Chapter 3: Worse Than Beasts

“You… how do you feel?” Xiang Wentian turned his head. Due to the angle, he could only see the side of Leng You’s small head wrapped in his arms.

“Comfortable! How about you?” Leng You’s tone was affirmative.

“Mm!” Xiang Wentian was full of doubts.

“We must have encountered a miracle!

This valley is rumored to be haunted, and indeed, some who entered never returned, dying within days. That’s why no one dares to come here anymore.”

Leng You couldn’t offer a more reasonable explanation. She stared blankly at the cluster of blooming flowers on her wrist, their grape-like fragrance wafting faintly.

Even though her chest felt like it would burst, a sliver of rationality remained; she should clear herself of any suspicion.

Xiang Wentian: “…”

This seemed like the kind of answer a small child might imagine, but how else could the facts be explained?

Just as he was about to take a step, a rather loud “gurgling” sound came from his stomach. Even though it was just a little girl he was with, Xiang Wentian felt incredibly embarrassed.

“You… gurgle!” The most fitting way to alleviate the awkwardness arrived uninvited—a clearer gurgling sound came from Leng You’s stomach.

Once the excruciating pain subsided enough not to affect other senses, an extreme hunger began to clamor wildly.

Xiang Wentian’s expression returned to normal, and he continued walking.

“Brother, wait, put me down!” Leng You extended a tiny index finger, gently poking Xiang Wentian’s shoulder.

“No! You’re too badly injured, you can’t move around.” Xiang Wentian’s tone was brooking no argument/unquestionable.

“I’m fine now.” Leng You emphasized the word “now.” She wouldn’t deny Xiang Wentian’s extraordinary perceptiveness and intelligence.

“Is it… really?” Xiang Wentian turned his head sharply.

Indeed, Leng You could read the intense shock from his profile alone.

After a long while, he bent down and carefully put Leng You down.

Before he could stand up, Leng You fell limply to the side, startling him into catching her in his arms.

“You tied my legs with your scarf.” Leng You lay on her back in Xiang Wentian’s strong arms, blinking innocently with her large, crystal-like eyes.

“Gurgling…”

Her big eyes immediately closed. So embarrassing.

But she was truly ravenously hungry, almost to the point of death.

In her yearning, the cluster of flower marks on her wrist suddenly felt hot, and a summoning-like thought instantly surged into her mind.

Lowering her head to look at her wrist again, Leng You’s expression was unreadable.

“Let’s go!” Xiang Wentian’s lips curled up slightly. He rearranged the scarf around Leng You, then took her hand.

“Brother, I might be able to find something to eat. Follow me!” Leng You held Xiang Wentian’s finger, walking north along the valley floor. At the same time, she used her eyelids to conceal the doubt, surprise, anxiety, and expectation in her eyes.

Xiang Wentian didn’t object, admitting that Leng You was more familiar with this place.

“Sweet potatoes?” When they had walked more than 500 meters and stopped in a sparsely wooded area with dry, loose soil sheltered by protruding rocks, Xiang Wentian saw sweet potato vines sprawling across the ground, almost withered. He recognized them.

“It’s really true?” Leng You’s heart almost leaped out of her chest, and she raised her wrist again to stare intently.

“I’ll dig.” Xiang Wentian’s intense desire for food prevented him from noticing Leng You’s abnormality. He pulled out a dagger from his waist, squatted down, and began to dig.

The sandy soil didn’t require much effort, and Xiang Wentian easily pulled out a large cluster of purplish-red sweet potatoes.

“So big!” Seeing the sweet potatoes as large as a child’s pillow, Leng You went from shock to amazement.

Xiang Wentian picked one up and went to the water’s edge. As soon as his fingertips touched the stream, he froze—it was hot spring water.

Without further ado, he washed the dirt off the sweet potatoes, peeled them with his dagger, cut off a piece, and handed it to Leng You: “Eat.”

“So sweet!” Leng You only then realized that raw sweet potatoes were a delicacy.

