Awakening

Three days later, Li Xuancang slowly woke up.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the familiar Battle Soldier Camp.

"I survived."

Li Xuancang secretly counted himself fortunate. Heaven had favored him once more and let him live again.

"Hiss!"

Li Xuancang tried to move, but a wave of searing pain instantly swept through his entire body, making him suck in a sharp breath.

"Y-you're awake..."

Wang Xiaoniu walked into the room and froze in shock when he saw Li Xuancang awake.

He knew exactly how grave Li Xuancang's injuries had been and had concluded that it was practically impossible for him to wake up.

If Li Xuancang hadn't already become a Battle Soldier, he would have long since been tossed into the wilderness.

The fact that Li Xuancang had awakened despite such severe injuries deeply shocked Wang Xiaoniu.

"Did you save me?"

Li Xuancang spoke with difficulty, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"My elder brother and I carried you back. You've been unconscious for three days."

Though Wang Xiaoniu was astonished, he was sincerely happy that Li Xuancang had survived.

The battle three days ago had been extremely brutal. More than ten Battle Soldiers had died.

If not for Li Xuancang, the Wang brothers would never have had the chance to leave the battlefield and would likely have died in battle.

For that reason, they were deeply grateful to Li Xuancang. Even though they believed he would never wake up, they had still tended to him with great care.

"Thank you."

Li Xuancang thanked Wang Xiaoniu.

Wang Xiaoniu waved his hand, poured a bowl of hot water, and passed it to Li Xuancang.

"No need to thank me. If anything, my brother and I should be thanking you."

Li Xuancang laboriously took the bowl. Only after drinking a little water did he feel somewhat better.

"You're really tough as nails. You actually pulled through injuries that bad."

Wang Xiaoniu kept looking Li Xuancang over, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Li Xuancang merely smiled faintly and said nothing.

His survival was inseparable from the Daily Enhancement of his strength.

If being unconscious had affected the Daily Enhancement's effects, he would already be dead.

"Get some proper rest. I'll go find you something to eat."

"Thank you."

Not long after Wang Xiaoniu left, he returned carrying a large bowl of rice and two dishes. There was even a plate of meat.

Wang Xiaoniu set them beside Li Xuancang and said, "Eat up! Lord Zhao personally gave the order, or you wouldn't get to eat something this good."

Looking at the meat before Li Xuancang, Wang Xiaoniu unconsciously swallowed.

Li Xuancang had been unconscious for three days and was now ravenous. At the sight of the food, his appetite surged. After thanking Wang Xiaoniu, he picked up his bowl and wolfed the food down.

"Mm!"

The moment a piece of meat entered his stomach, Li Xuancang's eyes lit up. This flavor was completely different from the meat he had eaten before.

Seeing Li Xuancang's reaction, Wang Xiaoniu explained.

"This is demon beast meat—the meat of a Demon Hound killed three days ago. It's extremely rare and will greatly help your injuries. If Lord Zhao hadn't spoken up, you wouldn't get any either."

Demons fed on the Human Race, but the Human Race could also feed on Demons.

Demon beasts in particular had flesh and blood containing enormous energy and abundant vitality. To the Human Race, they were an excellent tonic.

If Li Xuancang hadn't severely injured a Demon Hound and caught Zhao Changlin's attention, he wouldn't even have been qualified to receive demon beast meat.

Li Xuancang ate with relish and quickly cleaned every last grain of rice and drop of soup from the dishes.

"Hah!"

Li Xuancang exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling as though he had come back to life. Even the pain in his body had eased somewhat.

"Brother Wang, what happened after I passed out?"

Li Xuancang knew nothing about what had happened after he lost consciousness. He also had no idea who this Lord Zhao Wang Xiaoniu spoke of was, and he desperately wanted to understand the situation.

At those words, Wang Xiaoniu's expression turned incomparably solemn. He said seriously, "After you passed out, Lord Zhao had my brother and me send you back. Then he erupted into a fierce battle with the Demon Hounds..."

As Wang Xiaoniu recounted the events, Li Xuancang finally learned that many things had happened after he lost consciousness.

The entire squad he had been in was wiped out, with no survivors. Even the soldier who had fled from the very beginning was caught by the Demon Hounds and died without a whole corpse left behind.

After telling Li Xuancang everything that had happened over the past three days, Wang Xiaoniu continued, "Lord Zhao thinks highly of you. Get better quickly! Lord Zhao will surely entrust you with important duties."

There was some envy in Wang Xiaoniu's eyes. To be valued by Zhao Changlin meant a future without limits.

But he wasn't jealous. He knew Li Xuancang had bought all of this with his life.

If he too could face a Demon Hound head-on and desperately cripple one, Zhao Changlin would look at him differently as well.

"I'll have to trouble you for the next few days, Second Brother Wang."

Li Xuancang needed at least another two or three days before he could move about again.

"It's no trouble at all. Don't mention it."

Wang Xiaoniu didn't think much of it. Compared with Li Xuancang helping them leave the battlefield, this was nothing.

Looking at the forthright Wang Xiaoniu, Li Xuancang committed this kindness to heart.

Though the Wang brothers had their own selfish motives in carrying him back.

Without their immediate treatment and their tending and bandaging of his wounds, however, he likely wouldn't have held on.

Li Xuancang would not forget this life-saving debt.

Nor had Li Xuancang forgotten Zhao Changlin, who had ordered the two men to send him back and had given him special treatment.

If he had the chance in the future, he would certainly repay him.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Li Xuancang recovered well and could already move normally, though he still couldn't engage in strenuous activity.

"More than half a month has passed. News that I've become a Battle Soldier should have reached Azure Creek Village. Father, Mother, Elder Sister, and Little Sister should be able to breathe easier too."

Li Xuancang thought of his parents and sisters back home.

The family's circumstances had already been difficult. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been unable to pay their taxes and forced to send him here for military service.

This place lay on the frontier of the Great Flame Dynasty, over a thousand li from Azure Creek Village.

Now that more than half a month had passed, word that he had become a Battle Soldier and entered the court's service should have reached Azure County.

Though he hadn't been able to send home silver or grain, as long as his family's taxes were exempted, their burden would be eased immensely.

"Brother Li, come with me quickly! Lord Zhao wants to see you."

Just as Li Xuancang's thoughts drifted afar, Wang Xiaoniu came over with an excited expression and pulled him outside.

"Brother Li, Lord Zhao values strength above all else. You have to perform well. You might have a chance to become a Five-Man Leader."

As they walked, Wang Xiaoniu kept urging Li Xuancang to perform well. This might be his chance to soar to the heavens.

After spending this time together, the Wang brothers had treated Li Xuancang exceedingly well. They dearly hoped he would seize this hard-won opportunity, bought with his life.