She gazed steadily at the man blankly spacing out beside her, the words of gratitude on the tip of her tongue unable to find a way out, no matter what.
Sensing something, Zhang Qiling raised his eyes and met her gaze. She instinctively lowered her head.
Now she had lost all her cultivation, and fierce enemies were hot on her heels. Staying here any longer would only drag him down. Besides, he had already guarded her for an entire night. They were mere strangers who had happened to cross paths, and this already counted as a supreme kindness.
Not knowing how much time had passed, she finally mustered her courage, executed a proper, earnest bow, and said, "Shanshan will keep Your Excellency's kindness engraved in her heart. If there is a chance to meet again in the future, I will certainly repay you."
The moment her voice trailed off, she stepped out of the cave. Zhang Qiling said nothing at all, merely watching her retreating figure in a daze.
...
Amidst the mountain forest, Mo Shanshan ran desperately forward. The masked men behind her trailed her at a close yet safe distance, like a pack of hungry wolves patiently waiting for their prey to be completely exhausted. Though this method required effort, it was evidently the safest approach.
The few days since parting ways with Zhang Qiling had all been clear. The advantage was that although her condition was still deteriorating, it was at least better than being caught in constant rain.
The downside was that without heavy rain to help mask her tracks, it was easy for the enemies to find her.
Now she had fallen into utter desperation. There was not the slightest sign of improvement in her illness; instead, days of relentless pursuit and flight had left her covered in injuries.
The clothes on her body were dyed red with blood, and her captivating face was utterly devoid of color.
Finally, she could hold on no longer. Her legs went soft, and she collapsed to the ground, unable to rise again no matter how much she exerted her remaining strength. In the distance, a masked man cranked his heavy crossbow, slowly taking aim at her.
With a sharp whistle, a pointed crossbow bolt tore through the air toward her. Driven by the primal survival instinct of any living being, she once again squeezed the potential out of her body, using every ounce of her strength to roll to the right. The crossbow bolt ultimately drove into the ground right in front of her, a mere inch from the tip of her nose.
Seeing that his first shot had missed, the masked man in the distance raised the crossbow in his hand to fire a follow-up shot. At that exact moment, a stone precisely struck him on the head. His teammate beside him cursed inwardly. The several heavy crossbows originally aimed at Mo Shanshan abruptly shifted direction, turning toward the bushes from which the flying stone had originated.
A volley of heavy crossbow bolts fired simultaneously, the piercing sound of projectiles cutting through the air echoing through the dense mountain forest. As the first row released their bolts, the second row of heavy crossbows continued firing into the brush. Yet this time, even more stones came flying toward them.
Immediately afterward, Zhang Qiling rushed out from the bushes at an incredible speed, agilely dodging the flying arrows, and reached the group in the blink of an eye.
With a single palm strike, he knocked out one masked man, grabbed the front of the man's clothes with his left hand, and pulled him in front of himself as a shield against the dense hail of arrows. The masked man was instantly pierced into a hedgehog.
Zhang Qiling shoved him away forcefully while snatching a handful of bolts from the man's quiver, violently hurling them at the charging masked men.
The moment they scrambled to dodge the projectiles, Zhang Qiling closed the distance. Deprived of their long-range advantage, the masked men were quickly dispatched by him.
By this time, the remaining masked men had reorganized their scattered formation and resumed firing at Zhang Qiling.
Zhang Qiling dodged the bolts with a roll and bolted deeper into the woods. At the command of their leader, the rest of the masked men chased after him into the trees.
Zhang Qiling shuttled back and forth through the dense forest like a ghost. As the masked men's formation grew scattered, cries of agony began to echo continuously through the woods.
A moment later, the screams ceased. Zhang Qiling emerged from the forest dragging a masked man, tossed him aside like a broken sack, and walked toward Mo Shanshan.
Mo Shanshan had thought she was done for today, and felt a deep sense of grievance. She had appeared here inexplicably, and had been hunted down inexplicably. Aside from meeting a rather decent person, not a single good thing had happened.
Fortunately, she had not implicated Zhang Qiling, though she also regretted failing to repay his kindness. Thinking thus, she slowly closed her eyes and prepared to welcome the arrival of death.
