A STRANGE ENCOUNTER

Darsh's daily schedule now included going to the forest every day. His father told him that it is very necessary to have real-life experiences now or his cultivation might slow down after all for a cultivator, his strength meant everything to him, and if he does not have enough experience he may not be able to cross a crisis when needed to.

A few days later as he was wandering the forest just as usual he spotted something or more precisely someone. Just as Darsh got closer he saw a little girl unconscious there with heavy injuries on her body.

Seeing someone moreover a little girl at that in such a state Darsh felt a shiver down his spine. He knew that this new world was dangerous but only now did he truly understand just how much. That little girl was covered in wounds that looked like the claws of some Beast.

Some days ago Ashok had warned Darsh to be careful around Beasts and when Darsh asked his father about what a Beast was his father told him.

"Son, a Beast is an animal which is able to cultivate. You have to be careful around them."

His father had also told him that the wounds inflicted by the Beasts were very different from those normal animals as they exuded an energy that only cultivators could sense. After his father told him about Beasts he knew that the Saahi which attacked him several days ago had also evolved into a Beast. 

He suddenly remembered about the little girl and he immediately lifted her up in his arms and took her home. That girl looked just the same age group as Darsh. She had white hair and red eyes which was quite peculiar to Darsh because in his previous life most of the people had black hair and black eyes.

Darsh took that girl to his home and when his family saw her they were terrified. Her condition was very bad. Before Samira could ask Darsh about her Darsh said.

"I will tell you everything afterward. Right now she needs immediate care."

Samira understood that what Darsh was saying was true. She then took her in a room and treated her wounds.

Samira came out of the door and looked at Darsh in a questioning look. Then his sister and father also started staring at him.

"Okay, okay... I know all of you want to know who she is and what is happening but trust me I also don't know who she is. I found her while venturing in the forest today and as soon as I saw her I took her here to get her treated."

They nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Some hours went by and that little girl opened her eyes slowly. But seeing an unfamiliar environment she immediately became cautious of her surroundings. 

When she woke up Samira was still in the room. She called everyone in the room when she saw her waking up. Seeing so many unfamiliar faces she became even more cautious. Not sensing any malice from them and seeing their genuine warm smile she finally calmed down and let go of her defenses. 

Over time she became familiar with them. But surprisingly she did not know the language they were talking in. The whole continent used the same language to communicate with each other. This resulted in a language barrier. Darsh took the responsibility to teach her their language. She was quite smart for her age and was able to grasp it very quickly. In a mere 5 months of time, she fully learned the language. 

During this time period, Darsh and that girl whose name was Hinisa became quite close to each other. She was also grateful to Darsh for saving her life which made a positive image of him in her mind and after his taking care of her for so many months she found it much easier to hang around with him rather than anyone else.

Darsh was quite lucky in this case. In his village, there were no children his age because they were all sent to the School of Nalanda for further study when they turned 10. This had a negative impact on Darsh's mindset, leaving him with a childlike yearning for friends despite being 11 years old.