As Ru Wuxi closed her eyes, the sounds made by the footsteps of the Thousand Bones Boar ringed in her mind, in that world of darkness, the only thing she could hear was the sound of the footsteps.
Like the footsteps of a grim reaper, pronouncing her death. Dread filled her mind, the thought of death scared her to the point of despair.
She thought about the deeds she had not payed, the meaning of her life and the people she promised she would avenge at all cost.
Her mind scrambled to insanity and could no longer think properly, she could only sense her incoming doom..
At the moment, she was no longer the calm, cold & collected Ru Wuxi. She became the frail girl she truly is, who needs the protection of others to live.
But in the moment of despair, a voice sounded in her mind. That voice was extremely familiar to her, a voice full of warmth and care.
“ Don't Worry, It’s fine, it's fine..“ Just like a melody sang by Gods or a voice that carried warmth with the wind.
The instant she heard that voice, her fears went away, gone who knows where. As if all the burden she bore of was lifted.
The voice was imaginary, she knew. She knew it more than anyone else.
It was nothing more than a dream, like the snow in the winter, flitting away in the summer.. gone by the time she realized.
But in her current state, what is a dream and what is truth ? In the moment of incoming death, her subconscious self accepted that voice as real, even if deep down, she knew it was not.
But at the moment of her death, she..relaxed.
And what waits upon her was a world of darkness..and memories. Past memories began to play in her mind.
Happy moments of her life began to play out, from the time she was a baby taken care of by her mother and father, like the apple in everyone's eye.
She played around cheerfully, oblivious to the world.
Then, the happy scenes turned sour, sour turned to dread. At the moment, she woke up, eyes wide.
Then she looked ahead of her, the thousand bones boar…was nowhere to be seen..
She pulled out the last bit of her energy to turn around and realized that the Thousand Bones Boar is currently behind her, dragging and lifting the fallen leader away before she slowly faded unconscious.
It was as if, it did not care of her existence at all…
~ ~ ~
Note : Did you expect Li Zun to come saving her ? Meh, I, Your Father would never do cliches like that ! Lol.
Crackling sounds of fire resounded in the air, as Ru Wuxi slowly woke up
She woke up only to find out that she had not died, but rather sleeping in a makeshift bed made out of leaves.
Instantly, she felt danger in the air. She didn't know where she currently is, but she knew one thing, she was alive, alive and breathing but that doesn't mean she is out of dangers.
She sensed her daggers, still there, not removed.
She sensed her weapons, clothes are all intact.
Only then did she heaved a sigh of relief in her heart, but she did not dare to make out any sounds, as her sense told her..there was someone currently behind her.
It's power, Unfathomable. Even 100s of her wouldn't hold a candle to this expert behind her.
“ Hey, how long are you going to pretend sleeping ? “
The instant she heard the voice, she suddenly sprang up into the air, taking out her flying dagger in the process. Holding them in her two hands tightly.
Before, she did not have time to take a look at the owner of the voice, but now that she's currently standing up, facing him. She saw a hooded figure roasting fishes in the fire, carefree and uncaring.
Her movement before did not alert him in the slightest, he just continued there, roasting his fish over the fire.
She stared cautiously at him, her eyes vigilant. Were he to make the slightest movement, she would immediately react.
On the outside, she seemed calm and fearless, but in her heart, she was shivering in fright.
Since she woke up, she had only used her well-trained sense of touch to sense her weapons and garments. she did not make any movement, perhaps only her eyelids did. However, this hooded man in front of her actually detected any slightest movement or probably the change in her heartbeat and figured out that she had already woken up.
To achieve that level of perception, just what level of terrifying strength has this man reached ? That she did not need to know, she only knew that this man in front of him is countless times stronger than her.
Ru Wuxi did not dare to believe that she could kill this man in front of her. Hence, she did not aim her flying daggers towards him, but rather towards her throat.
She spoke no words, but from her body's actions, it was fairly easy to guess her intention.
" I do not know why did you saved me, but if it is my body you are after, then forget it. I would rather die here than be defiled. “
The hooded man, who was of course Li Zun, stared back at her for a moment, eyes hidden by the hood by he is wearing. Before he let let out a deep sigh.
“ Goodness, I saved you and this is your attitude ?“ Li Zun rolled his eyes at the sight.
