The days without An Jing were far more boring, and far colder.
She still knew them—she knew Gu Yeqi, knew Cang Linzu, knew everyone else—but aside from Gu Yeqi, her relationships with everyone were quite ordinary... That was only natural. She had lived in the Wilderness since childhood, illiterate and uneducated, never even having lived within Da Chen's social environment. In every gesture and movement, rather than a child, she was more like a little barbarian.
And during sparring practice, almost no one could withstand her attacks. Every one of them ended up seriously injured, to the point that no one was willing to spar with her anymore, leaving only the instructors to take the field.
But once the instructors stepped in, Bai Qinghan was the one who got hurt—Xuanming Manor's instructors had no notion of holding back. An Jing had emerged unscathed because his technique was extraordinarily strong, even stronger than the instructors' from the very beginning; he simply did not know martial arts.
Bai Qinghan did not possess that innate skill, so naturally, she could only be injured.
The one willing to tend to her wounds was Gu Yeqi.
Moonlight spilled through the window. One girl sat on the windowsill, applying medicine to another, her voice carrying a trace of complaint. "White Barbarian, why do you always use so much force? I know your past was hard, but you're safe inside the Manor now."
And 'Bai Qinghan's' lips twitched as she said softly, "...I don't want to... either. But my body moves on its own."
"I get it, I get it. Just like how cats instinctively hiss when startled—you go into a stress response whenever you encounter danger."
Gu Yeqi wore an expression of understanding, but she still shook her head. "But you're a person. You have to