By the time the morning sun had fully climbed into the sky, Chu Feng had already returned from the city market.
Within the cave, the scent of roasting meat wafted through the air.
Ling'er was crouched near the fire, carefully turning skewers over glowing coals.
"Mn…" Chu Feng inhaled deeply, and the rich aroma stirred his hunger.
"Big Brother!" Ling'er called out cheerfully. She flipped the meat to ensure the other side was evenly roasted by the fire's heat.
Chu Feng removed the cloak draped over his body and tossed it onto the stone table.
"Where did you learn to cook so well?" he asked with genuine curiosity as he walked closer and took a seat opposite, dropping the bag that had things he got from the market by his side.
Ling'er smiled faintly, though sorrow lingered in her eyes. "Have you forgotten? I was once a slave. That woman forced me to do all manner of tasks. If I failed, punishment followed swiftly. Over time, I learned much from the servants, cooking included. I trained myself in all things, in case she ever made a demand. But in the end, she never once asked me to cook. She must have feared being poisoned."
Chu Feng's heart sank. No wonder she was able to survive here alone before I ever came. The hardships she endured must have been countless.
"That must have been unbearable," he said softly. "I can only imagine the pain you suffered."
Ling'er shrugged lightly as she continued tending to the stakes over the fire.
"By the way," Chu Feng asked, "you said you fled when you were thirteen. Then… how long were you living alone in this cave before I arrived two years ago?"
Ling'er placed her finger on her cheek in thought. "Let me think… about three months, I believe."
"That must have been a lonely time."
"It was," Ling'er nodded, "but not so different from the two years since you came. You've been in the cave, but you were often lost in your own world."
Chu Feng scratched his cheek, a sheepish grin on his face. "Ah… yes, I suppose you're right."
Ling'er's smile bloomed like a flower. "But it does not matter. Now that Big Brother is by Ling'er side, I no longer feel alone."
Chu Feng looked at her. His heart trembled slightly. In that moment, he understood clearly—he no longer wished any harm to ever befall this girl. He wanted to protect her, give her the world's warmth and beauty.
"Oh, that's right." Chu Feng's eyes lit up. "I brought back some clothes from the market."
"Big Brother managed to sell the extra game?"
"Yes!" He nodded and quickly recounted the events that had happened to him in the market.
"Hmph! That troublesome fatty! And that bun-seller was awful too. If I had been there, I would've shown them the strength of my fist!" Chu Ling'er said with gritted teeth.
Chu Feng laughed. "It's okay. I did not lose much anyway, I got back a breathing technique for you."
Once you begin cultivating, you just might get the chance to show him your fist, even anyone that crosses you in the future."
He then took out the bundle of goods—the clothing, a jade hairpin, and the scroll containing the breathing technique—and handed them to her.
When Ling'er received them, her cheeks flushed red.
"B-Big Brother… h-how did you guess my size of undergarments…"
"Huh?" Chu Feng was caught off guard by the question, then he suddenly burst into laughter. That was a question he hadn't expected and found hard to answer.
Back on earth, he mused silently, he was so obsessed with the opposite sex that he came to develop a keen eye when it came to sizing their bodies. With just a glance, he could estimate the measurements of those certain parts of their bodies with uncanny precision, and he could with blindfolds pick a woman's right size of undergarment. But how could he tell that to Ling'er?
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "D-do they really fit?"
"Mm…" Ling'er turned her face aside and nodded, as her voice sounded out like a whimpering mosquito.
"Haha!" Chu Feng chuckled more awkwardly, "then I suppose I guessed right. I was worried I'd chosen poorly, but it seems my worries were naught."
Ling'er: "....."
Just then, a loud voice echoed and interrupted from the cave's entrance.
"Hahaha! What do we have here? A pair of shameless lovers hiding alone in a cave?"
"Who goes there?" Chu Feng flinched as he stood abruptly to his feet, nearly stumbling into the burning stake as Chu Ling'er gasped and darted behind him like a startled rabbit, propping him before he could.
From the cave entrance, a young girl stepped in gracefully, her bearing was noble, but her expression carried a hint of mischievousness. She appeared to be of similar age to Ling'er, maybe a little older.
Chu Feng's brows furrowed as he asked again, "Who are you?"
The girl was none other than Xu Quinoa.
Earlier, Xu Quinoa and her master had arrived in the mountain forest in search of the corpse of her master's junior brother—her senior uncle. Not far into the wilderness, they indeed found the scene of battle where the lifeless body of her master's junior brother's body was lying beside the corpse of a fearsome Scaled Tiger Serpent. The shattered ground around the area that had formed into a gully, trees scorched and torn, a testament to the brute of the battle that had taken place.
They had wondered why a beast of that level was found in that part of the forest, and why her senior uncle was tangled with it. But it doesn't matter anymore, does it?
Xu Quinoa's master had just stood silent for a long while, staring at the remains of her junior brother, and after some time, she had bent down and carefully stored both the body and the beast into her storage ring. Yet as her hand reached out, she froze.
There was no ring on her junior brother's finger.
Every cultivator possessed a storage ring which was always on their fingers, and her junior brother was no different. So If it was missing, it could only mean that someone had taken it after the battle, when her junior brother had fallen.
