xv

The person that had attacked them was short —about twenty centimeters shorter than Liwei— and had long hair falling on their back. Their eyes were white with no pupils.

Lan recognized it as a Shan Nu.

He was alone, fighting against her. Lan was still shocked by how it suddenly happened. They were talking just now, and the following second she was sword fighting with a creature.

But something felt wrong. Last time, Liwei had told him that the Shan Nu served Wen Li. Wen Li and Liwei are both of the same kind, so wouldn't the Shan Nu serve Liwei as well ? Yet here it was, attacking her.

Lan came back to his senses when something caught his attention. On the Shan Nu's wrist was some kind of tattoo, like an inked shackle. He strongly felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was.

At this moment, Liwei slashed her sword diagonally, cutting the Shan Nu's chest. Blood splashed on her face and dress.

Lan's mouth fell agape. This... how could he describe it ? Seeing Liwei covered in the blood of someone she just killed —how to describe it ? Horrifying ?

But why did it not feel like it ?

Why wasn't he scared of her, why didn't he find her insane, why didn't he even think of getting away from her ? Why did he... not care ?

He tried to convince himself that after all, it was the Shan Nu who attacked, and Liwei was only defending them. But even if he thought like that, the fact that she killed so easily should have still been shocking to him !

When Liwei turned around to face him, blood dripping from her face, he shivered. Even her eyes were different. They were usually gentle and sparkly, but now they were completely cold, not different from the blade she wielded.

"Sorry for that. It's not done yet." she said it very casually.

Before Lan could ask what she meant, she turned back around, facing a group of Shan Nu running her way, all yelling and brandishing weapons.

It was as if the death of their peer had set off a signal, and they all seemed to appear out of nowhere. There were about twenty of them, and Liwei was all alone.

Lan knew he wouldn't be of any help. He wouldn't be able to kill anyone. He could look past Liwei killing, but he couldn't kill.

Still, he felt really bad that he couldn't help her. What kind of useless burden had he become ? He went from being independent and not relying on anyone to hiding behind someone's back for protection.

And it wasn't the fact that it was a girl that bothered him. He just hated to feel so weak and burdensome. And he asked her to let him help too when there was something he could do ? Of course there was nothing he could do !

There was nothing yet, at least. He was useless now, but he was definitely on the way to getting stronger. Killing was another matter, but as long as he could help her fight next time, it would already be good.

Liwei was currently fighting against the twenty Shan Nu. She was obviously doing a better job than them. Her movements were swift and quick, slashing at any of them that came near her. Blood dripped from her blade, her clothes were wet and sticky with the crimson liquid.

But she was still outnumbered, and her blood mixed with the Shan Nu's. Lan's face twisted each time he saw her being cut, but she wasn't even paying it any attention.

Her shoulder, arms, even her legs —they all received cuts. She was still standing, and her moves hadn't been affected. Could it be that she was used to this ?

There were only six of them left. Lan didn't know how long she had fought, but she had managed to kill fifteen of them already —not including the first one that attacked sneakily.

"Miss Liu be careful !" he suddenly yelled.

One of them was trying to attack her from behind while she dealt with the others. But his warning was too late, and before she could process it, the Shan Nu's sword had pierced through her right shoulder.

Lan widened his eyes, seeing Liwei stiffen.

The Shan Nu pulled his sword back, the sound of flesh being cut again making Lan cringe. He would have never been able to hold on after a single cut, but he still witnessed Liwei straighten up after all these wounds.

Her hands were shaking, and Lan couldn't tell if it was from pain or anger. Maybe it was both.

"I am done with you." she mumbled in a cold and low voice.

A red ball of light surged from her hand, and she threw it toward them. Crimson flames engulfed them, as they ran around, yelling and trying to extinguish it.

They were the bad guys, but Lan couldn't stand this sight. He clenched his eyes shut and turned around. He didn't want to go as far as covering his ears too, but he couldn't stand their screams either.

Liwei turned around to check on him as the Shan Nu's burned. She was surprised to see the state he was in and sighed.

She was tired, but still have some energy left. She lightly raised her hand toward him, casting a spell that would cut him from the outside world.

When he found out that it was suddenly silent, he turned around. He was startled to see that the battlefield had completely disappeared. He could still see Liwei covered in blood, but where were the Shan Nu's ?

"Miss Liu ?" he started to walk toward her.

"Don't come over here !" she hurriedly said.

"What happened ? They disappeared ?"

She shook her head, "They're still here."

"They're... I don't see them."

"It's a barrier. You don't need to see, it's disgusting."

Lan's feelings were mixed. On one hand, he was thankful for the barrier, he really didn't want to witness anything like that. On the other, he was upset. Thinking back on the situation, hadn't he been acting lame ?

While Liwei was fighting to protect the two of them, he was shaking and looking away. Once again, he was hiding behind her back for protection.

He hated this feeling !

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you." he sighed.

Liwei managed to give him a small smile, "It's not always that we can fight. Sometimes we need someone to fight for us until we get back on our feet."

Her eyes found back their gentleness. It was as if the coldness he had seen earlier had been his imagination.

He sighed again. "I hope I'll get back on my feet soon."

She simply nodded.

That's when Lan remembered the state she was in. How could he be whining again when she was covered in blood ?