……

Just one sweet potato filled both their stomachs. Although there was still a slight ache in her fractured bones, Leng You felt full of energy. Seeing Xiang Wentian also refreshed, she couldn’t help but gently rub the flower mark on her wrist.

Xiang Wentian put the remaining sweet potatoes in his backpack and, guided by Leng You, continued north to a gentler part of the valley wall.

Earlier, while rushing to save her, the descent had been extremely dangerous, almost causing several falls. If it weren’t for his agility in grabbing onto the trees on the valley wall, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Ignoring Leng You’s refusal, he securely tied her to his back with his scarf and began climbing the valley wall, using the protruding rocks and trees for support.

The higher he climbed, the more startled and excited he became. Although Leng You weighed less than twenty kilograms, this was now an extremely physically demanding activity, like rock climbing.

Yet he felt no fatigue, and his movements were even lighter and more agile, his strength seemingly inexhaustible.

Thinking of the heat that surged into his body, the strange purple mist, and Leng You’s instantly improved injuries…

Xiang Wentian forcibly suppressed the surging waves in his heart.

……

Finally reaching the top of the valley, Leng You, lying on Xiang Wentian’s back, looked up at the dark, gloomy sky above the raging snow, then slowly turned her gaze towards the village in front of the mountain, her eyes once again filled with bloodthirsty coldness.

She didn’t ask Xiang Wentian to put her down, allowing him to carry her into the village.

In the remote mountain village of the late 1970s, far from modern civilization and lacking warm clothing, no one understood or had the poetic sentiment to play outside in such harsh weather. However, many families were busy clearing snow from their yards and doorways for fear of being snowed in.

Therefore, when Xiang Wentian, whose clothing and demeanor were completely different from the villagers, passed through the village under Leng You’s instructions (they could have easily avoided the village), everyone stopped their work, their eyes glued to him as if watching an extraterrestrial being.

Naturally, quite a few people noticed Leng You, covered in blood and limp, lying on Xiang Wentian’s back.

“Hey! Who are you? What happened to Leng’s girl?” A curious person couldn’t help but shout to Xiang Wentian.

Both Leng You, with her eyes closed, and Xiang Wentian, with his impassive expression, could hear that the question was mostly out of curiosity, not much concern.

“She fell from the mountain, and I saved her.” Xiang Wentian’s cold expression made the villagers suppress the ten thousand questions they had.

“It’s there.” When they passed through the village and were no longer near any houses, Leng You raised her head, pointing to a small earthen house at the edge of the village.

Two figures were also shoveling snow in the wind and snow.

“Eh… Xiaotian?” Seeing the person standing before them, Bai Changpu froze.

“Wen—tian?” Xiang Huaixin’s shovel fell to the ground.

“Uncle Bai… Dad!” Xiang Wentian had already learned from Leng You that “Grandpa Bai” was Bai Changpu, and that “Grandpa Xiang” was his father.

“Xiaotian, why are you here? Oh my… what happened to Xiao Youyou?” Seeing Leng You covered in blood, Bai Changpu dropped his shovel in shock.

“What’s going on?” Xiang Huaixin also recovered from his shock and rushed forward.

“Grandpa Xiang, Grandpa Bai, I’m fine.” Leng You waved her small hand.

“This…” Xiang Huaixin looked at the two children in astonishment.

“Let’s go inside and talk!” Xiang Wentian carried Leng You into the dimly lit hut.

……

“Even a tiger doesn’t eat its own young, they’re simply worse than beasts!” After Xiang Wentian briefly recounted the events, Xiang Huaixin’s fists clenched tightly.

“Thank goodness little Youyou is alive. If it were anyone else, falling into such a deep valley, they wouldn’t have survived.” Bai Changpu looked at Leng You with concern.

Xiang Wentian and Leng You tacitly omitted the part about the purple mist, so in the eyes of Xiang Huaixin and Bai Changpu, Leng You’s survival was due to luck.

“You dead girl… dead girl… get out here!” A sharp shout interrupted the conversation in the room.