Chapter 7

Its wing is broken; could you please hold it here for me?

Xiao Yixian calmly examined the Blue Eagle's injury and determined where its worst injury was.

Xiao Li did as instructed; during the process, the Blue Eagle didn't struggle at all, merely fixing its still immature eagle eyes firmly on Xiao Li and Xiao Yixian.

Xiao Yixian didn't hesitate either, using all her strength to press the other side; with a crisp "crack," the Blue Eagle's wing bone was set, and Xiao Yixian also breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Yixian took out her medicine pouch, pulled out many herbs, crushed them with a stone, carefully applied them to the Blue Eagle's wound, and then took out a roll of gauze to bandage the Blue Eagle.

Xiao Li quietly watched Xiao Yixian's actions, sighing inwardly, "What a kind girl," but alas… the existence of the Misfortune Poison Body destined her from fulfilling her wish to become a healer.

Thinking of this, Xiao Li felt a pang of sympathy and sighed, "Poor little girl."

Xiao Yixian had just finished bandaging the Blue Eagle; hearing Xiao Li's sigh, she curiously turned her head, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just think you're very kind." Xiao Li smiled.

Hearing the two words "kind," Xiao Yixian's expression stiffened slightly, her smile forced, "Maybe."

"She killed the whole village; can such a person be considered kind?"

Seeing Xiao Yixian seem to recall past events, Xiao Li soothingly rubbed her head.

Xiao Yixian tilted her head, the smile on her face becoming more genuine; "This palm is really warm."

"What's your name?"

Xiao Yixian suddenly asked, her guard lessening a bit.

"I'm Xiao Li. And you?"

Xiao Yixian paused, her expression dark and inscrutable: "I have no name; Mr. Yao of the Wan Yao Zhai gave me the name Xiao Yixian, hoping I could help more people in the future."

Xiao Yixian silently scoffed, "Helping more people? That Yao just wants to use her to make a name for himself; he just gave her a friendly-sounding name. But Xiao Yixian didn't refuse because she always wanted to be a healer."

"Alright, then I'll call you Xiao Yixian from now on. We've exchanged names; how about giving this little Blue Eagle a name?" Xiao Li smiled warmly, unconsciously giving Xiao Yixian a feeling of closeness.

Xiao Yixian blinked; compared to the heartless Master Yao, the boy before her seemed more sincere.

"It's all azure; let's just call it Xiao Lan."

Seeing that neither Xiao Li nor the Blue Eagle objected, Xiao Yixian's face broke into a pure smile.

Considering the limited time, Xiao Yixian had no choice but to let Xiao Lan hide first, to avoid danger; after gathering the herbs, she would come back to find it.

Xiao Li's mind stirred.

"Why not follow me? I plan to seclude myself in the Magic Beast Mountains for a year or two; having you along would be inconvenient."

After a brief consideration, thinking someone might steal Xiao Lan the hatchling as a pet, Xiao Yixian decisively agreed.

Carrying Xiao Yixian, he leapt up the cliff in a few bounds, returning to the group; by then most of the mercenaries had already awakened.

"Xiao Li, where did you go?"

Gan Mu smiled, his eyes narrowed, his tone carrying a hint of questioning.

After a night's consideration, Gan Mu finally couldn't resist acting against Xiao Li's storage ring.

"A single storage ring is worth at least tens of thousands of gold coins; if we could snatch it, the Wolf Head Mercenary Corps wouldn't earn that much in a year."

Seeing Gan Mu's unfriendly tone, Xiao Li shielded Xiao Yixian behind him, "I have nothing to say."

"You're not even my subordinate; who are you putting on that interrogative tone for?"

Mu Li beside Gan Mu frowned, the ferocity in his eyes almost spilling over.

"Just a fighter, yet you dare to speak to Uncle Gan like that—what audacity!"

The Wolf Head Mercenary Corps members silently closed in; the scattered mercenaries around, seeing the situation turn bad, hastily retreated to the periphery.

This time Gan Mu didn't stop Mu Li; instead his eyes turned icy, "Surname Xiao, I gave you face and you refused—don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Xiao Li flicked his spear, arcs of lightning spraying forth, "Let's see what ruthless skills you have!"

Around thirty Wolf Head mercenaries surrounded them; in a prolonged battle Xiao Li would certainly be no match, so he had to strike first.

Lightning coated the spear; the internal qi vortex spun rapidly, battle qi burst forth from his body, a complete battle qi armor appearing on him.

Gan Mu's pupils contracted, "A Dou Shi expert!"

"Only now do you realize—too late!"

A cold shout rang out; Xiao Li's figure had already vanished from the spot, "Flash Lightning Strike!"

Lightning spewed from the spear, turning into a lengthy lightning spear blade that occupied Gan Mu's entire field of vision.

The fierce force caught Gan Mu off guard, blasting him away with a single strike.

His body flew backward seven or eight meters, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

Touching the scorched, terrifying wound on his chest, Gan Mu sucked in a cold breath, "Damn it, get him—he alone can't possibly be a match for all of us!"

Accompanied by Gan Mu's roar, the previously dazed others snapped to, forcing down their fear and advancing.

Xiao Yixian shrank behind Xiao Li, clutching his shirt tightly with both hands, "What… what do we do?"

"Don't worry, I'm here."

Xiao Li's eyes turned icy, the Thunder Scale Spear held across his chest, he brandished the spear, his voice like thunder, his movements like lightning.

Just three thrusts pierced the throats of two men, shocking the crowd into not daring to advance.

Mu Li's eyes filled with shock, "Damn it, this kid who knows how much younger he is than me is already a Dou Shi expert!"

"Come on! Follow me!"

Gan Mu leapt forward; fortunately he had just barely managed to mobilize battle qi to shield his chest, otherwise he wouldn't have just been severely wounded—he would have lost all combat ability.

Recalling that earlier shot, Gan Mu still felt lingering fear; this youth's battle qi was so formidable that even the regiment chief Mu She might not match it—today they'd kicked a hard stone.

Gan Mu felt regret, yet he knew he absolutely could not let Xiao Li escape today, or future troubles would be endless.

With Gan Mu bearing the brunt of the pressure up front, the others finally dared to advance; among them, two or three Dou Shi five- to six-star experts were assisting Gan Mu.

Xiao Li's heart sank slightly; thirty Dou Shi, even if he exhausted all his battle qi he could at most kill half—better to head into the mountains, train for two years, then the Wolf Head Mercenary Corps could be wiped out at will.

He glanced at the Wan Yao Zhai herb-gathering team leader beside them, who wanted to speak but didn't dare, and said softly to Xiao Yixian.

"In a moment I'll send you back to your team; stay with your team leader."

Looking at the porcelain doll only about 1.4 meters tall beside his leg, Xiao Li's lips curled into a faint smile.

Xiao Yixian raised her head to look; in the morning light, the youth's figure appeared quite slender, and the gentle smile on his face evoked an indescribable rippling in people's hearts.

"I can't go back; if I stay with you, Gan Mu will surely implicate me; Ten Thousand Medicines Hall won't oppose me and Wolf Head, big brother, please take me with you!"

(End of chapter)