Chapter Thirty: A Flicker of Stirring

Sha was in so much pain that his eyes, nose, and mouth scrunched into a single knot. He hurriedly pressed hard against the wound, shivering for quite some time before finally catching his breath. He had no time to worry about the matter of his first kiss, and instead glared and shouted, "Are you trying to kill me?!"

Pitiful Creature fumed with rage, thinking that this bumpkin had taken full advantage of her and yet dared to curse her so loudly. She retorted angrily, "You bastard, just now—"

"Shut up!" Sha's expression changed drastically, and he gritted his teeth hard. "Nothing happened just now! You'd best forget it right away! And you—you're not allowed to tell anyone, or else I might as well not be a person anymore!"

As he spoke, he looked around and spotted the Goblin Queen cowering in a corner, his face fierce. "And you! Not a word from you either!"

The Goblin Queen nodded quickly in fear.

Pitiful Creature nearly fainted from anger!

He had taken advantage of her, which was already outrageous, and yet acted as if he were the one who suffered greatly?!

...

After such an episode, the two of them turned their heads away and ignored each other.

Sha tore off a piece of cloth and managed to wrap his wound, then sat cradling his head, sinking into worry.

What was Sha troubled about?

Of course he was troubled, how could he not be?

Now that he’d calmed down, he bitterly realized a fact—Sha had once again become penniless.

During his escape, he had lost all the possessions he had just accumulated. The bag containing all his belongings had been left behind without a chance to grab it!

Damn it, hell! There were dozens of gold coins in there!

His battle axe and shield were destroyed. He hadn’t even managed to keep the bloodthirsty wolf pelt!

Now he was back to the state he was in when he first left Wildfire Town—no, worse than that, at least he had a rusty axe then. Now all he had left was a fire fork.

Hmm… Hmm?!

The fire fork!

He picked up the fire fork Pitiful Creature had thrown at his feet, holding it in his hands for a closer look.

The battered fire fork was covered in thick black soot, a layer so thick it would never come off, dull and without any shine.

He’d been using this thing since he could remember, not knowing where it came from; likely the old man had tossed it into the furnace long ago. Sha had never discovered anything magical about it, usually just using it to poke coal or turn over charcoal.

As for its sharpness… Would you ever take your household fire fork and hack at a kitchen knife for fun?

...

After a while, Sha’s anger eased. He glanced at Pitiful Creature, recalling the doubts lingering in his heart and coughed, "Hey, you… I have something to ask you."

Pitiful Creature turned stiffly, face cold. "What!"

Sha sighed, his expression deep. "Hey… if I’m not mistaken, those who are hunting us seem to be connected to you. Earlier, the man on horseback asked if I’d seen any other humans, and… I noticed that you looked like you’d seen a ghost when you saw them!"

Pitiful Creature’s expression changed; she knew there was no hiding it. Besides, during their escape, the pursuers had already seen her, so they would never give up. She nodded grimly. "That’s right… They’re here for me. These people must have been sent by my uncle."

"Your uncle?" Sha frowned, staring at Pitiful Creature. "Are they here to rescue you?" But he quickly shook his head. "Doesn’t seem so! You look terrified of being found."

Pitiful Creature pressed her lips together, finally whispering, "You don’t need to guess. They were ordered to… kill me!"

Sha’s eyes widened, examining Pitiful Creature up and down. She grew uneasy under his gaze, sighing inwardly. She hesitated; if this bumpkin pressed her, should she tell him the truth? But given the circumstances, she had no choice but to rely on his protection...

Her expression turned sad. "This was originally a secret—a scandal within my family..."

Before she could continue, Sha suddenly burst out laughing, cutting her off and clapping her on the shoulder, nearly dislocating it. "Hah! So I’ve saved you again, haven’t I? Hey, Pitiful Creature, your family must be rich to afford such deadly assassins. If we make it back alive, you owe me a hefty protection fee!"

Pitiful Creature opened her mouth, staring at Sha in surprise, and finally couldn’t help but whisper, "Don’t you want to ask me…"

"No need," Sha waved his hand, his face calm and voice cool. "What good would it do? Would knowing improve our situation? Let’s survive and worry about the rest later."

His steady expression lasted only a moment; then he realized his hand was still on Pitiful Creature’s shoulder, recoiling in disgust and quickly withdrawing it, shuddering all over.

He didn’t dare look at Pitiful Creature, fearing he’d recall the earlier ‘tragedy’. Sha glanced around. "Let’s figure out how to get out of here. Those guys won’t give up easily. So, we…"

"Even now, you still want to find that dragon?" Pitiful Creature frowned, worried. "Even if you find the dragon’s treasure, with those people after you, you won’t be able to carry it back."

