The battle ended, and even though Xiao Fan had long anticipated the outcome, it still left him shaken.
Only after witnessing a Dou Emperor unleash her full strength firsthand did Xiao Fan truly feel how insignificant he was.
"Whew... so this was a clash between Dou Emperors!"
Xiao Fan leaned back against a branch, breathing deeply. Although he had been far from the combatants, their fierce auras still left him with lingering fear.
He gently exhaled a stale breath, surveyed the Mountain Range as it descended into chaos, and carefully checked his surroundings before Xiao Fan cautiously darted toward his hiding place.
After finally evading the magical beasts searching everywhere, Xiao Fan was dumbfounded the moment he stepped into the valley where he had been hiding.
Floating in the lake at the center of the valley was a breathtaking woman in black robes. Who else could she be but Yun Zhi, who had just fought the Amethyst Winged Lion King?
Looking at Yun Zhi lying unconscious in the lake, Xiao Fan questioned the system with a dark expression.
"Pidàn, am I Xiao Fan or Xiao Yan? Why do I feel like my experiences are so similar to Xiao Yan's?"
"A coincidence, a coincidence. Host, you must believe that all of this is a coincidence."
Xiao Fan suspiciously scrutinized the system's nonexistent body. Given its response, he could only believe that this was a coincidence.
Listening to the magical beasts' roars rising and falling throughout the Mountain Range, Xiao Fan carefully carried Yun Zhi into the Mountain Cave where he had been hiding. Just in case, he went back outside and scattered some medicinal powder around the area.
When he returned to the Mountain Cave, he found Yun Zhi, whom he had just laid on the bed, unconsciously moaning in pain.
Yun Zhi had actually suffered such severe injuries because the Lion King had caught her off guard. She had never expected the Amethyst Winged Lion King to possess an innate sealing ability.
During the days she had spent observing Xiao Fan in the Mountain Range, she had also noticed that magical beasts rarely came here after he had treated the area. In her desperation, she had thought to come here to heal, only to lose consciousness as soon as she flew over the lake.
Only now did Xiao Fan take a proper look at Yun Zhi's features.
Her graceful, regal face drew him in without his realizing it, while the pallor brought on by her injuries stirred a hint of pity. In her pain, she unconsciously bit her lip, exposing a sliver of pearly white teeth.
Xiao Fan stared, somewhat entranced, momentarily forgetting that Yun Zhi was still gravely injured.
Only when Yun Zhi let out another unconscious moan did Xiao Fan come to his senses. Looking at her pale face, he sighed inwardly. What a sinful temptation! Sect Master Yun, tell me, should I take a bite or not?
Xiao Fan had intended to treat Yun Zhi, but a thought suddenly struck him: what if she cut him down with her sword?
It was hardly impossible. Xiao Yan had simply been lucky back then, but his own life was at stake now. Xiao Fan did not dare take the risk.
"Yun Zhi? Yun Zhi?"
Xiao Fan cautiously nudged Yun Zhi and softly called her name.
When Yun Zhi failed to respond, Xiao Fan agonized for a moment. Looking at her pale face, he still decided to help, but he needed a safeguard.
After a little thought, Xiao Fan took a stone from the ring Yao Lao had given him. Called an Image Recording Stone, it could record simple images.
Circulating his Dou Qi, Xiao Fan spoke into the Image Recording Stone. "Yun Zhi, I have no improper intentions toward you. This is all to treat your injuries. If you don't believe me, look."
As he spoke, he swept the Image Recording Stone over Yun Zhi's body. The claw marks the Amethyst Winged Lion King had left on her chest were plainly visible.
Only after securing evidence did Xiao Fan begin treating Yun Yun.
But the very first step stumped him. Yun Yun's injury came from a blow to her chest, so...
Xiao Fan carefully cut open Yun Zhi's clothes.
It would have been impossible to claim he had no wicked thoughts. Undressing a breathtaking beauty-an unconscious woman, no less-to treat her injuries was hardly something Xiao Fan could do with his heart as still as water.
