She hurried forward, crouching beside a tree. Growing near its roots was a small cluster of herbs, leaves edged with faint red veins.
"Fire-vein grass…"
A detoxifying herb.
One of the ones she needed.
Her smile widened, sharp and bright, like a blade catching light.
"So," she murmured, "This Forest really does have good things."
After finishing the last bite of trefoil flowers, Aurora tossed the stems aside and crouched down, carefully digging the herb from the soil. Her movements were steady and focused, attention fixed on the roots beneath her fingers.
She did not notice the movement in the grass behind her.
A black-and-white snake slid silently through the weeds. Its body undulated without a sound, scales brushing against leaves as it drew closer. Inch by inch, it approached.
When it was near enough, the snake raised its head.
Its tongue flicked out, tasting the air.
A faint hiss followed.
In the next instant, the viper struck.
Its body shot forward like a released bowstring, fangs flashing as it bit straight into Aurora's calf.
Her expression changed instantly.
A sharp, suffocating aura burst from her body, fierce and cold. Before the snake could retreat, she turned sharply, one hand clamping down on its head, the other gripping its body precisely at the seven-inch point.
Her fingers tightened.
Crack.
With a dull sound, the snake's body broke. It twitched violently a few times, then went limp.
"Hm?" Aurora looked down at the snake in her hand, calm returning as if the danger had never existed. "A silver ring snake?"
She tilted her head slightly, then smiled. "No rabbit, no wild boar… I suppose you'll have to do."
But then her smile froze halfway.
"Fire?"
She looked around.
Nothing.
The forest was damp, the air heavy with moisture. Without fire, even a feast placed in her hands would be useless.
She sighed. "Fine. I'll endure it for now. At least I need to find a dry place and think of a way to make fire."
Wasting food was not her habit.
She swiftly dealt with the snake. The head was cut off cleanly. The skin peeled away with practiced movements. The gallbladder was removed and stored. The pale snake meat, stripped of all disguise, was hung over a branch.
The blood on her hands was wiped on grass, then rubbed with strong-smelling leaves to remove the scent. When she finished, she picked up her branch and continued forward.
If someone saw her at this moment, they would find the scene strange.
A thin, dirty little beggar walked alone through Fengyue Forest, a stick resting on her shoulder. From it hung a skinned snake, swinging lightly with each step.
The forest showed no mercy.
All day, Aurora moved alone, searching for herbs, pushing deeper from the outer edge without realizing it. By the time the sky darkened, she finally gathered all the detoxifying herbs she needed.
Only then did she stop.
Choosing a spot beneath a dead tree, she began the most primitive method of making fire. Damp wood resisted her efforts. Sparks died again and again. Her hands blistered, skin rubbed raw.
But at last...
There was a flame.
She exhaled softly.
The snake meat was roasted over the fire, fat sizzling faintly. The smell was not pleasant, but to her empty stomach, it was salvation.
She ate.
Then she crushed the detoxifying herbs she had collected, applying them carefully to her body. When everything was done, she extinguished the fire completely.
No light.
No warmth.
She climbed a tall tree nearby and found a stable branch to rest on.
In a place like Fengyue, fire at night was an invitation to death. She had neither strength nor cultivation to fight beasts that roamed in the dark.
Cold was better than danger.
As night deepened, distant howls echoed through the forest. Wolves called to one another, their voices rising and falling, carrying through the darkness.
Aurora lay against the tree trunk, eyes closed.
To her, the howls became nothing more than background noise, a strange lullaby in the wild night.
She slept.
She did not know that on another tree, not far away, a black figure had been watching her movements from the moment she entered the forest…
Chapter Ten
A faint ripple passed through Shen Yu's dark eyes.
He had not expected to see that little beggar here again.
Fengyue Forest was divided into outer and inner regions. The outer edge was already dangerous enough for ordinary people, let alone the inner circle. He had assumed the child would retreat after sensing the danger, or at least turn back once fear set in.