He had a reason for wearing the hood, he had already tested it with any strong beast of the forest and after a moment or two, there would be a reaction to stay away from him, probing their natural instinct to not get closer to him.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
But by limiting their vision in not directly seeing his face, there would only be a reaction if they were at a meter’s range around him, and from the tests he got, he could actually hold a conversation with other people as long as they did not see his face or is too close to him.
Compared to the curse at his old life, this was much, much better.
Ru Wuxi did not answer him, but she continued to grip her daggers tightly, pointing towards her throat. She seemed fearless, she had always been. But this time, she could not help trembling.
Her body doesn't seemed to be listening to her, as it continued to tremble and tremble, even the tightly gripped dagger in her hands shook uncontrollably.
It was probably the first time in her life, she had felt this weak for two consecutive times already.
She knew that her actions were for naught, if he wished to end her, he could do it any time he wanted. But all she could do was to bring her daggers close to her throat, as it was an act that could mentally reassure her that she could, at least, end her own life.
Her eyes scanned her surroundings, they were currently inside a cave.
The cave was relatively small and there was nothing noteworthy except for a man-made white line dividing her and the man.
Eventually, her eyes fell on the opening of the cave, where the light of the moon shined pass. And unconsciously, she took a step forward.
" Do not step that line, or else... " Li Zun warned her, his voice cold.
Ru Wuxi involuntarily shivered, she was immediately woken up from her daze and focused her gaze on the him once more.
Usually, she would have never made the mistake to lose her focus on her enemy. But this time she was truly heavily pressured mentally, after surviving a life threatening danger, she was pitted in another life threatening one. she could not help but long for an exit, a safe haven, away from dangers.
“ Forget about leaving, I do not want to see someone I just saved die outside, your injuries haven't even healed yet, get back to rest. “ the hooded Li Zun spoke nonchalantly, while still roasting the fish in the fire.
Ru Wuxi continued to stare vigilantly. Soon, she came to the conclusion that this hooded man wasn't aiming to harm her.
She did not know whether he was truly kind or he was put off by the burnt mark covering her face, all she knew that she was temporarily safe.
She spared one last glance at him before she turned away and lied down on the ground, her back facing Li Zun. But her vigilance did not drop in the slightest, only her actions seemed to be.
Silence filled the cave, only the crackling sounds of the fire & the roasting of the fish could be heard.
It continued on until Ru Wuxi finally decided to break it with a sentence. " I will repay the favor one day. "
Hearing her words, Li Zun could not help but let out a slight smile.
" I do not need you to repay me back, i was just close by and i too, gained something in exchange. " Li Zun spoke calmly, it was true that he gained lots of information from Bum Gumsu and the leader's memory.
Ru Wuxi stayed silent, she did not answer him for she did know that her sentence earlier was merely a form of equities. Considering his power level, how could she possibly pay him back ?
“ But I do have a question. “ Li Zun spoke, looking at her.
“ Your revenge..is it worth it ? “ He asked, his voice did not seem probing, but not nonchalant either.
From the memories of the leader and Bum Gumsu, it was easy to guess that she had some sort of debt with the king, or else why would she even bother provoking an entire kingdom to kill a king ?
Ru Wuxi didn't answer him again, she just laid down on the leaves, her face did not change on the outside, but the answer was clear and vivid in her heart.
Since is not willing to talk about it then he won't ask further.
Li Zun wasn't naïve enough to persuade her to forget her revenge. If it was any other religious person from her world, perhaps they would encourage her to stop thinking about revenge.
But who was he to her ? He’s not her family nor her lover, what rights does he have to convince her to forget about revenge ? In fact, in the first place he did not even knew what was the enmity between the two. Li Zun knew that, that was why he did not say anything.
“ Saving her life does not mean I can control her life. “ With the thought in mind, all Li Zun could do was to stay silent.
Perhaps, if a normal person was in his shoes, they would have already tried to convince her or spare some words of wisdom.
But who was Li Zun ? Someone who had the most minimal contact during his 30 years of life !
In such a situation, how could he come up with words of wisdom ? Being able to talk normally could already be categorized as an achievement for someone like him.
“ Alright then, if you don't want to answer, that's fine. But tell me something little miss, Ru Wuxi..that's not your real name right ? What should I call you by ? “ He looked at her, face smiling, eyes gleaming. His look seemed like it could reach the depths of secret she had..