"...No need."
Gu Liang's voice was dry and raspy, as if sandpaper had scraped his throat. He stared fixedly at the brown iodine swab, as though it were not a medical tool but some deadly weapon.
Emma's hand, holding the swab, froze mid-air. Gu Liang's rigid body, the fear and resistance mingling in his eyes, and that refusal squeezed through clenched teeth all conveyed a single, clear message: touch meant harm to him.
She understood immediately. No persuasion, no insistence, not even a hint of awkwardness or displeasure at being refused.
"Alright," she replied calmly, pushing the swab and bandage forward onto a flat rock within Gu Liang's reach. "Leave it here. If you change your mind, you can handle it yourself."
With that, she stood up decisively, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and walked a few steps downstream. Turning her back to him, she began inspecting and preparing the backup water supply she'd just disinfected with potassium permanganate. She deliberately created distance, granting him a completely safe personal space, her movements as natural as if she were merely shifting to another spot to tend to her own affairs.
Her reaction caught Gu Liang completely off guard. No coercion, no questioning, not even a trace of unnecessary emotion. This respect, tinged with a cold sense of boundaries, strangely eased the tension in his nerves just a little.
He stared at the iodine swabs and bandages on the rock, his mind in turmoil. Reason screamed that disinfection was essential, yet his senses recalled the humiliation of being forcibly held down for treatment. Watching Emma's busy silhouette as she worked with her back to him, sunlight outlined her focused profile.
In the end, the urge to survive overpowered the trauma. He took a deep breath, snatched the cotton swab, and roughly twisted it open. The pungent smell instantly filled the air.Gritting his teeth, he swiftly swabbed the deepest scrapes on his arm. The stinging pain from the iodine made him groan softly, fine beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead. His technique was haphazard, even clumsy, but throughout the entire process, no one else approached, no other eyes watched.
This sense of "being in control" felt unfamiliar and... safe.
Just as he set down the empty cotton swab and reached for the bandage, Emma downstream abruptly froze. She whipped her head around, her gaze sharp as a falcon's, locking onto the bushes across the river.
"Shh!" She halted Gu Liang's movement with a sharp hiss, her entire demeanor shifting instantly from calm to the tautness of a bowstring ready to fire.
Gu Liang's heart lurched upward, his attention snapping back to reality. Following Emma's gaze, he saw the bushes on the opposite bank stir slightly.
Then, two scrawny beastmen clad in ragged animal skins emerged. Their eyes were cloudy, filled with unmasked greed, fixed intently on Emma's backpack and the hunting knife at her waist. One of them muttered in broken beastman language:
"Female... strange bundle... shiny things... take it!"
Gu Liang stiffened. Bandits! During his time with the Leopard Clan, he'd heard tales of these scum roaming the forest edges, preying on lone travelers.
Almost simultaneously, Emma's voice came in, pressed low and utterly calm: "They say they want to steal stuff." She understood! And instantly grasped their intent.
This realization sent a jolt through Gu Liang's heart, but the crisis left him no time to think.
Another bandit had already raised his crude bow, the stone arrowhead glinting ominously in the sunlight.
"Duck behind the rock!" Emma's command was short and clear. She crouched low, her hunting knife already drawn, her icy gaze calculating distance and timing.
Intimidated by the resolve in her voice, Gu Liang instinctively rolled behind a waist-high boulder nearby. His heart pounded wildly in his chest.
What now? They had weapons!
His eyes darted across the streambed, suddenly locking onto several sharp flint stones. A daring plan formed instantly.
"Distract that archer!" Gu Liang hissed urgently to Emma, his voice low and rapid as he grabbed the largest, heaviest flint.
Emma didn't question him. The moment his words fell, she lunged from behind the rock, letting out a defiant shout as she hurled the metal kettle in her hand hard onto the stream's surface!
"SPLASH!" The loud splash and flying water droplets instantly drew the bandit's full attention. The archer instinctively aimed his arrow at her exposed figure.
Now!
Gu Liang erupted from the opposite side of the rock, channeling every ounce of strength to hurl the flint like a shot put, smashing it into the archer's knee! He aimed not for a vital organ, but for the joint—the easiest target to hit, the one that would instantly cripple the enemy's combat ability!
"Thud!" A dull impact echoed with the distinct crack of bone and a piercing scream. The archer collapsed to his knees, weapon slipping from his grasp.
Another bandit was stunned by this sudden counterattack.
Emma wasted not a single precious second. As Gu Liang moved, she shot forward like an arrow released from its string. Swift as the wind, she didn't charge in a straight line but skillfully used the rocks along the shore for cover, approaching from the flank.
The bandit frantically raised his bone spear to thrust. Emma sidestepped the attack. Her hunting knife flashed coldly, and with a sharp crack, the crude wooden shaft of the bone spear was cleanly severed!
The bandit stared at the broken spear in his hand, then at Emma's gleaming metal hunting knife. Fear instantly consumed his face. With a shriek, he abandoned his comrade and scrambled into the bushes, fleeing in disarray.
Emma did not pursue. She spun back swiftly, warily confirming the fallen bandit posed no threat, then kicked the bow and arrows aside.
The danger was over.
Gu Liang emerged from behind the rock, breathing heavily, his arm slightly cramping from the force of throwing the stone. He looked at the bandit writhing on the ground, then at Emma standing with her knife, her gaze still sharp. An overwhelming sense of unreality washed over him. They... had actually worked together to resolve a crisis?
Emma stepped forward, deftly slicing through the leather strap around the bandit's waist with her hunting knife. She bound his hands behind his back and searched him, taking several pieces of dried meat and a flint. Her expression remained impassive throughout—no triumphant joy, no pity for the enemy, only the cool efficiency of completing a necessary procedure.
She stood up, her gaze returning to Gu Liang. This time, it lingered on his bleeding palm—a fresh wound from clenching the sharp flint moments earlier.
She did not retrieve the iodine swabs, nor did she ask any further questions. Instead, she silently pushed the roll of clean bandages, previously placed on the stone, a little closer to him.
The meaning was clear: The tools are here. The decision is yours.
Gu Liang looked at the roll of bandage, then at his bleeding palm, and finally, his gaze settled on Emma's calm face. This time, he did not refuse.
Silently, he picked up the bandage and began to wrap it around his hand, clumsily but with unusual determination.
Emma picked up the crude bow and arrows and slung them over her back, scanning the surroundings. "Too much commotion. We have to leave immediately."
Gu Liang tied the final knot and lifted his head. Sunlight pierced through the canopy, falling on his face—still pale, yet somehow different.
"Alright," he said, taking the relatively lighter pack containing the remaining supplies (which Emma had prepared earlier) and standing beside her.
This time, it was no longer following, but walking side by side.