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Thinking of the many strange and dangerous animals in this world, Cheng Nuo endured the pain to hurriedly sit up. When he saw a pair of red eyes flashing in the distant grass, he felt as though all of the blood in his body had solidified.
This mountain forest was very barren. Chang Chun couldn't have thrown them too far. There were two kinds of dangerous beasts in the mountains near the village. One was the green-eyed chi locust, the other was the red-eyed Zhu Yun (Vermillion Flame Beast).
Since he transmigrated into this world, Liu Guang hasn't hunted Zhu Yan but he has heard Liu Guang describe it. The Zhu Yan is quite rare. Its body is a half a meter longer than the chi locust and a head taller. It's also quite fierce and cunning. Although it normally hunts alone, some residents of the village have been killed and eaten by it.
Cheng Nuo tried to regain his composure. He remembered Bai Rui's short sword and quickly checked his waist. Sure enough, in order to make his story more believable, Chang Chun had put the short sword on Bai Rui. He took the sword and held it in his hand, gently and cautiously carrying Bai Rui to the side of a stone wall.
The Zhu Yan's sense of smell and vision were very sensitive. It was alerted by the two people's movements and soon found its target.
Cheng Nuo had finally been able to retreat towards the stone wall. He placed Bai Rui behind him then stood up against the stone wall.
In the face of danger, he almost forgot his body's bruises and injuries. Luckily, although he thought that his left leg was broken, he could still support his body in spite of the terrible pain.
He knew that the red-eyed beast had found him so he unsheathed the sword and clenched his teeth, staring at the animal that was slowly approaching.
It was an adult Zhu Yan that was as big as a calf. Cheng Nuo could hear the low-pitched growling coming from its throat. He held his breath and when the Zhu Yan growled and sprang, Cheng Nuo rushed towards it with all his strength. Man and beast were tangled together as they fought.
He used his shoulder and hand to hold on to the Zhu Yan beast's neck while he slashed at it with his other hand that held the sword. The beast clawed at Cheng Nuo's shoulders and chest.
When the Zhu Yan finally stopped moving, Cheng Nuo gasped and sat on its body. His whole body ached.
He was covered in blood and sweat. Each gust of wind made him shiver and he could hardly believe that he had been so courageous.
After resting for a long time, Cheng Nuo recovered a little physical strength and quickly got up. He half-carried Bai Rui away from the dead beast as far as he could - he was afraid that the bloody scent would attract more dangerous animals.
Finally, he found a small natural cave formed by two huge stones. Cheng Nuo was extremely tired. He put Bai Rui down and rested on the ground.
Once his tightly-strung nerves relaxed, he started to feel the pain of his body more intensely. Cheng Nuo felt dizzy. Afraid that the cloth would stick to his wounds when the blood dried, he shook off his clothes from his shoulders. His chest and shoulders were painfully hot.
He lay there panting for a long time then he reached out and checked Bai Rui's breathing. As a result, he was almost frightened out of his wits when he saw that the golden eyes were open - Bai Rui was awake!
Bai Rui's voice was weak but calm. He showed no panic in the face of the unknown: "Where am I?"
Cheng Nuo stunned and said: "Below the cliff." He explained their current situation. Although he tried to keep his voice calm, when he spoke of Chang Chun, his tone revealed his resentment.
Bai Rui suddenly said: "You said you killed a Zhu Yan?"
Cheng Nuo didn't understand: "Yeah."
Why did Bai Rui care about this? Unexpectedly, he didn't seem to care that Chang Chun had drugged him. He didn't even use a few words to scold him…
As for Cheng Nuo, he was eager to pour a torrent of abuse on Chang Chun. When he returns Cheng Nuo wants to hang up that vicious boy and beat him within an inch of his life!
Bai Rui's hand suddenly caught Cheng Nuo by the wrist to feel his pulse. After a moment, he said: "You awakened your ability."
Cheng Nuo was immediately shocked: "What?"
He didn't know that there were five main types of techniques that martial artists cultivated in this world: body, sword, qi, psychic ability, and spells. Regarding psychic abilities, the most common were the metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Bai Rui's light ability was relatively rare.
