Awakened

'It hurts...my inner organs feel like they were crushed into pieces. My chest feels like fire is burning inside, my head feels so heavy and hot that I can't breathe properly. I can't feel my spiritual qi...did it dissipate?'

"Nngh!" The girl lying on top of the bed made of leaves groaned in pain.

"Oh? She woke up!" Xiao Li, who was sitting guard near the girl sat up and exclaimed when she heard the small noise from the girl.

"She woke up? That's good." Ah Heng, Ning'er and other two boys also came towards her after hearing that.

The girl's mask was taken off, showing her beautiful face that was comparable to a fairy. But there was a deep frown on her forehead because of the pain she was feeling.

Her fingers twitched and she opened her eyes slowly. Her eyes were unfocused but after blinking and adjusting to the light for a while, she finally regained her consciousness. Her deep black eyes sparkling like it did last night.

"...W-water..." She subconsciously searched for water after feeling her throat parched up. Her voice hoarse and low.

"O-oh! Water, here!" Ning'er opened the water pouch and took it near her mouth, pouring some water inside.

"Cough cough" The girl chocked on the water after drinking it too fast which made her cough loudly.

"Don't rush. Take your time and drink it slowly." Said Ah Heng.

The girl then drank the water to her heart's content and Ning'er put the water pouch away.

The girl finally took her time in looking around the surroundings. She saw 5 strangers who must be her saviours staring at her.

Her head hurt very much and tried to remember what happened before and the scene of her fighting with the assassins and being flung away by the explosion of inner energy then going unconscious after that came into her mind one after another.

'So I managed to survive. It was really a close call. It's good that my spiritual qi didn't really dissipate.' She thought.

She tried to sit up but lost her balance because of the sudden pain in her arm.

"Ah! Don't move around! You are injured very badly. If you move around, your wounds might get tugged and start bleeding again. The bleeding was stopped with so much difficulty so just lay down." Ning'er held her and helped her lie down as she reminded her.

"...Thank you." The girl said softly. Her voice sweet to the ear like honey. It was still a little hoarse but sounded much better than before.

" You are welcome. But how did you get injured so severely?" Ning'er asked what everyone had been wanting to ask for a while.

The girl stayed quiet after hearing the question. Seeing her like this made them think that it wasn't convenient for her to say it.

"I-it's okay if you cannot say it. I was just asking on a whim." Ning'er quickly said with a stutter.

"...Where are we?.." The girl asked after a while of silence.

"We are still in the forest. We found you unconscious on the ground and we were also a bit tired from walking so we stayed and applied some medicine to stabilise your condition a little." Ah Heng answered.

"I see... Thank you for saving my life..." The girl said with gratitude.

"Oh right. We forgot to introduce ourselves. My name is Ah Heng, she is my wife, Ning'er, this guy is my second little brother, Ah Mo, this one is my youngest brother, Ah Feng and she is our youngest sister, Xiao Li." Ah Heng introduced as he pointed at the others and said their names.

" Big sister, can you also tell us your name?" Xiao Li asked with curious eyes.

"...Ling Xue. I am Ling Xue." Ling Xue answered her but didn't tell her full name. Her full name wasn't something she could tell anyone even if those people knew about it or not.

" Ling Xue, such a pretty name!" Xiao Li smiled brightly and exclaimed.

Ling Xue couldn't help but smile a faint smile after looking at her cute expression. But it was very faint so no one could see it.

"You must be hungry. We have some berries with us and it's not good for you to eat anything like meat and oily food so we have to wait till we get to the town to look for some food and do with the berries." Ah Mo took out the berries wrapped in a cloth safely and gave it to Ling Xue.

" It's okay. Thank you." Ling Xue reached out her right hand which wasn't hurt as badly as the left arm and took the berry pouch. She then got up with the help of Ning'er and leaned against the tree.

"..Where is my cloak and mask?" Ling Xue finally noticed that she was wearing different clothes than her black cloak and asked calmly.

"Oh, they are kept carefully. Although the cloak is torn in some places but the mask is intact." Ning'er answered and pointed at the clothes kept beside the tree.

"Can you reach me the cloak?" Ling Xue requested.

"Sure. Here." Ning'er picked the black cloak and gave it to Ling Xue.

The cloak was big and had a hood. Ling Xue put her hands inside the cloak and felt the inner pocket. She found a bulge in it and took the item out.

'Fortunately, nothing was destroyed by the explosion last night.' She thought and looked at the small porcelain bottle in her hand.

Ling Xue took out the pill inside of the bottle and ate it. A cool sensation flowing down her throat to her chest and then flowing to every parts of her body, relieving the pain as it flowed.

The pill was what she had made for emergencies which could heal any kinds of external wounds in a short time. But she was also hurt in her spiritual core so she had to take her time to recuperate since she didn't have necessary herbs to make the medicine.

For now, she had to do with this. She only needed a week to heal all of her wounds after taking the pill and she also regained some strength which would be enough to walk to the town. She didn't like to become a burden to herself and others so she always prepared for everything whenever she went out.

"Wow, it's so pretty." Said Xiao Li with curiosity in her eyes. Ah Feng was also looking at it curiously but too shy to show it.

"Do you like it? You can have it." After hearing the exclamation from Xiao Li, Ling Xue gave the procelain bottle to her which made her smile brightly. She then took out another empty bottler and beckoned the small boy over.

Ah Feng hesitated a bit and blushed but still came over. She then handed the bottle to him which made him look at it with twinkling eyes.

"This one is for you." Ling Xue said softly.

"T-thank you." Ah Feng thanked her in a low voice. His face red with blush.

"Eh? No no, they look very expensive so you shouldn't give it to them. You should keep it." Ah Heng dissuaded her after seeing her giving it so easily but Ling Xue shook her head.

"It's okay. Since they like it, let them have it. I haven't paid back for the debt of saving my life so take it as a small compensation." Ling Xue said as she ate the berries.

"..If you say so then..Thank you." Ah Heng finally gave up after seeing her determined so he said in a helpless tone.

"You don't have to thank me. It is just a small compensation." said Ling Xue.

"Okay. How do you feel now? Should I carry you through out the way to the town? It is noon and it takes an hour or more to get to the town. With your condition, you might not be able to walk." Ah Heng said after thinking.

"No, I am fine. I can walk. We can set off whenever you want to. The quicker we get to the town, the better. Don't mind me." Ling Xue shook her head and said.

"Are you sure? Your wounds are very severe and you couldn't even get up properly by yourself just now." Ning'er asked in concern.

"I am sure. I am also a doctor so I know how my wounds are like. Don't worry." Ling Xue answered with a slight smile. Her weak and pale face lighting up.

"T-then, if you think it is alright, we can set off now. If you feel tired or unable to walk, tell us okay?" Ning'er said worriedly.

"Mm. Okay." Ling Xue nodded.

Ling Xue got up from the ground with the support of Ning'er and Xiao Li and balanced herself. She took the black cloak and mask in her hand and took the stick handed over by Ah Heng to balance her steps.

They then packed up and filled the water pouches for later and set off for the town.