mountain to hunt spirit beasts, earn some Spirit Crystals, and then read at the Bookstore. What he had earned from yesterday's level-five spirit beast was enough to support him through the rest of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Besides, he had suffered a few injuries. It was fine while Ma Feifei was around, but if Ma Feifei left, he certainly could not remain here alone. If he got himself killed, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Ma Feifei nodded. "All right, then. We'll head back together."

At this, Ma Feifei glanced at the unfamiliar woman wiping down her sword, then asked, "And you, miss?"

The unfamiliar woman was icy and aloof. She continued wiping her sword as though she had not heard Ma Feifei speak at all.

Too aloof! Ma Feifei shook his head. A woman like this was clearly not from the same world as him, but he would not hold it against her. Everyone had their own temperament. Since she was unwilling to answer, there was no need for him to keep bothering with her.

With that, Ma Feifei prepared to leave with Yang Chengzhi.

Yet Yang Chengzhi still looked somewhat unhappy.

Walking over to him, Ma Feifei could not help asking, "What's wrong, Brother Yang?"

"I..." Yang Chengzhi opened his mouth, seemingly feeling too embarrassed to say it. The words reached his lips, then he swallowed them back down. With a sigh, he refused to speak further.

How strange! Is playing the icy aloof type fashionable now? Ma Feifei wondered.