Chapter 7
Shin Jiao sat behind Cherry Lao, unable to move, as her head rested on his arm and her eyes shot daggers at him. He felt a wave of embarrassment as he saw her exposed, milky-white skin and the twin peaks covered by a bra he'd made from wolfskin. Cherry Lao's eyes slowly filled with tears as indignation and shame overwhelmed her. As a virtuous maiden, she couldn't accept that a man had seen her body. What was worse, he might have been the one who dressed her.
"Umm… I'm… I'm sorry… I promise I didn't touch or do anything to you while you were unconscious. I only dressed you because your old clothes were barely covering your body anymore," Shin Jiao stammered, trying to explain.
His words, however, made the situation worse. The feeling of being disgraced intensified, as his apology was a confirmation that he had indeed seen her naked. It was a humiliation hard for a maiden like her to bear, and her tears began to flow nonstop as she started to sob. Since she couldn't lift her hand, she was unable to hide her tear-stained face from Shin Jiao.
Seeing this, Shin Jiao's heart felt a pang of guilt. He couldn't express his feelings for making a woman cry and knew he had just made a huge blunder. He saw her as a crying angel. Without a choice, he put the bowl of soup down, grabbed the wolfskin blanket to cover her, and carefully wiped her tears.
"Look, I promise you this… When you're well, I'll let you hit me as punishment for my crimes, okay? So please stop crying. You still need to eat. Please…" he pleaded, trying to console the woman in his arms.
Cherry Lao cried for a while as the indignation in her heart burst forth. Shin Jiao held her and slowly patted her back. She didn't know why, but her aching heart seemed to soften a little bit from the man's gentle touch. Cherry still couldn't move her body, but was able to tilt her head a little. When their eyes met, she saw Shin Jiao give her a warm smile that seemed to make her heart skip a beat. She couldn't express her feelings after bursting into tears a moment ago.
"Okay, stop crying now. Here… eat this first," Shin Jiao said, once again taking the bowl of soup and carefully feeding her. He patiently fed her until she finished the bowl. Afterward, he carefully laid her on the bed and made sure she was comfortable.
Cherry Lao had already calmed down and accepted that the young man in front of her had saved her life. Although he had seen what he shouldn't have, it had already happened. Judging from his reactions, it seemed he was willing to take care of a stranger like her. She now had complicated feelings. In the cultivation world, it was rare to see cultivators caring for others unless they were lovers or family. Suddenly, a thought came to her mind.
"Well, I also saw him naked… and… that thing." Her face instantly turned red like a tomato.
After eating and cleaning the place, Shin Jiao sat beside her, carefully grabbed her wrist, and checked her pulse. She was a bit taken aback but didn't react violently this time.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked in an annoyed tone.
"I'm just checking your pulse to make sure your body is healing well. Don't worry, I'm well-trained in these kinds of things."
Shin Jiao didn't bother looking at her as he busied himself checking her pulse. He only wished at this time that he had the ability to control spiritual energy, as it would be a big help in checking a person's body condition using Qi. Hearing his explanation, she kept her mouth shut and just observed his actions.
Suddenly, Shin Jiao asked, "Just one question… Do you know medicine? Or do you have any healing potion or pill?" He remembered that some cultivators knew medicine, as Gubu had described. He also saw a spatial tool, a ring on her finger, while he was cleaning her body. However, he couldn't check it further as he couldn't use Qi.
"Yes, I have some healing pills in my ring. But it's locked with my spiritual mark, so you won't be able to open it."
"Oh, I see… Well, we have no choice but to wait for your own body to heal itself, then… But don't worry, I will protect you and help you, okay?" Shin Jiao said with a smile.
Seeing him smile handsomely made Cherry Lao's heart skip a beat, and a tinge of red once again appeared on her cheeks. Shin Jiao was momentarily dumbstruck by her beautiful blush.
"Damn, this girl is too beautiful. I have to control myself. This is a new world, and I don't want to attract problems," he told himself, averting his gaze.
...
Shin Jiao stayed with Cherry Lao inside the cave for a couple of weeks. Their time together slowly turned the relationship between two strangers into a friendship. They began to make small talk about their lives. Shin Jiao presented himself as a traveler from a small, secluded village who was uncultured and ignorant of the world. This explanation made sense to Cherry Lao. While talking, he learned about her background and why she was in the forest, though she didn't reveal everything about herself. The developing friendship made the awkwardness between them slowly disappear.
On some days, Shin Jiao would go out to gain more experience and learn more about the place, while the spheres in his dantian steadily increased. After five days, the spheres reached ten. However, he was now confused because no matter how many beast cores he absorbed, the number of spheres wouldn't increase. So he shifted his focus to secretly researching and making new artifacts, gears, and equipment. He didn't want to show his ability to Cherry Lao yet, as it might endanger both of their lives if exposed.
Every day, he continued his job of taking care of her, giving her everything she needed. Because of his actions, her heart and body began to feel that relying on him wasn't so bad after all. She still couldn't absorb spiritual energy for an unknown reason, but since her body was already refined, the food she consumed was automatically absorbed and used to repair her damaged organs and tendons.
"I guess this is what it feels like to have a man to rely on," she said to herself, thinking about the past few days and all he had done for her. Though Shin Jiao helped her every day, she couldn't help but feel that he was just doing it out of pity or a sense of duty. They talked and laughed, but he was too reserved and cautious.
