With everyone caught completely off guard, Sun Ying suddenly asked without any warning:
"What happened to him?"
Ilya froze for a moment, then realized that the Spirit Clan Wild Hunt across from her was asking about her. She hurriedly answered:
"Oh, him? He's fine. He was just seriously wounded and needs time to recover..."
"Is that so?" Sun Ying stepped forward, looking as though she intended to open the partition beside the counter and enter the shop to examine him more closely.
Ilya stared blankly, then hurriedly stopped her.
"Um, customer, what are you..."
"Oh, I just want to see where he was hurt." Sun Ying gave a perfunctory reply, her attention clearly fixed entirely on the weakened man.
"Huh?!" Ilya's four eyes widened round, and for a moment, she failed to process what was happening.
But the instinct to protect him had already sunk deep into her bones. The wandering merchant spread her arms and reflexively blocked Sun Ying's path.
Sun Ying halted halfway through stepping past the counter. It was obvious that she still wanted to get closer.
But with the way blocked, she could only stop where she was.
"Oh, I mean no harm." Her gaze never left the man as Sun Ying hurriedly explained, "I only want to confirm exactly where he was injured..."
After saying that, she seemed to realize something was off and added:
"Oh, mainly to ensure our safety when we head into the unexplored region."
"If his injuries were caused by something like toxins or parasitic organisms, and we know nothing about it, that could be very dangerous."
Everyone fell silent.
The reasoning itself was sound.
But her behavior... wasn't it a little too strange?
That deeply worried look, that utterly concerned expression—
Was that really how someone should react toward a