Only after all this did Lin Huanhuan finally feel a little more at ease.
Lin Huanhuan began to gather her thoughts again: “I don’t have much spiritual energy left now, and Yun’er is seriously injured. Carrying her while flying is even more difficult, and will surely consume even more spiritual energy. I doubt we could fly more than a few dozen li before having to land.”
“Damn it, I’m out of spiritual energy recovery pills. If I’d known, I would have risked punishment and sneaked a few more from the clan treasury.”
She felt a bit helpless as well. Spiritual energy recovery pills, while not rare, weren’t cheap either. She could only receive two each month. In the past, she’d sold some when she was short on spirit stones, and the rest had been used up in earlier battles.
“Looks like I need to find a place to adjust myself first, so I can restore my spiritual energy a bit.”
Her gaze fell on Dong Yun’er’s wound, and her expression softened: “It seems to be showing some signs of improvement. The medicine’s effects haven’t completely worn off yet. Even if she can’t fully recover, regaining most of her strength should be possible.”
As for the dagger, she didn’t dare pull it out recklessly, worried that it might have a blood groove or barbs—whether it mattered or not, if it made the injury worse, that would be bad.
Still, she carefully removed the dagger’s hilt, a bit of a trick, planning to pull out the blade after Yun’er had recovered a little more.
Having made up her mind, Lin Huanhuan picked up the still-unconscious Dong Yun’er, supporting her under the hips with one hand and carefully holding her shoulder with the other, then slowly walked forward.
As she walked, Dong Yun’er’s hair suddenly came loose, falling around Lin Huanhuan’s neck and making her itch. With no other choice, she found a string and tied it up casually, tossing the hair over Yun’er’s shoulder—after all, she wasn’t very good at doing hair.
Since it was a place to rest, of course she couldn’t just sit on the ground. There was no sign of anyone nearby, so Lin Huanhuan simply walked into the nearby mountain forest.
The Southern Frontier was famous for its Million Mountains; if anything was abundant, it was mountains, big and small. Most sects were built beside mountains, with some even flattening entire peaks for their grounds.
She found a cave; from the outside, it looked a bit gloomy, but the air inside was well-ventilated and not too damp—barely suitable for habitation.
She carried Dong Yun’er inside, only to find a brown bear sleeping soundly. Only then did she realize it was Brother Bear’s home. The brown bear, sensing someone approaching, immediately stood up and roared.
Lin Huanhuan apologized silently in her heart, then promptly sent it to the Western Paradise, sparing it the hardship of wandering for shelter.
Lin Huanhuan touched the cold ground and frowned slightly: “This won’t do, we can’t just lie on the ground like this.”
Though not skilled in medicine, she knew it was unsuitable for a seriously injured Dong Yun’er to lie on the cold floor.
She rummaged through her Universe Pouch and was surprised to find, “Why don’t I have any living supplies in here? Oh, right, I remember—they’re all with Dong Yun’er.”
Frustrated, she pounded the ground: “Once I get back, I definitely need to keep a set in my own Universe Pouch too.”
The Universe Pouch was a personal belonging; one needed to refine it and leave a spiritual mark to use it. If passing it to someone else, the previous owner had to erase their mark first.
Lin Huanhuan knew nothing about stealing, so she was at a loss, but soon she thought of something else and turned her gaze to the brown bear’s corpse.
“Sorry, Brother Bear. Not only did I steal your home and kill you, but now I need to borrow your skin. Since you’re not saying anything, I’ll take it as your consent.”
Muttering to herself, Lin Huanhuan took out a small knife and did a quick skinning and simple treatment of the bear hide, laying it out evenly on the ground before gently moving Dong Yun’er onto it.
Her eyes then fell on Dong Yun’er’s blood-soaked clothes: “It’s not great for her to be wearing this, but I don’t have anything else right now. It’ll have to do for the time being.”
Suppressing irrelevant thoughts, Lin Huanhuan crouched down and gently lifted Dong Yun’er’s back, feeling a pang in her heart.
What should have been a smooth, delicate back was now covered in blood, a broken dagger piercing through from just left of her chest, the blade still lodged inside. Looking closely, she saw the dagger had missed the heart by mere millimeters; even a slightly different angle would have killed Dong Yun’er on the spot.
With a bit of thought, she realized how perilous things had been, and how bold Dong Yun’er was—she had used her own life to block a fatal blow for her.
Recalling the scenes from the past, Lin Huanhuan couldn’t help but clasp her hands over her mouth and grit her teeth, barely holding back tears.
“So, after taking that hit, just what kind of willpower did you rely on to keep fighting, helping me break out of the siege before collapsing?”
No one could answer this question, and she didn’t expect the still-unconscious Dong Yun’er to get up and tell her, either. With a sigh, she stood up again.
Knowing Dong Yun’er might get thirsty, and that she needed to clean the wound as well, Lin Huanhuan set up some simple traps at the cave entrance, then left to look for water.
Before long, she followed animal tracks and found a waterfall nearby. “Good thing I used to like watching those survival shows. They’re finally useful.”
While fetching water, a white-browed tiger happened to pass by, but after sensing the dangerous aura on her, it fled, and Lin Huanhuan put away her folding fan, unwilling to kill needlessly.
She took a few big gulps of spring water herself—the water was clear and sweet, making her eyes light up as if she’d never tasted such delicious water before, the fatigue in her body fading somewhat, feeling alive again.
She then collected enough water, planning to give Dong Yun’er a drink. But not knowing what to do with someone unconscious, when she tried pouring water into Dong Yun’er’s mouth, she simply spat it out every time.
“So hard to feed! Don’t blame me for being rude!”
After a few more attempts, Lin Huanhuan grew annoyed. She filled her mouth with water, leaned down, and passed it mouth-to-mouth to Dong Yun’er. Whether it was subconscious instinct or something else, this time Yun’er finally swallowed the water.
Next, Lin Huanhuan took out a freshly washed handkerchief and carefully wiped the area around the wound. She wasn’t really worried about infection, but perhaps it offered some psychological comfort.
After finishing everything, Lin Huanhuan finally let out a deep breath, exhaustion washing over her like a tide. She simply sat down with a thump, propped her face on her hand, looked at Dong Yun’er, and let out a long sigh.
“So, taking care of someone is this tiring. Partly because of the previous fights, but looking after someone really isn’t easy. I hope you recover quickly and nothing else goes wrong.”
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