Suddenly, a thought entered her mind. "Is he not attracted to me? Or… maybe I'm not that attractive to him, or… maybe he has a special preference…" But she couldn't deny that his actions made her appreciate him more as a man. Even though her goal was to become a powerful cultivator, not to find a partner, she thought that if she were to find someone someday, she wanted her man to be like Shin Jiao—someone who would listen to her and take good care of her.
...
Two weeks later, the glorious light of the rising sun chased the darkness of the night from the cave, where dim luminous stones were the only source of light. Cherry Lao slowly opened her eyes, and a small smile crept onto her dainty mouth. The morning was one of her most anticipated parts of the day because Shin Jiao would always carry her outside to help her absorb the revitalizing energy of the sun's morning rays. Every time she thought about being in his arms, she couldn't help but blush and feel expectant.
She shyly touched her face and giggled as she slowly turned to look at the side where Shin Jiao usually slept. However, this time, she couldn't see anyone there. She frowned and felt displeased. Then she suddenly froze, her eyes wide open. She felt her hands on her face, and a realization dawned on her—she could now move her limbs and body, though she still felt a little stiff. She forced herself to sit up with great difficulty. When she succeeded, she felt a glimmer of hope.
While she was still in a trance from her recovery, the stone door of the cave slowly rumbled as it opened. Shin Jiao walked inside and saw the woman on the bed, sitting up in the rough beast-skin robe he had made. The sight surprised and delighted him.
"Oh, you can sit now! That's amazing! I guess your body is almost healed." Shin Jiao excitedly walked toward the bed and sat beside her.
"Yeah, I can move my body now, but it's still a little stiff. I can still feel some pain when I move. I think I still need a couple of days to heal completely."
"That's good… How about spiritual energy? Can you absorb it now?"
"Wait a minute, I'll try…" Cherry Lao said as she closed her eyes and sensed her surroundings. She then opened her eyes with a dejected look and shook her head. "No, I can't. I don't know what the problem is," she said in a sad tone.
"Hey, don't feel down. I promise to help you with that problem, okay? At least now you can move," Shin Jiao tried to cheer her up.
"Shin, thank you for taking care of me all this time."
"Geez, what are you thanking me for? Aren't we already friends?"
Cherry Lao suddenly bit her lower lip upon hearing his answer. She felt a little frustrated and angered by his words, as if something were wrong with her.
For the next few days, Shin Jiao spent his time helping her regain her movements by assisting her in walking. He also improved the way he made clothes using the beast's skin, making them feel and look like proper robes. Another week passed.
Cherry Lao could now move around the cave without assistance. Although she still couldn't absorb spiritual energies, she could at least walk by herself and help with the chores. She also discovered some strange things inside the cave that she saw Shin Jiao use, like the metal box with two holes at the top he used to cook food. With just a twist of a knob, she could control the heat without using her own energy. There was also cool air coming from somewhere that made the cave smell and feel fresh. But what she liked most was what he called the bathtub. Whenever she took a bath, she could choose the water's temperature, which made her feel relaxed and comfortable. These amazing things made her even more curious about who he really was.
...
Today, a shadow traveled through the dangerous forest, jumping from tree to tree. It was Shin Jiao, moving like a specter, wearing strange black goggles, a black coat, and pants, and a side holster with a Glock 17-like handgun. A dark wakizashi blade was strapped to his back, and he wore military-grade boots with strange runes on them. These were some of the equipment he had crafted by combining his modern knowledge with Gubu's crafting methods.
As he moved swiftly, he felt the effects of his equipment. The goggles could detect spiritual signatures, had night and heat vision, and could zoom in and out up to three kilometers. This idea wasn't originally his but Gubu's; he had just modified the blueprint he found inside the ring to make it smaller. The boots could improve his agility and speed by three times his normal speed through the use of runes and a beast core on each boot. With this equipment, he felt confident he could protect himself and survive in the dangerous forest.
While he was testing his newly crafted artifacts, a loud roar interrupted him. Not too far away, a giant monkey-like creature suddenly plummeted to the ground from a tall cliff. Its body was covered in wounds, with blood spraying everywhere as it fell. He watched as the creature smashed into a pulp on the rocky side of the cliff. He observed his surroundings, afraid of encountering another, even stronger beast. The monkey was a 3rd-level beast that Shin Jiao couldn't face head-on.
After some time, when no other creature appeared, Shin Jiao decided to approach the carcass. He quickly stored it in his ring and ran as fast as he could. Using his goggles, he suddenly detected a giant snake's energy signature at the top of the cliff. His heart began to beat faster as the creature he had just saw was even stronger. So he decided to run back while checking his surroundings to prevent himself from being followed. Since his goggles had an X-ray vision-like function, he could prevent himself from facing other beasts as he retreated.
Not long after, he reached the cave and breathed a long sigh of relief. Before entering, he hid all his equipment in his ring. Upon entering, the first thing he noticed was Cherry Lao, who was focused on cultivating while sitting on the bed. This made Shin Jiao smile as he could feel a small fluctuation of energy around her body. It wasn't strong, but it was the first time he had felt Qi. This gave him an idea of what to do next for his own cultivation.