Yet she had not only stayed.
She had come in alone.
He noticed her in the afternoon.
She was squatting on the ground, digging herbs with care. To him, those plants were useless, common things that held no value. But she collected them seriously, one by one, as if each leaf mattered. She wandered through the inner forest without hesitation, careless on the surface, yet oddly steady, as if she did not understand fear.
By nature, Shen Yu did not involve himself in others' lives.
He should have left.
But for reasons he could not clearly explain, he stayed.
From the shadows, he watched her scrape at dead wood with a dagger, hollowing out a small groove. Then she took another dry branch and pressed it against the wood, rubbing and drilling patiently.
At first, he did not understand what she was doing.
Then a thin thread of smoke rose.
Shen Yu's gaze sharpened.
Fire… from wood?
He had never seen such a method before.
In this world, people used fire stones, talismans, or spiritual tools. Even blades struck together could spark flame. But rubbing wood to make fire? Crude. Primitive.
And yet, it worked.
He watched as she roasted the skinned snake over the small flame, ate quietly, then extinguished the fire without hesitation. After that, she climbed a large tree, found a stable position, and lay down to rest.
No fire left behind.
No careless warmth to attract beasts.
Even her breathing became light, steady. From a distance, he could not even hear her snore.
If Shen Yu knew what Aurora was thinking at that moment, he would not have judged so calmly.
Aurora had not noticed his presence earlier because she felt no killing intent. But as she drifted into sleep, half-conscious, she sensed a gaze resting on her.
However, she did not open her eyes.
Instead, she let out a soft snore, as if deeply asleep.
In truth, her mind was clear.
She did not know when the other party had begun watching her, and she did not know who it was. But since he did not approach and posed no immediate threat, she chose not to expose him.
Still, her guard remained up.
This world was filled with cultivators. Carelessness meant death.
Morning arrived quietly.
Birdsong filtered through the forest, light and crisp.
Aurora stirred.
Half asleep, she stretched lazily, arms reaching out, body arching—
Then the balance was lost.
"Ah—!"
"Thump!"
She fell straight from the tree, crashing into the weeds below.
"Ow…" She groaned, rubbing her waist as she stood up slowly. "That hurt."
She twisted a bit, then sighed in relief. "Luckily, nothing's broken."
Not far away, concealed among thick leaves, Shen Yu glanced at her once, then looked away.
He had woken before her. He had seen her stretch, seen her lose balance. Beneath the tree were weeds and soft earth. She would not suffer serious injury.
There was no need to intervene.
Aurora found two stones near the tree and sat down. From her clothes, she took out several herbs, crushed them together with practiced movements, and stuffed the mixture into her mouth.
Shen Yu frowned.
So hungry already?
She had eaten snake meat last night. Was it really that little?
Then his gaze sharpened.
She was swallowing the herbs directly.
Raw.
Mixed.
Careless.
Did she not know that eating herbs randomly could kill a person?
As the thought crossed his mind, Aurora suddenly bent forward.
"Puh—!"
A mouthful of dark blood spilled onto the ground.
Her face turned pale. Her body swayed once—
Then she collapsed into the grass.
Shen Yu frowned when he saw the scene before him. He stood where he was for a moment, eyes fixed on the small figure collapsed in the grass, his expression unreadable.
There was no immediate sign of movement, no sound of breathing obvious at a glance. After a brief pause, he strode forward, his steps light but decisive.
"She's dead?" he muttered quietly.
He nudged the motionless body with the tip of his boot. There was no response. His brows drew together, and he crouched down, reaching out to check her breathing.
Yet the instant he lowered himself, the person who had been lying still suddenly sprang up like a startled cat and lunged straight at him.
The sudden movement caught him completely off guard.
Before he could react, the impact knocked him backward, and the two of them fell heavily to the ground.
"Brother-in-law! Hahaha—hey!"