Chapter 12

"You..." Xiya sighed, quickly slipped into her role, and took two vials from her bag. She held them out to Ye Chuqi. "Drink the red Healing Potion first, then the blue one half an hour later. I need to prepare a potion for your particular condition here. Please wait a moment."

Ye Chuqi held the two vials uncertainly and looked at Xiya in confusion.

That soft, innocent, little-animal gaze touched Xiya at once. "Don't be afraid. The potion isn't bitter, and it won't hurt. You'll feel better soon after you drink it." Of course, that was something she would tell a child to soothe her. The potion could indeed ease Ye Chuqi's pain, but healing her would take more time and more ingredients.

Ye Chuqi obediently said, "Okay," tipped back her head, and drank the red Healing Potion.

Jun Ruofeng's pupils shifted slightly, and he scoffed to himself. She seemed so sharp earlier. Why did she just swallow an unknown potion from a stranger? Xiya's potions were nothing like ordinary ones. Their colors, tastes, and effects were all different, and conventional methods could not identify them. Anyone who did not know that would surely hesitate to drink one.

But Ye Chuqi had drunk it without a second thought. Afterward, she even licked her lips and looked at Xiya as though she were waiting for praise.

Jun Ruofeng: Was something off here?

As Ye Chuqi would put it, she judged people by instinct. Hers was every bit as good as a small animal's. Just as Xiao Nuo had liked and trusted her after meeting her only once, she could tell at a glance that Xiya was a good person. She liked the way Xiya smelled, too. She was as gentle as the young women in Medicine Valley.

Someone like Jun Ruofeng would not understand that feeling.

After drinking the red Healing Potion, Ye Chuqi's eyes lit up. It was less effective than the medicinal broths she brewed, but only because the ingredients she used were rich in Spiritual Power. Xiya was incredible to have made such a fine potion from ingredients with so little Spiritual Power.

The potion did little for Ye Chuqi's injuries, but it greatly eased her pain. She looked forward to seeing what the blue Healing Potion would feel like, but Xiya had told her to wait half an hour.

"Aren't you worried about Red Beard?" Ye Chuqi asked Xiya, tilting her head.

Xiya, busy mixing a potion, gave a faint smile. "I am." They had all seen the scene at the giant pit: the traces left by the Horned Python, despite Ye Chuqi having destroyed its body, and the oppressive aura that had yet to fade. They knew what kind of danger Red Beard faced.

Ye Chuqi stood and patted the black ash from her clothes. "Come on. Let's find him."

As she brushed herself off, Jun Ruofeng took a noticeable step back.

Xiya hesitated. "But you..." In her eyes, Ye Chuqi's injuries could not wait for treatment. And Jun Ruofeng had spoken up, which surely meant he did not want anything to happen to Ye Chuqi.

What she did not realize was that Jun Ruofeng had no idea how badly Ye Chuqi was hurt. Only when he saw Xiya's reaction did he understand that some things were far beyond what he had imagined.

"I'm fine." Now that the pain had stopped, she could move about freely. Treatment could wait a little longer. At worst, she would just have to remember to take the next potion on the road in half an hour.

But Ye Chuqi had not expected to lose consciousness the instant she drank the blue Healing Potion half an hour later.

Xiya said, "Didn't she know?" Who would drink a blue Healing Potion while walking?

The blue Healing Potion quickly rendered a person unconscious, then repaired the body during sleep. Xiya's version was even stronger: Ye Chuqi fell asleep instantly. If Xiya had not reacted quickly and turned to catch her, Ye Chuqi would have landed face-first on the ground.

Everyone else: Who knows?

When Ye Chuqi woke again, three days had passed. She instinctively swept her surroundings with her Divine Sense and found that she was alone in the cave. Everyone else, including Red Beard, was outside, feasting around a campfire.

The rich smell of roast meat filled the air, mingled with the mellow aroma of wine.

She checked her body next. To her surprise, her injuries had healed a little: she could sense a trace of Spiritual Power in her battered body. Unfortunately, her meridians were shattered, and that tiny amount was nowhere near enough.

Xiya's medical skills were even better than she had thought.

"It wasn't her!" A childish voice sounded by Ye Chuqi's ear, its smug tone suggesting a proud little figure with hands on hips.

Ye Chuqi immediately brightened. "San San, you're awake?" San San sounded full of energy, so it must have recovered well. "You're amazing!"

"Mm-hmm!" The proud little voice rose as San San accepted her praise in full. "It's thanks to the Beast Core you threw in. It held so much energy that I recovered this quickly." San San paused, then said awkwardly, "It was hard on you, being alone, wasn't it? I won't leave you alone again!"

Playing along, Ye Chuqi said, "Of course it was hard without you, San San. I had nothing to eat or drink, no medicine when I got hurt, and when I met a bunch of strangers, I couldn't even understand them. It was terribly hard without you."

San San fell silent for a moment, then said in a deflated voice, "I-I'm sorry... It won't happen again."

"Why are you apologizing? If it weren't for you, the fierce winds would have torn me to pieces long ago. You fell asleep because you were protecting me!"

At Ye Chuqi's reassurance, San San proudly put its hands on its hips again. "That's right! What would you do without me?"

San San had woken a day before Ye Chuqi and had been quietly observing the people around them. It learned far faster than she did, so it had quickly figured out the local language and could understand everything they said.

"I'll teach you from now on. I'm sure you'll learn quickly, too."

"Okay. I'm counting on you, San San."

"Mm-hmm. First, I'll tell you the important things I heard from them. The Magic Beasts here all have Beast Cores containing enormous amounts of energy, and humans can use them too. The Horned Python Red Beard fought was a Ninth-Rank Magic Beast, just one step from becoming a Demon Beast, so its Beast Core is even more valuable. You destroyed the python's body, but they all suspect you took its Beast Core. Red Beard said it didn't matter if you did. You saved his life, after all."