Yet to her confusion, the anticipated pain never arrived. She only heard the sounds of combat, and upon opening her eyes, she saw that familiar figure cleanly and decisively dispatching the masked men and walking toward her.
Zhang Qiling walked to her side, hoisted her onto his back, and quickly distanced himself from that patch of forest.
On his back, Mo Shanshan felt his body heat. Whether it was her imagination or not, she even felt as though her physical condition had improved somewhat. Though they had only crossed paths twice while she was on the run, his presence always managed to bring a sense of reassurance.
Lost in these rambling thoughts, she unconsciously lost consciousness. When she woke up again, it was late into the night, and she had no idea how much time had passed. The very first thing she saw upon waking was Zhang Qiling, still sitting there in a daze. This time there was no cave, no pouring rain, and no warm bonfire, yet it felt even warmer than last time.
Lying on the pile of hay he had laid out for her, covered in clothes stripped from one of the masked men, a smile she herself was unaware of hung at the corners of her lips as she stared unblinkingly at the man before her.
Noticing that she had woken up and was staring straight at him, Zhang Qiling said nothing, simply closing his eyes to rest with an air of utter nonchalance.
...
Early the next morning, the rising morning sun filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting its light upon the two of them. Mo Shanshan woke up and, just like the night before, the first thing she saw was Zhang Qiling sitting with his arms crossed, eyes closed in rest.
The golden morning sun washed over him, making this man she had only met three times look like a deity descended to the mortal realm. She even felt that he ought to be an immortal who lived apart from the mortal world, untainted by human fireworks.
Since she was awake, there was no longer any reason to linger in bed. After all, a mortal could not forever rely on the favor of an immortal and his radiant glow to fill her stomach, could she?
She rose gently. Her body felt vastly better than it had in previous days—at least far better than when she had been pierced by a crossbow bolt. There ought to be some wild fruits in the mountains, and failing that, some wild greens would do to eat. She intended to go look for some.
Noticing her movement, Zhang Qiling raised his head for a quick look, said nothing, and resumed closing his eyes in rest.
Mo Shanshan walked through the forest, eyes darting everywhere in an attempt to spot some edible wild fruit. At last, her efforts paid off when she found a tree. The fruit at the bottom was somewhat unripe, while those higher up looked better, though they were rather high. Looking around and finding that Zhang Qiling had not followed her, she rolled up her sleeves and prepared to climb.
Bending her knees and eyeing a branch, she mustered a burst of strength, leaped up, grabbed the branch, and began to climb upward with the practiced skill of a gecko.
Although she hadn't practiced this skill in a very long time, she was, after all, once the foremost Great Talisman Master of the Great River State. Her body was merely a bit weak, so she had to climb with care.
After a great deal of effort, she finally managed to stand on a relatively thick branch, paused to catch her breath, and reached out to pluck the fruit.
After grabbing six or seven, she could no longer reach the rest, no matter how she tried. With no other choice, she tossed the gathered fruit down from the tree, grabbed a branch with one hand, and carefully inched her way forward. Plucking four or five more, she finally prepared to head back in triumph. Who would have thought that with a sharp crack, the branch would snap under the excess weight...
Just as she assumed she was bound to land hard on her rear, a pair of sturdy arms caught her securely. It was Zhang Qiling, who had quietly followed her.
When she started up the tree, Zhang Qiling had assumed she would back down upon realizing the difficulty, but never expected her to be such a skilled little tree-climber, capable of scaling so high despite being sick and physically exhausted.
After catching her, before he could even give her a chance to feel awkward, Zhang Qiling set her down on her feet, casually picked up the fruit from the ground, uttered a brief "Let's go," and headed back toward their temporary camp.
Cradling the fruit in her arms, Mo Shanshan felt her cheeks burn. Being held by Zhang Qiling didn't feel like such a big deal to her, considering she had been drenched to the skin back in the cave.
To put it bluntly, the clothes she wore back then were hardly different from wearing nothing at all. Yet the man hadn't spared her a single extra glance, and later he had carried her on his back the entire way. To feel shy about it now felt a little too late.
It was just that getting caught red-handed while climbing a tree completely shattered her image as a young lady, making her feel rather embarrassed...