Her master had extended her divine sense throughout the surrounding mountain ranges, finding an abandoned cave in the ruins where she had detected life within. With narrowed eyes, her master had just given her a specific order and then went deeper into the mountain.
Thus, her presence here.
"Tch. What a rude tone, boy." Xu Quinoa's lips curled into a cold wicked grin as she fully stepped inside, arms folded behind her back.
Chu Feng's body tensed as he moved to shelter Ling'er behind him. His eyes stayed cautious.
This person might just be a little girl, but his senses were telling him that she was dangerous.
She is a cultivator. She seems much more powerful than the bun seller and fatty he met in the city market. He thought to himself.
"We don't know who you are," he voiced sternly. "Please leave…"
Yet before his words ended, a chill swept through him. His body instantly jerked backward on its own, nearly crashing into Ling'er—who let out a soft yelp behind him. With effort, Chu Feng halted himself before he could topple over her.
His gaze snapped back forward to what had made him lose his balance, only to find the girl now standing mere inches away from his face.
Her sudden movement had startled him. The sudden closeness of her face as her breath brushed against his cheeks, and her eyes glinting with sharp curiosity.
Isn't she by the cave entrance just now? He thought as sweat bid on his forehead.
Fast! So fast that even my eyes couldn't follow… What is this girl? How can someone move like this? Chu Feng's heart thumped hard in his chest. He was scared, so scared that this girl would have malicious intentions against them and if it was so, he was sure that he would be powerless to protect himself, let alone protect Ling'er.
His head pounded as questions tumbled through his thoughts.
Xu Quinoa who had just appeared in front of Chu Feng tilted her head slightly, scanning him up and down with a disdainful smirk. Then she spat her words at Chu Feng's face.
"So ugly. Such a body of disgust. Why do you prefer to live with these awful and shameful blemishes rather than just dying?"
Her words were cold and her insults drilled into Chu Feng's bone, then he saw her slender arm shot out unreasonably.
"Where is it?" she demanded, palm extended before Chu Feng with a commanding air.
The sweat on Chu Feng's brow increased. Where is what? he thought anxiously. What is she looking for?
Can't she make herself clear?
He was certain that he had not taken anything from this girl before. He had never even met her once, so what could she possibly be demanding from him?
"W-where is what?" Chu Feng stammered, his voice trembling.
Xu Quinoa kept her hand outstretched, her eyes cold and impatient. "Don't make me ask again. Where is it?"
Seeing how the girl before him is, Chu Feng's head buzzed, like a thousand needles stabbing at once. His brows tightened. What in the world is she talking about? How was he supposed to know what she meant if she refused to speak plainly?
"M-Miss, I truly don't—"
A furious glint turned the bright colourful eyes of Xu Quinoa into a cold shade,
BAM!
Before Chu Feng could finish his words, Xu Quinoa's fist crashed into his face. The blow was like a hammer strike that flung Chu Feng's body sideways across the cave, slamming into the edge of the stone bed with a sickening thud. The impact echoing through the cave.
Chu Feng groaned in pain and lay sprawled, blood seeping from his lip. His limbs felt like lead. At that moment, he could not summon the strength to rise and he knew that he could slip into unconsciousness any time.
"B-Big Brother…!"
Ling'er cried out in horror, running to his side. Her eyes welled with tears as she reached Chu Feng's side, knelt beside him on the ground and gently lifted his head into her arms.
"Big Brother… are you alright?" she whispered, her voice shaking with urgency. She could hear his weak groan that tore at her heart like a blade.
Ling'er turned, her eyes blazing through the tears as she looked at the cold-faced girl standing before them.
"Y-you…!"
She screamed, her voice cracking through the cave walls, "Why did you hit him?!"
"My brother has never even seen you before and never wronged you! He doesn't know what you're talking about! Why would you strike him without reason? How can you bully him like this, just because you're stronger?!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Get out…!" She shouted, her voice writhing with pure anger. "Get out of our home!"
Just then, a calm sigh drifted in from the cave entrance as another figure strode in.
"Master!" Xu Quinoa turned swiftly and called out.
Chu Ling'er became more wary than before. She instinctively pulled Chu Feng closer, her arms tightening protectively around him as she watched the person that came next into their dwelling. If this woman was really this girl's master, then she also should have come with a bad intention.
Chu Ling'er's heart seized. They could barely handle one, now they are two.
"Please…" she begged, her voice trembling. "We've done nothing to offend anyone… we only wished to live in peace… please leave us be…"
The woman looked at her gently and sighed again. She turned to Xu Quinoa with quiet reproach.
"Why must you stir trouble wherever you go? I asked you only to come here and retrieve the ring. Why couldn't you speak clearly of your intentions instead of resorting to violence?"
Xu Quinoa pouted, folding her arms across her chest.
"I was just playing with him. How could I know he'd break so easily? Is he really even a guy? He couldn't even handle one of my light punches."
Her master shook her head, speechless for a moment. How could she not know her disciple.
"You do realize he's not a cultivator, and you are, don't you? The difference between you two is as vast as heaven and earth. What made you think he could withstand even the smallest strike from you?"
Her master sighed again, her heart weary from her disciple's impulsive ways. She turned back to Ling'er, who still held Chu Feng close, trembling.