Sha exhaled heavily, snorting, "No choice. They’re south of us. Turning back would be a death trap; we can only go north."

He picked up the fire fork, looked at the opposite cliff, measured it in his hand, stepped back, and leapt forward.

His strength was astonishing; with one jump, he reached several meters high, landing on the cliff. With a low roar, he stabbed the fire fork into the rock face! The fire fork sliced through stone as if it were tofu!

With the fire fork as a foothold, Sha freed one hand and tossed a coil of rope from his belt. "Grab the rope, I’ll pull you up."

His physique was monstrous—wounded in several places, yet still full of energy.

He hauled Pitiful Creature and the Goblin Queen up with the rope, then tied it securely around his waist. He cut a notch in the cliff with the fire fork, hooked his hand into it, pulled the fork out, and stabbed it higher up. Repeating this several times, he finally got Pitiful Creature and the Goblin Queen up the dozens of meters high cliff.

Sha collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, his shoulder wound bleeding again, soaking his clothes red.

Pitiful Creature watched, unable to bear it. "Your wound is bleeding…"

Sha grunted twice in pain, snapping, "Of course! You’d bleed, too, if you got hit. There’s no medicine here, damn it…"

...

At the mention of medicine, Pitiful Creature’s eyes brightened. She sat down, quickly removed her boots and exposed her feet.

On her foot was a wound, still covered with fresh medicine from that morning. With limited options, she scraped off some of the remaining salve.

Sha saw this and was furious. "Hey! You’re really going to make me put medicine from your stinky feet on my wound?"

Pitiful Creature was so angry she almost cried, but she bit her lip. "Use it or don’t; if not, you’ll die from the pain!"

Sha, used to surviving in the wild, knew that if such wounds weren’t treated, blood loss alone could kill a person. Even with his robust constitution, surrounded by danger, he couldn’t afford to be picky.

They continued on, but Sha, injured, couldn’t carry Pitiful Creature anymore. So… Oakes was in for a rough time.

He was forced to carry Pitiful Creature, who was much taller than himself, stumbling behind Sha.

They dared not follow the riverbank, instead heading east for half a day before turning north at dusk.

Knowing the pursuers could find them at any time, they dared not camp, but traveled through the night.

The three of them had no food, were exhausted and hungry, and feared the fire would reveal their location, so didn’t dare light one. They walked through most of the night. Only Sha could persevere; Pitiful Creature and Oakes were both at their limits.

Especially Pitiful Creature—after soaking in the water yesterday, and with the winter chill, by morning her face was blue, teeth chattering as she lay on Oakes’s back.

Sha noticed and grew concerned. When daylight finally came, they sat to rest. The Goblin Queen’s thin little legs were trembling, and after collapsing, she couldn’t stand up again.

Sha forced himself to stay alert, searched the area, and uncovered a stone, then cheered, digging fiercely at the ground with his fire fork.

After a moment, Sha returned with both hands cradling a mass of fine, reddish, fish-egg-like things.

Pitiful Creature, nearly delirious from cold, saw Sha’s hand in front of her face. She glanced down. "What’s this?"

"Eat it!" Without another word, Sha pinched her chin, forced her mouth open, and stuffed the lump in.

The stuff melted in her mouth, fine and crisp, slightly tangy, not bad at all. After a couple bites, Pitiful Creature felt her stomach fill, her spirits revived, warmth spreading through her belly. She looked up at the bumpkin, gratitude in her eyes. "What is it?"

Sha licked his lips, glanced at his now empty hands—the small mass had been devoured by Pitiful Creature alone.

"Red ant eggs," Sha said calmly. "They’re quite good, fill you up, and red ants are hot-natured—the eggs ward off the cold. You’ll break a sweat soon and feel much better."

Pitiful Creature wanted to say something, but suddenly saw Sha’s throat move as if swallowing. She noticed his empty hands and realized something. When weak, one is easily moved; now, the warmth from the ant eggs seemed to spread to her heart, and she gazed at the bumpkin, unable to utter a single word.

After resting until the sun rose, the group continued on. Pitiful Creature did break a sweat and regained some energy, but for some reason grew silent, no longer speaking to Sha. She seemed to have lost the urge to argue with him, and only occasionally, her gaze would wander his way, unable to help herself.

That bumpkin marched at the front, chest out, head held high. In the crisp morning air, the breath he exhaled was visible, drifting in the wind. Pitiful Creature watched Sha’s broad, powerful back, and as she watched, she found herself entranced…