Amnesia

Because of her master's words, Cao Ying naturally noticed a Snake-People woman hurtling toward them and immediately cried out, "Master, she's falling toward us! Catch her!"

The purple figure traced an ominous arc through the air, plummeting rapidly with the howl of tearing wind.

"Got it!" Before Su Baichen had even finished speaking, he vanished from where he stood like a ghost. In the next instant, he appeared in midair.

With a light flick of his sleeve, a gentle force caught the falling Snake-People woman, dispelling her momentum before he steadily gathered her into his arms. She felt icy cold to the touch, carrying a faint scent of blood.

He drifted lightly back to the ground and lowered his head for a closer look, his brows drawing together. In his arms was an extremely young Snake-People woman. Even in her wretched state, her beautiful features could not be concealed. Yet her face was as pale as paper, devoid of all color. Pain and despair were etched between her tightly furrowed brows, dark red blood continuously spilling from the corners of her mouth. Her breath was so faint it was almost imperceptible.

Her purple gauze dress was torn in several places and smeared with dirt. She had likely been through a fierce battle.

Most striking of all were the strands of chaotic energy flickering through her waterfall-like, disheveled purple hair. They were traces left behind by space power spiraling out of control—powerful and dangerous.

Once Su Baichen returned to the ground, Cao Ying hurried over, her little face filled with nervous curiosity.

It was her first time seeing a Snake-People woman from such close range. Her gaze was involuntarily drawn to the pale purple snake tail, though she was even more concerned for the injured woman.

"Master, how is this Snake-People sister? Is she... is she still alive?" Young Cao Ying looked up, her voice carrying an almost imperceptible tremble.

Su Baichen did not answer immediately. Instead, he gently laid the Snake-People woman on the soft ground. He extended the index finger of his right hand, where a thread of pure azure Dou Qi silently gathered. Like a living thing, it carefully entered the Snake-People woman's body and traveled through her meridians and internal organs.

A moment later, he withdrew his Dou Qi. His brow furrowed even more deeply as he said gravely, "Her breathing is weak, her heart meridian is damaged, and her life hangs by a thread. She must have used an extremely overbearing spatial escape technique, but her cultivation was insufficient. And... she had no will to live, no desire for survival. As a result, the violent power of space backlashed against her while she was using it, damaging her foundation. Her internal organs are all cracked, and her Dou Qi crystal core is covered in fissures. The fact that she can still cling to a single breath is already a miracle."

"She had no will to live?!" Young Cao Ying blinked her big eyes, her face full of incomprehension. In her innocent world, life was incomparably precious. "Why? Isn't it good to be alive? She looks so beautiful..."

Su Baichen shook his head helplessly. His gaze swept once more over the Snake-People woman's unusual attire and the noble air she retained even in unconsciousness. After a moment of thought, he said, "I don't know the exact reason. But judging by her bearing and these clothes, which look ordinary but are actually made from fine materials, she is no ordinary Snake-People woman. Her status in the Snake-People Tribe is likely quite high."

"Besides, the spatial escape technique she used is of an exceptionally high grade. With merely the cultivation of a Dou Wang, she was able to forcibly draw upon and wield space power that only a Dou Zong could begin to control, using it to escape. Though she suffered backlash, that alone proves how powerful and rare this technique is. What kind of desperate situation did she encounter that she was willing to pay such a price, even to the point of wishing for death...?"

Cao Ying's little mouth fell open in even greater surprise. Though young, she understood from her master's usual teachings that any cultivation method or Dou skill capable of touching upon space power at the Dou Wang stage was a treasure of the world.

"Enough. There's no point thinking too much about it." Su Baichen looked at the sun gradually sinking westward and rose to his feet. "Meeting her is fate. We can't just stand by and watch her die. Let's take her somewhere safe first, then decide what to do."

With that, he picked up the unconscious Snake-People woman again, took Cao Ying's hand with his other hand, and surged with Dou Qi. They transformed into a streak of light and flew toward the depths of the distant mountains.

As the setting sun dyed the horizon orange-red, Su Baichen led the two of them to a dry, spacious cave beneath a secluded cliff.

Inside the cave, Su Baichen skillfully built a campfire, driving away the evening chill and dampness. Sitting beside the fire, he quietly roasted the food he had casually hunted along the way. Fat dripped into the flames with sizzling sounds, and its fragrance gradually filled the cave.

Cao Ying sat cross-legged on a flat stone some distance away, cultivating Dou Qi according to the method her master had taught her. Her small figure looked especially earnest in the flickering firelight.

Meanwhile, the unconscious Snake-People woman lay quietly on a bed of dry grass deeper inside the cave.

Suddenly, her body twitched faintly. Her long lashes trembled violently like butterfly wings, fine beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead. An expression of extreme fear surfaced on her face, as if she had fallen into a terrifying nightmare.

Her fingers curled unconsciously, clutching the dry grass beneath her tightly. A glistening tear silently slid from the corner of her eye and disappeared into the purple hair by her temples. Her chapped lips parted slightly, letting out broken, despairing murmurs:

"No... don't... please... let... me go..."

"Big sister... don't leave... don't!"

"Why... why did it have to be this way..."

As she spoke, the unconscious Snake-People woman suddenly drew in a sharp breath and snapped her eyes open. Those snake eyes, which should have held an alluringly sinister gleam, were now filled with terror and confusion.

She jerked upright on reflex, but the violent movement tugged at her internal injuries, making her let out a muffled groan of pain.

She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings—the stone walls, the campfire, the humans... The terror in her eyes gradually gave way to bewilderment. She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, her snake tail swaying uneasily as she asked in a hoarse, weak voice, "Where... is this? Who... who am I?"

The Snake-People woman's awakening naturally drew the attention of Su Baichen and Cao Ying.

Su Baichen merely glanced at her without getting up, continuing to turn the food in his hands at an unhurried pace, as though everything were under control. He knew that excessive attention might make someone who had just escaped death even more uneasy.

But Cao Ying was different. Hearing the Snake-People woman's voice, she immediately withdrew from her cultivation. Seeing her sitting up, a delighted smile instantly blossomed across her face.

Young and innocent, she was curious about everything and quite bold. She immediately hopped off the stone, ran to the Snake-People woman in just a few steps, and crouched beside her. Blinking her clear, bright eyes, she said with adorable sincerity, "Snake-People sister, you're awake! That's wonderful! My name is Cao Ying, and the one roasting food over there is my master. We saved you! You fell from the sky, and Master caught you! Don't be afraid. You're safe now, and the bad guys won't be able to find this place!"

The Snake-People woman stared blankly at the delicate little human girl before her, whose eyes were so pure. The concern in her words did not seem false.

She tried hard to remember, but her mind held only blankness and tearing pain. Rubbing her still-throbbing temples, she looked even more lost, with a hint of helplessness in her eyes. Softly, she asked, "Th-thank you. But... do you know who I am? I... I can't seem to remember."