Just as Xiao Fan finished clearing the scraps of cloth from Yun Zhi's chest and was considering how to remove her soft armor, he suddenly felt a chill creep up his back.
He raised his head and met Yun Zhi's furious gaze.
Xiao Fan: "..."
"Uh... I'm trying to treat your injuries..."
Looking at Yun Zhi's grim expression, Xiao Fan raised the bottle in his hand and forced a smile as he spoke.
Yun Zhi looked into Xiao Fan's eyes and reflected that he had not actually done anything improper to her. He truly wanted to treat her injuries. Besides, she was the one who had come barging into someone else's hiding place.
Knowing she had no grounds to object, Yun Zhi had nothing to say. But she could not simply let Xiao Fan fuss over her body, either, so she could only say coldly, "I'll do it myself."
Looking at the stubborn Yun Zhi, Xiao Fan pursed his lips, stepped back, and folded his arms as he watched her struggle on the bed.
But the moment Yun Zhi tried to move, intense pain shot through her chest. Moreover, the Amethyst Winged Lion King had sealed her Dou Qi, leaving it utterly useless.
All she accomplished was making her already pale cheeks turn even whiter from the pain.
Shaking his head, Xiao Fan stepped forward and gently held Yun Zhi down. "Your health comes first. Don't push yourself. Let me apply the medicine first."
After saying that, he stared into Yun Zhi's eyes.
Yun Zhi sensed Xiao Fan's firm resolve and understood that treating her injuries was more important right now. She could only grit her teeth and lower her head without a word.
Seeing that Yun Zhi had tacitly agreed, Xiao Fan was about to apply the medicine when he realized that the soft armor over her chest had yet to be removed. There was no significant damage to it, either.
It seemed this was the Sea Heart Soft Armor that had saved Yun Zhi's life.
After staring for a while, Xiao Fan hesitated before finally saying to Yun Zhi, "Well... your soft armor..."
Hearing Xiao Fan's words, Yun Zhi, who had been sitting silently with her head lowered, slowly raised it. She glared at him and snapped under her breath, "You! Turn around!"
Xiao Fan gave a helpless smile and could only turn his back.
A rustling came from behind him, followed by a long stretch of silence. Xiao Fan could only ask quietly, "Are you not done yet?"
But Yun Zhi made no response. Remembering her injuries, Xiao Fan thought, This is bad, and hurried over to the bed.
Sure enough, Yun Zhi had fallen unconscious on the stone bed. Xiao Fan gave her a quick look, intending to lift the blanket and apply the medicine.
When he lifted the blanket, he found that Yun Zhi had already removed her chest armor.
Only a thin garment covered the fullness of her chest, and Xiao Fan's face reddened visibly.
He coughed awkwardly and glanced at Yun Zhi's face again. Closing his eyes, Xiao Fan took a deep breath before focusing on the ugly injury on her chest.
Although the Sea Heart Soft Armor had protected her, preventing the Lion King's claws from tearing through her flesh, the tremendous force had still left bruises.
At that moment, Yun Zhi looked like pure white jade stained with a blotch of dark purple grime. One glance at those bruises was enough to stir a trace of pity.
Xiao Fan gently sprinkled medicinal powder around the injury. Although he did his utmost to restrain himself, he still inadvertently brushed against Yun Zhi's softness. After finally finishing, he pulled the blanket over her, then left the Mountain Cave and plunged into the lake in the valley. Only then did the heat within him cool.
What Xiao Fan failed to notice was that, as he rushed out of the Mountain Cave, Yun Zhi quietly opened her eyes on the stone bed. Looking in the direction he had gone, a flicker of complicated emotion crossed her eyes...
It was not as though Xiao Fan had never considered building a harem in the world of Battle Through the Heavens, as he had fantasized in his previous life, or simply taking these heroines for himself whenever he met them. Unfortunately, the nine years of compulsory education from his previous life, along with his values, made him abandon that idea when he actually encountered them.
P.S.
After all, he had only just arrived in an unfamiliar world, had no acquaintances, and had yet to experience much. His mindset still retained the outlook of his previous life. Once he experienced more later on, it would certainly undergo some changes.
Before you continue