Yueru Comes Along

The martial arts contest was already drawing to a close, and after such a disturbance, it soon came to a halt.

Gao Xu immediately scooped up Su Mei's petite body. Seeing the enormous wound across her chest and abdomen, his heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife.

Lin Tiannan's Qi Sword Finger was incredibly powerful. Even though he hadn't used his full strength, a little demon like Su Mei couldn't possibly withstand it.

The little fox was gravely injured, and Gao Xu had no medicine on hand that could heal injuries suffered by characters from the story. He had no choice but to carry her over to the Fox Demon and ask her to stabilize Su Mei's condition.

A new fight broke out nearby. The enraged Snake Demon had raised her sickle and was trying to fight Lin Tiannan to the death.

The weakness caused by the Berserk Demon Art had passed, and Lin Tiannan knew he was in the wrong, so he only dodged and didn't fight back. The Snake Demon soon gained the upper hand, but the gap in their strength was too great for her to injure him.

Lin Yueru stood frozen to the spot, distracted. It was hard to tell whether it was because of the shock of her defeat or something else...

"Madam, how is she?" Seeing the Fox Demon spit out her inner core to heal Su Mei, her face instantly turned deathly pale and her body swayed. Gao Xu hurried to pull the desperate Snake Demon away and have her guard her wife while she healed Su Mei. He waited anxiously for a while, then finally couldn't hold back from asking.

The Fox Demon choked up and couldn't speak. Gao Xu's heart sank, but after thinking it over, he didn't give up hope. The demon race wasn't skilled at healing, after all. As long as Su Mei's life could be saved, surely there'd be a way to treat her in a xianxia world?

A parent's love for their child knew no bounds. Their daughter was gravely injured and near death, leaving the Snake Demon and Fox Demon at a loss. For now, they could only place their hopes in Gao Xu.

One matter was one matter, another was another. Lin Tiannan felt guilty toward the little fox, Su Mei, but her parents still had to go to the Demon Locking Tower to atone for their crimes. Everyone understood that. Of course, according to their wager, the two demons would have ten days to treat their injuries. If Su Mei could be saved, they could also send word to her parents that she was safe.

By now, the Emblem had already notified Gao Xu that he'd completed the side quest, and Lin Yueru's Favorability had shot up to 50 points. But he couldn't spare any attention for Lin Yueru just yet. He clasped his hands toward Lin Tiannan, picked up Su Mei, and hurried outside.

The 2,500-point reward from the side quest had also completed Gao Xu's third main quest. Fortunately, when he reached the entrance to the Hidden Dragon Cave, he spotted two Lin Family Fort disciples leading four girls north.

Gao Xu hurried after them. After asking around, he learned that the other girls, the three story characters, and the newcomers had already headed for Suzhou City under the escort of Lin Family Fort disciples. These four girls lived in Baihe Village, not far from there. Since it was getting dark, a kind-hearted disciple had stayed behind to escort them.

At the mention of Baihe Village, Gao Xu had an idea. He quickly explained that Baihe Village was his next stop too. Since it was on his way, he was more than willing to take over the escort duty.

He'd made a deep impression on both Lin Tiannan and Lin Yueru, and it seemed to have rubbed off on these ordinary Lin Family Fort disciples as well. He didn't need to say much before the two agreed.

Gao Xu had indirectly saved all four girls' lives, so they naturally followed his lead. The optional quest became active, automatically postponing his return time.

In a first-difficulty space, whenever all the main quests were completed, a Reincarnator could choose to return immediately or stay behind for a while.

The option to return immediately was very powerful; it could even be used in the middle of a battle. That was why Gao Xu had kept it as his last resort during his earlier fight with Tang Mei'er. Temporarily staying behind could bring a Reincarnator some extra benefits, but it meant giving up the convenience of returning to the space during battle, so there was still a good chance of running into danger.

Which option to choose was a matter of personal preference.

Even if Su Mei hadn't been gravely injured, Gao Xu had planned to stay behind and try to get as much as he could. Getting rid of Tang Mei'er didn't mean his path ahead would be smooth. On the contrary, his true enemy was a hundred times more powerful than Tang Mei'er. If he didn't work even harder, one day he'd surely be trampled underfoot again!

