"This..." Xiao Hua lifted his leg, intending to catch up to Yuan Ya, but when he felt the heaviness of his left leg, he smiled bitterly again. He could barely walk properly—how could he chase after someone? Lowering his head to look at the oil-paper parcel in his hand, he saw that although Yuan Ya had rubbed the dirt from his hands, several gray smudges still remained on the wrapping. Yet those smudges could not conceal the faint fragrance of meat wafting from within, nor the gratitude that welled up in Xiao Hua's heart!
Yes, it was precisely gratitude! Although Xiao Hua would not eat the meat inside that parcel, he had accepted Yuan Ya's kindness. Xiao Hua might not have been injured or lost his life when he slid down the mountain path, but Yuan Ya did not know that. What Yuan Ya had done... had already saved Xiao Hua, and Xiao Hua could not help but feel grateful.
"Really interesting!" Xiao Hua smiled and opened the oil-paper parcel with great curiosity. Inside was a coarse flatbread, stuffed with some wilted vegetable leaves and a slice of somewhat greasy meat! There were blackened grease stains on the meat, and it did not look fresh either. Needless to say, Xiao Hua knew that Yuan Ya must have kept this meat pie for several days, unwilling to eat it, yet today he had actually saved it for Xiao Hua.
Xiao Hua accepted Yuan Ya's goodwill, but eating this meat pie was truly impossible for him. After thinking for a moment, Xiao Hua wrapped it up again and tucked it into his robes. Then he walked to the gently sloping ground nearby, looked at the scattered crystals, and smiled. "These are things even more precious than supreme-grade spirit stones. Wouldn't each piece