Pant-! Pant-!
Ah Qing felt like her lungs were about to explode, and her legs had become as heavy as lead. Several of her bones were already broken from the strike by Sheng Huoyuan earlier, causing her to feel a sharp piercing pain with each step she took.
Even so, she forced herself to keep going...
To keep running...
Yet despite her persistence, she did not bear any unrealistic hopes of escaping from the spirit beast.
How could she?
In the face of the Ravenous Dark Spitter, even the mighty cultivators appeared to be no more than helpless kids. So how could she, an ordinary girl from a small village, possibly escape?
Still, she tried her best to run as fast, and as far, as she possibly could. That was because every second she gained would proportionally increase the chances of survival for her Brother Quan!
Ah Qing lost her parents to a disease when she was just a child, and Luo Quan's family had been kind enough to take her in ever since. Since then, Luo Quan had treated her like his biological sister, and his parents treated her even better than how they treated their only son.
Because of that, Ah Qing had nothing but gratitude towards the family in her heart. Now that there was a chance to repay them, she naturally did not hesitate to do so.
As long as her efforts here could allow her to trade her life for Luo Quan's, then it would all be well worth it!
Snap-!
Ah Qing tripped over an exposed tree root, and her fatigued body crashed into the damp forest ground.
In fact, she could already be considered very lucky to have run this far before tripping on something. After all, she could hardly see under the darkness of the night.
Gritting her teeth to endure the pain, Ah Qing forced herself to get back to her feet.
But just as she managed to stand back up, a jet of dark purple gas came from above and completely engulfed her entire body.
Ah Qing's eyes glazed out in a mixture of fear and resignation, understanding that it was finally over for her.
She had seen the Ravenous Dark Spitters take down the cultivators earlier, and they had used this same dark purple gas to poison the cultivators, immobilising them completely.
Indeed, it did not take long for her to feel the strength rapidly draining from her body, and her knees quickly buckled.
Thud-!
Ah Qing fell back to the ground limply, warm tears streaming down from her eyes.
Yet through her vision that was blurred from sweat and tears, she could still make out the Ravenous Dark Spitter jumping down from the treetops, landing less than twenty metres away from her.
Then again, perhaps it was a good thing that her vision was blurred right now. This way, at least she would not have to witness the fearsome appearance of the giant spider as it approached.
Brother Quan... you must survive!
With that thought in mind, Ah Qing finally closed her eyes for the last time...
...Or so, she thought.
"Wake up. It is not time to sleep just yet."
The clear voice of a young man sounded in her ears, jolting her awake almost immediately after she closed her eyes.
Huh?
Am I hearing things?
Ah Qing blinked a few times to clear up the water in her eyes before she finally confirmed that she was not imagining things.
The Ravenous Dark Spitter had been the only thing in front of her eyes just a moment ago, but now there was suddenly another person standing between her and the giant spider!
She could not make out the looks of the person, but she was sure from the voice that it was a man.
"You are in quite a difficult situation, aren't you?" the man asked casually. "It seems that this little spider really wants your life."
Ah Qing simply lay there motionlessly, not saying a word in response.
It was not that she did not want to answer the man. But after being affected by the dark purple gas, she no longer had the strength to even speak!
Then again, even if she did, she would not know what to say.
This situation was simply too strange and confusing.
Facing the Ravenous Dark Spitter, the man actually seemed so indifferent, as though he were oblivious to the threat of the giant spider.
That was something completely illogical.
How could any sane person not be afraid when faced with a beast like that?
Even a kid would know that it was dangerous!
No, in the first place, how did he even get here?
Just a moment ago, Ah Qing was absolutely sure that there had not been anybody else around. Yet almost immediately after she closed her eyes, this man had suddenly appeared here.
Ah, I finally get it. I must already be dead, and now I am having my eternal dream.
So even after death, I am still dreaming of being saved?
How pathetic...
Ah Qing closed her eyes once more in resignation.
"Hey! I said now is not the time to sleep just yet!" the man called out yet again.
Huh?
Ah Qing opened her eyes once more.
"I will make this short, so listen up. Without me here, you will certainly die to this little spider. But with my help, you will be able to survive for sure," the man said. "That said, my help does not come for free. If you want to live, acknowledge me as your master! This will mean that you shall swear absolute loyalty to me from now on!"
Help? Master? Swear loyalty?
Ah Qing's mind was in a mess right now, but that was only natural.
She had already resigned herself to death, but the situation suddenly took such a strange turn. How could she fully understand what was going on?
Even so, she somehow registered the gist of what the man was trying to say – there was still a chance for her to survive!
As that thought crossed her mind, hot tears started flowing from her eyes once more.
Ah Qing was but a young girl at the tender age of seventeen. Even though she seemed to have fearlessly chosen to use herself as bait to help Luo Quan get away, the fact was that deep inside, she was extremely terrified!
If possible, she did not want to die either!
And now that there was suddenly a glimmer of hope for her to grasp onto, how could she not feel overwhelmed by her emotions?
"Ah, I almost forgot that you can't speak right now," the man continued. "Let's do this then. If you agree, then blink your eyes three times. That is the only way you will survive."
Ah Qing immediately blinked three times.
She did not know what this situation was, who this man was, or what this man wanted. But at this juncture, it was not like she had the luxury to choose.
Acknowledge him as a master? Swear loyalty to him and follow him from now on?
How could any of that be any worse than dying right here and now?
Even if it turned out to be a joke or a dream, so be it.
In any case, she had nothing to lose here!
