Holy Healing

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

But it was only for a moment.

Irin quickly felt ashamed that she, of all people, had actually let her mind go completely blank for a split second, believing the words of the young man across from her.

"Pfft, I didn't realize you were actually pretty good at telling jokes."

"What, you don't believe me?" Liao Ji asked in return.

Irin let out a disdainful scoff.

"The Ash Emperor? Are you referring to someone who carefully steps over corpses, terrified that the filth might touch their clothes, or someone whose breathing rhythm falls apart the moment the scent of blood fills the air? Or perhaps, a novice who doesn't even know how to tie a proper knot?"

Liao Ji admitted that he had indeed underestimated this female scavenger.

His first impression of her was that she was a foul-mouthed, boisterous person.

Yet, he hadn't expected that many of his subconscious habits as a modern man had been noticed by Irin entirely.

Perhaps she could also guess what was going through Liao Ji's mind at this moment.

"Hmph, don't underestimate the eyes of us scavengers. It's how we make a living, after all, and I'm quite accurate when it comes to reading people. Someone like you is cut from the same cloth as those delicate young masters from the high society of the base cities."

"Oh, wait, I almost forgot. You're actually a bit better than them. At least you're quite innocent—a virgin whose body subconsciously stiffens and tenses up the moment he's touched or approached by the opposite sex."

As she finished speaking, Irin cast a provocative look at Liao Ji, as if she were retaliating for everything he had done to her earlier.

To this, Liao Ji didn't intend to argue; he simply spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

"Fine, I was just joking. But I really am from five hundred years ago—the Old Wasteland Era, as you call it—and I have a deep connection to the Ash Emperor. In the end, for certain reasons, I was, well, put into hibernation in this stone coffin."

Clearly, judging by the expression on the female scavenger's face, this explanation was at least convincing enough for the first half to make her believe it.

After all, it perfectly explained why he had so many questions about the "common sense" of this world.

And for Irin, a person from five hundred years ago, while shocking, was not entirely impossible to accept, given that there were living examples.

The five former personal guards of the Emperor, who were now the supreme rulers of the world, also hailed from the wasteland of the old era.

This was also why, in the shadows, there were still many lunatics—including some big shots in the base cities—who longed to become Corrupted. Beyond the pursuit of immense power, they also craved the vitality and eternal youth brought by Corrupt Calamity, which could extend one's lifespan by centuries.

"I'm actually talking to an antique from five hundred years ago," Irin muttered under her breath.

However, she quickly grasped the main point and anxiously confirmed with Liao Ji, "You said before that you can control Corrupt Calamity, and that later on, you could even turn me back into a normal person!?"

"That's right. Whether it was the battle just now or our conversation right now, have you felt a single trace of the effects of Corrupt Calamity infection? Isn't that the best proof?"

After Liao Ji's words, Irin fell into deep thought.

It wasn't that she hadn't seen Corrupted before; on the contrary, she would never forget the scene from "that night." That was why she was now so certain that Liao Ji wasn't lying—she really was different from other Corrupted.

"Alright, let's save the rest of our friendly exchange for after we leave this godforsaken place."

Just as Irin said.

Liao Ji could no longer tolerate the corpses scattered throughout the underground chamber and the stench that had thoroughly permeated the air.

He walked up to Irin and untied the ropes.

However, when Liao Ji saw that the female scavenger's already tattered trench coat had been torn in several more places, revealing bloodied wounds beneath, he paused.

These injuries must have been sustained while Irin was hunting the Kobold earlier. Although they weren't large, and the physical constitution of a Corrupted had already caused the wounds to scab over, they would more or less leave scars on her skin if not treated properly.

Following Liao Ji's gaze, he could see quite a few similar scars on Irin's body. When Irin noticed his line of sight, she didn't seem to care; it appeared that for a scavenger, scars were not something worth worrying about.

However.

I might as well give it a try.

After glancing at [Holy Healing] in his skill bar, Liao Ji focused his mind and placed his hand over Irin's wound. Under the puzzled gaze of the female scavenger, he whispered silently in his heart.

"Holy Healing."

In an instant, a brilliant yet gentle pure white light bloomed from Liao Ji's palm, enveloping the female scavenger.

Irin had never felt her body so warm; it was as if she were soaking in a spring. Those white rays of light flowed like a trickling stream over every inch of her skin.

They washed away her fatigue, relaxed her tense and anxious emotions, and left her mind blank, as if her spirit were floating above the clouds.

Following that, a tingling, itchy sensation spread from various parts of her body. This feeling was very peculiar, like an electric current passing through, making Irin want to moan in comfort.

In the physical world, one could only see the female scavenger bathed in holy light, with black substances being expelled from her skin. These were the impurities and filth within the human body, all of which were now vanishing completely in the holy light.

The entire process didn't last long, only about a dozen seconds or so.

But when the light in Liao Ji's hand faded and Irin's spirit was pulled back from the clouds to reality, not only she, but even Liao Ji was a bit surprised.

It turned out that after his [Holy Healing], not only had the female scavenger's few new wounds completely healed, but even the old scars had vanished along with them.

Of course, the most exaggerated part was yet to come.

Irin looked down in disbelief at her hands, which were at least a shade fairer, and then touched her cheeks. The softness, elasticity, and delicate smoothness of her skin...

This sensation hadn't appeared since she was fourteen, after she lost her father and became a scavenger on the Black Cave Plains.

"You..."

With a mix of confusion, bewilderment, and complex emotions, Irin cast her gaze upon the black-haired young man from five hundred years ago standing before her.

After Liao Ji finished untying the female scavenger.

He reached out his hand toward Irin, who was still foolishly kneeling on the ground.

"Liao Ji, that's my name. What about yours?"

Irin subconsciously wanted to say, didn't you already know? After witnessing so many miraculous things from the young man, she had stopped trying to figure out how he could possibly know her name.

But in the end, after taking a deep breath.

"Irin."

Irin then grabbed Liao Ji's hand and pulled herself up from the ground.