Cheng Nuo wanted to ask him to explain it more clearly but Bai Rui closed his eyes and stopped talking.
Cheng Nuo was also exhausted and half-closed his eyes. He thought that he wouldn't be able to sleep and wanted to keep watch during the night but he was worn out so he fell asleep without realizing it.
Fortunately, nothing happened. When he woke up, he heard a loud bird call, and the sky was already bright.
He quickly turned over and sat up, but he was surprised to see that the space beside him was empty. Where was Bai Rui?
Bai Rui soon appeared. His face was still very pale, but his eyes were very lively. He looked a lot more energetic than when he first got injured. Cheng Nuo had to admire the strong physique of the people in this world. Bai Rui handed over the herb he had found. Glancing at Cheng Nuo's chest, he quickly turned his gaze away: "Chew it up and spread it on your wounds."
When he finished, he slowly walked away, dragging his feet, then sat down on a stone. He kept his back straight and Cheng Nuo didn't know what he was thinking.
In the bright sunlight, Cheng Nuo checked his injuries. There were dozens of claw wounds on his body. The blood on the shallow ones had dried up but some of the deeper wounds were still bleeding. In addition, there were countless blue and black bruises. They were terrible to look at and extremely painful. He pulled up the leg of his trousers and saw that his left leg was swollen.
He hurriedly chewed the herbs which were so bitter that they almost made him vomit. He quickly spat it out into the palm of his hand then spread it over his wounds. The burning feeling of pain he felt was greatly decreased. The herbs were quite useful. However, it wasn't easy for him to spread on the wounds on his back.
He thought of himself as being familiar with Bai Rui so he said casually: "Bai Rui, come over and help me put this on my back. Check your wounds, are you still bleeding, too? Do you also want to apply some of this?"
Bai Rui's reaction was a swift glance at his palm then, with a faint expression of disgust in his eyes, he quietly moved further away then sat down again.
Cheng Nuo was extremely angry. There was no alternative so he had to reach out and dab the herbal paste himself. Bai Rui's germ phobia left him speechless! Is this the right time to be so fastidious?!
His shirt had been torn until it looked like a rag. In addition, Cheng Nuo was afraid of dislodging the medicinal paste, therefore he didn't put it in. Now he was thirsty and asked Bai Rui: "Is there a river nearby? How do we get there?"
He looked up at the cliff. That night he hadn't been able to see how far up it was. Now that he saw it, he burst into a cold sweat. It was actually a few hundred meters deep! At this angle, he couldn't even see the top of it. It was amazing that he and Bai Rui had cheated death and survived.
Bai Rui frowned: "I estimate that it's about a dozen miles to get back up. There should be a river ahead."
Cheng Nuo looked around then quickly shouted at the self-important child: "Wait, use your sword."
Bai Rui immediately understood what he meant. He cut two long, straight branches off a tree. One of them had injured his feet while the other one had injured his leg. Walking wasn't going to be easy for them. Bai Rui threw a branch to Cheng Nuo and held the other one, saying, "Let's go."
Cheng Nuo followed him. He was amazed. How could Bai Rui be so calm? He was acting more like an adult than Cheng Nuo who was an actual adult…
Obviously, Bai Rui has had a lot of experience surviving in the wilderness. His ability to detect danger was quite strong, thus they were careful to avoid the wild animals in their path. Finally, they came across a small stream.
Cheng Nuo, who was panting with effort and extremely thirsty, hurriedly bowed his head and washed his dirty face.
Bai Rui walked upstream of him and slowly drank some water. His movements were quite elegant, even though he was just drinking with his hands. He also made no noise while drinking.
Cheng Nuo was really curious about his background. Suddenly remembering Chang Chun's words, he quickly asked: "Chang Chun said that he wanted to kill me outside the cave that day, but you stopped him… Why didn't you tell me afterwards?"
Bai Rui didn't walk back to him and when he spoke his tone was indifferent: "Too boring."
Did he mean that it too boring to explain it to him then or that asking this question now was too boring?
Cheng Nuo was so angry at this facial paralysis child that he was rendered speechless. If Bai Rui had only told him about this earlier, they wouldn't be in this situation where they fell off a cliff and were almost eaten by wild beasts!