Now slightly jogging through a Meadow a tiny distance away from Backmark City, Samuel was sweating profusely. Worse than his mental injuries and his physical exhaustion, the pain in his eyes was so unbearable he could barely think. The only thing he could do was run and stay running. This simple command was all that kept his body moving, kept his body moving through the pain, through the pain of having his eyes feel like they're about to explode, the feeling of space searing on his skin. That blood was not normal blood. Samuel had no idea where the blood came from, but it was painful. Even the individual torture sessions he experienced while being captured paled in comparison to this. However, this was his choice. No one forced this upon him. He chose this pain. Meaning the pain was different, more painful, yet more liberating.
Just as he was about to force himself to open another tear in space, he was hit by a carriage. The carriage wasn't going very fast and wouldn't cause him any damage normally. However, in the current state he was in, it was devastating. Even more blood streaming out of his mouth, not aggravating the eye injury, but all his other bodily ones. Samuel finally could not stomach it anymore and passed out.
“Old Wilhelm, Is there a problem? Did we hit something?”
“Young miss, I think we indeed hit something. There is no problem though. I'll go and check it out.”
Alighting from the carriage was a very handsome and elegant old man in a nice tuxedo. Tuxedos are not very common in The Shattered Realm, as their clothing tended to veer towards that of ancient China. Robes and such. Not only that, but he also had a monocle on his left eye, as well as a handkerchief and his left breast pocket. If anyone on Earth saw this man, they would assume him to be some sort of count or earl from the Feudalistic Society of years past. The man's demeanor was serene. Until he saw the figure lying on the ground, covered in red and silver blood. It’s golden hair sticking out from his turban.
“We seem to have hit a wandering cultivator. He's quite injured. I need you to come out here right now and use your healing magic lest he dies.”
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Hearing the words of her attendant. This so-called young miss walked out and ran over to the body. Putting both her palms on the chest of Samuel.
“How could he possibly be damaged this much by us hitting him with our carriage? We weren't going that fast. This level of injury will take me hours to fully heal. Quick, help me bring him into the carriage.”
“Young miss, are you sure that's a good idea? We don't know anything about this man. What if he's dangerous? What if he planted himself here, making himself look pitiful, only for you to bring him into the carriage?”
“You are not at a cultivation stage that you can't tell that his injuries are real. And obviously all his injuries aren't coming from the collide with the carriage. That doesn't make any sense. There's no possible way he could have received this type of injury from that. He must have been injured previously then hit by us, making him pass out. It's therefore our responsibility to take care of him. Have you lost your gentlemanly ways, Old Wilhelm?”
“Not at all, Miss, I am merely looking out for you. You know this. I have been tasked to protect you. I must look out for your safety, and this person, although it's our fault he passed out, is still suspicious and of unknown origin. I just received a report of attacks on the shadow organization Black Lotus, meaning the entire region will be in unrest. For all we know, this is an escapee from the local stronghold of the Black Lotus. Yet you are certain you want to bring him into the carriage? Because I am not. It might bring you danger. You need to think this through, young miss.”
“This aura is not that of an evil creature. Since his aura is not evil and I can't guarantee he's a bad person, It is my duty to heal and help him. Bringing him into the carriage would be the safest course of action. As you said, the region will be in unrest. If that's the case, then staying here is way more dangerous than staying in the carriage. Wouldn't you agree?”
Old Wilhelm clearly didn't agree. Because he was not afraid that this person would be more powerful than him. After all, he was a near peak stage enlightenment expert. There's no way this common, battered person could ever pose a threat to him. What he wanted to do was teach his young Miss how to behave in the future when she doesn't have his protection. She won't always be protected; she needs to know how to act herself. He was trying to teach her, slowly guiding her down the right path. However, she refused to listen. What was he supposed to do with her?
“It's your decision, miss.”
“Great. Then bring him into the carriage. Be gentle, his body is in a very fragile state.”
And so, he did. Marking the beginning of Samuel's new adventure of not knowing where he's going because of a random happenstance. How could he ever expect to be hit by a carriage in the middle of nowhere? It's not his fault!