Huang Lan, seriously !, he mentally yelled at himself.

"Miss Liu, let's get out of here first." he said.

As he said this, she was cutting her sleeve with her sword using it as a bandage for her shoulder. She did it easily, and it made Lan wonder if she really was used to this.

"Yes, let's also take a break on this journey. There's a town down the mountain —Tangshu town. Let's go there for now."

She patted the end result of her clumsy-looking bandage.

Lan nodded. He still remembered her words to not go near where she was standing, but seeing her in this state, he couldn't help it.

"Excuse me for this," he said, as he passed a hand behind her back, in order to support her.

She stiffened at the contact, and Lan understood she might feel uncomfortable, but he couldn't let her walk on her own when she was so hurt. He didn't care about her high pain tolerance.

"You don't have to do that." she answered, looking away from him.

"What do you expect then ? I can't just let you walk on your own." He guessed she would try to persuade him it was fine, so he quickly added, "And I won't listen to anything you say this time. Let's get to Tangshu quickly before something else attacks us."

Liwei silently nodded, and they started to walk away. She looked back one last time at the corpses and ashes scattered on the ground.

Once the person behind this came across this scene, they would be able to guess who did this.

It wasn't like they could pinpoint her exact identity thanks to her spiritual powers. If they were powerful enough, they could guess which kind it belonged to. From then on, it wouldn't be hard to trace her.

But what else could she do ? She was starting to feel tired, and she didn't want to exhaust her strength so soon. What if they noticed it and moved over to attack Lan ? She had to finish them off quickly.

She looked back in front of her, trying to analyze the situation —mostly so she wouldn't have to think about the proximity and contact between her and Lan.

Well to begin with, whoever sent these Shan Nu's obviously didn't want them dead. Yes, she was wounded, but anyone would know that even if they spent ten years training, Shan Nu's could never win in a fight. They weren't made for that.

So what did they want exactly ? To hurt them ? Scare them ? Block their way ?

She couldn't assume anything yet.

"Is it really fine for you to walk so much when you're so wounded ?" Lan suddenly asked.

She nodded, then proceeded to answer without looking at him. "It's fine. It's just some cuts."

He sighed, "You're still bleeding, your dress is soaked ! How can it be fine ?"

"It's just... it's okay, it's nothing much. All this blood doesn't belong to me anyway."

She was right. As much as Lan hated this fact, he had no other choice but to accept it.

When he said he wanted to know what kind of person Liwei was, he wasn't thinking of this side of her and wished he didn't have to think about it.

Lan didn't add anything, so Liwei stayed silent as well.

The sun was starting to set when they reached the foot of the mountain. They had been walking for about four hours, and Liwei hadn't made a single sound that would indicate she was hurting. Lan was really impressed, and even felt embarrassed when he remembered how he hissed and passed out after being stabbed once.

He shook the thought off.

After taking a few steps, he seemed to realize something. With wide eyes, he looked at Liwei's dress. It was completely shredded !

The fabric on the side of the skirt was torn, revealing her leg. Her sleeve —she had cut it earlier, so her whole arm was showing. But even her waist and back were visible, and smaller cuts were scattered on the dress.

This would definitely draw unwanted attention to her.

He stopped walking, stopping her with him. She looked up at him, waiting to see what he wanted to do.

He let go of her and before thinking twice, he took off his outer robe. Liwei widened her eyes slightly.

"Huang-ge, what are you doing ?"

"You know you can at least call me by my name, right ? Surname is unnecessary." he answered instead.

"That wasn't the matter."

Lan handed the robe to her, "What do you think I'm doing ? I can't let you walk in a town with a dress like that."

"What about you ? Are you just going to walk around in your undergarments ?"

Of course Lan would feel embarrassed ! But that wasn't the priority right now.

"Yes." he shrugged. "It's better that you cover yourself. At least my undergarments still cover me."

How could Lan accept to let a lady walk like that, simply because he would feel embarrassed ? It wasn't even because of the blood ! Sure it would be shocking, but it wouldn't keep some men from gawking at her exposed skin instead.

It was sickening, but it was a reality he couldn't ignore.

Seeing Liwei's hesitant expression, Lan pushed the robe further toward her.

"Come on, take it. Don't let me put it on for you." he joked.

But Liwei didn't seem to take it as a joke, as she shot her head up at him. Lan was startled. His previous smile turned into pursed lips.

"Sorry, maybe it was an inappropriate joke."

"No, it's... not that, I just didn't expect it."

Lan couldn't understand how awkward she became. She was so awkward that even he didn't know how to act anymore.

But at last, she took the robe Lan was holding up for her. She turned around and simply put it over her dress. The small movements hurt her, but she bit on her lower lip to suppress it.

"I'll wash it and return it to you later." she said.

In fact, none of Lan's clothes were actually his. He guessed she had bought them for him when he was unconscious.

"It's fine, let's just go for now."

Obviously, he wouldn't let her wash his cloth, especially not when she was in this state. He would just do it quickly later.

She faced him again. "Yes. Tangshu Town is very near to here. You don't have to bother anymore with me."

"Nonsense." he took a step toward her and placed his arm around her back like before. "Let's go."

This time, Liwei didn't try to argue anymore. She simply looked down, feeling her ears and cheeks burning.