Su Mei's grave injury was also a tremendous opportunity. Gao Xu's worry and urgency weren't just because he'd hit it off with the little fox; they were also tied to the Favorability system.

Once Favorability rose above 90, increasing it further was difficult even with an ordinary story character. At the very least, he'd need to complete a side quest, as he had with Dongmei. And Favorability only showed its true value once it reached the maximum of 100. So if he could heal the little fox, the Favorability rewards from her whole family would be a tremendous windfall.

It was a chance to kill two birds with one stone, and who wouldn't want that? Gao Xu had been at a loss about how to treat Su Mei's injuries, but the mention of Baihe Village suddenly jogged his memory. The village chief, Han Lu, and Doctor Han, along with his daughter Han Mengci, were all highly skilled physicians. In the game, when the zombies ran rampant in Heishui Town, Doctor Han had done everything he could to treat them. He couldn't use martial arts and could only treat the symptoms, not the root cause, but his medical skills were clearly exceptional.

In his previous life, one of Gao Xu's friends had even learned medicine from Doctor Han. It was an extremely powerful support skill. If it weren't for its many restrictions, the Reincarnators would probably have trampled the threshold of Doctor Han's home flat long ago.

Gao Xu's only concern was that Su Mei was a demon, and he didn't know whether Doctor Han could treat her. But Zhao Ling'er had been pregnant in the game, and Doctor Han had helped her through it, so Gao Xu hoped that doctors in this xianxia world doubled as veterinarians...

Perhaps their days in the lightless Hidden Dragon Cave had been too miserable. Even along the rugged mountain path, the four girls kept their heads down and walked in silence, their eyes filled with longing for home.

Gao Xu was naturally pleased with their pace. He had one of the sturdier girls carry Su Mei, while he carried the Flying Rainbow Sword and escorted them at an unhurried pace.

His caution was warranted. The hardest part of this optional quest was getting the girls out of the Hidden Dragon Cave, but since the quest required the Reincarnator to escort them home, there might still be some little demons lying in wait along the way. He couldn't afford to fall short at the final hurdle—that would be truly unbearable!

Completing an optional quest not only earned points but also had a considerable effect on the completion rating. Unless absolutely necessary, Gao Xu wouldn't miss out on one.

Half an hour passed, and the road remained peaceful. Apart from the occasional wild animal, not a single little demon appeared. Yet Gao Xu showed no sign of relief.

He suddenly stopped, listened for a moment, then called toward the trees behind them. "Which friend has been following us all this time? Please come out and show yourself!"

Gao Xu's tone was fairly polite, but the only response was a cold snort, followed by silence.

"Huh? Why did she follow us?" Gao Xu was taken aback. Recognizing the follower's voice, he muttered to himself, "This young lady is not easy to deal with..."

The expression he'd let slip caught the eye of a certain young woman, and she reacted at once. A flash of red darted out and blocked their way. Lin Yueru stood with her hands on her hips, glaring sidelong at Gao Xu as she snapped, "What, you don't seem happy to see me? If Father didn't feel guilty and wasn't tied up, do you think I'd have any free time to come protect you?"

"Protect... me?" Gao Xu rubbed his nose, not sure whether to laugh or cry.

"Of course!" Lin Yueru habitually lifted her chin, then remembered that she'd just lost to the man standing in front of her. Her cheeks flushed, and she turned her head away.

Gao Xu had been afraid that this proud young lady wouldn't be able to get over her defeat and would come looking for trouble. Otherwise, she really was a powerful ally.

Fortunately, though Lin Yueru was strong-willed, she wasn't unreasonable. She didn't give Gao Xu any trouble along the way, only grumbling under her breath, "You just happened to win by half a move. What's there to be proud of?" and "So annoying! Why aren't there any little demons around for me to take my anger out on?"

Gao Xu wasn't the only one sweating. Even the four girls could sense the anger radiating from Lin Yueru and nervously kept their distance.

Amid this strange atmosphere, Baihe Village finally came into view in the distance...