"Good, you made the right choice," the man grinned. "Then again, I guess it's true that you don't really have much of a choice in this situation. Either way, you will definitely be thankful for this day in the future. Now, you can go ahead and go to sleep. I will take care of the rest."
Hearing that, Ah Qing felt her body relax. The final bits of her strength were starting to slip away, and her eyelids slowly closed.
After seeing that Ah Qing had fallen unconscious, the man let out a doting smile before turning back towards the Ravenous Dark Spitter and giving it a casual wave of his hand. "You are free to go now."
The giant spider felt the invisible restraint on its body being lifted, and immediately leapt away into the treetops.
It had no idea who the man was, but its survival instincts screamed at it to just get away from him as fast as it could!
***
It was daytime when Ah Qing opened her eyes again, finding herself lying in the back of a horse wagon. The wagon was sheltered with a material that looked like beast skin, and the multiple crates and chests stacked up beside her prevented her from seeing outside.
However, the rhythmic rocking of the wagon and sound of hooves clopping made it obvious that the wagon was currently on the move.
Confused, she tried to recall the events of the previous night. Those horrific memories were fresh and vivid, immediately causing goosebumps to appear all over her body.
That was the first time she had ever seen the power of a spirit beast, and it was terrifying to the extreme!
Back then, she had been running on adrenaline, so she had not been too affected psychologically. But now that she thought back with a clear mind, Ah Qing realised just how crazy she was to have even thought of attacking the Ravenous Dark Spitter!
Wait a minute, Brother Quan!
Did he get away?
Ah Qing tried to sit up. But the moment she did, a terrible wave of pain assaulted her all over. That was only natural as well, considering how she had been sent flying by a direct hit from a cultivator.
It would be a miracle if she were completely all right after that!
Even so, the pain was still barely within a tolerable level, so she still managed to sit up while enduring through it.
Once she managed to sit up, Ah Qing could finally see what was around her.
The wooden wagon was rather narrow. Apart from the soft feather mattress that she had been lying on, the rest of the space was completely filled up by crates and chests. There were also cloth bandages all over her body, emitting a faint medicinal smell.
At the front of the wagon sat a man who was holding onto the reins of the horse, which was in turn walking along under the bright morning sun. From the back, she was unable to see how he looked.
"Seems like you have mostly recovered, seeing that you are already able to sit up," the man said without turning back.
Ah Qing immediately recognised this voice from last night.
"Erm... thank you for saving my life," Ah Qing said hesitantly.
"Don't worry about it. We had an agreement, so it is only natural that I fulfil my end of the deal," the man answered.
Agreement?
Oh, right. There was such a thing...
"About the agreement, what did you really mean?" Ah Qing asked.
"That's no good," the man shook his head in disapproval before turning around to look at Ah Qing. "In the future, you need to always remember every detail of your prior agreements, lest someone tries to claim that you have agreed to something that you actually did not."
Ah Qing widened her eyes in surprise when she saw the man's face.
He looked to be a young man in his mid-twenties, and had sharp facial features that made him look rather handsome.
But that was not the point.
More importantly, she recognised who he was!
This was none other than the young merchant who had stopped by their Green Seed Village about a week ago – the same person who had become the talk of the town after he daringly ripped off the cultivators in a transaction at the village market!
What was his name again?
Right, it was... Wu Meng!
In retrospect, this young merchant had probably only dared to rip off the cultivators because he was confident in protecting himself.
After all, he was even capable of saving her from the Ravenous Dark Spitter last night!
"...Are you a cultivator?" Ah Qing asked cautiously.
"It seems that you are still a little confused, seeing how your thoughts are skipping from one matter to the next," Wu Meng said with a smile. "Well, you can say that. And now that you have acknowledged me as your master, you will soon be considered one as well."
"Me? A cultivator?" Ah Qing blinked blankly.
"That's right. Since you have yet to fully recover, I will make an exception and allow you to temporarily postpone the master acknowledgement ceremony," Wu Meng said. "First things first, what's your name?"
"Me? Everyone calls me Ah Qing."
"No, I want to know your full name," Wu Meng said with a smile.
"Ah, my surname is Zhang," Ah Qing replied. "Zhang Wanqing."
"All right, Wanqing. From today onwards, I shall call you Qing'er. Is there anything else you wish to know?" Wu Meng asked. "Otherwise, lie back down and get some more rest. You have yet to fully recover."
"W-Wait! Do you know what happened last night?" Zhang Wanqing asked. "If so, did Brother Quan manage to escape in the end? And... why me?"
Wu Meng smiled.
"Firstly, the place where you people were bickering at was actually right above the underground nest of the Ravenous Dark Spitters, which was why they had attacked without hesitation. Most of the villagers managed to get away, but the cultivators suffered rather heavy losses. Secondly, your Brother Quan and his sweetheart managed to get away as well."
Zhang Wanqing let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that.
At this point, she no longer cared about the villagers or the cultivators. All that mattered was that both Luo Quan and Qing Ting were all right!
"And lastly," Wu Meng continued. "I admire that stout heart of yours that had stood firm even when confronting your fears, as well as your willingness to sacrifice yourself to protect the ones whom you deem worthy. That is very admirable coming from someone as young as you, and that is why I chose you. Does that answer your question?"
"O-Okay..." Zhang Wanqing stuttered. "I-I think I am still a little tired, so I will go back to rest now!"
With that, Zhang Wanqing quickly lay back down again and closed her eyes, her face turning red from the compliment that she had just heard. Her body ached badly from the sudden movement, but she forcibly held in her urge to shout out in pain.
Nevertheless, she could hardly suppress the smile that was slowly spreading across her face.