Martial Cultivator

Punch after punch, Ge Ming's fragile body was reduced to a mass of flesh and blood, from his ribs shattering at the beginning, to his entire body resembling a lump of minced meat at the end. If it were not for Chen Chao holding him by the hair, Ge Ming would have collapsed long ago.

But Chen Chao seemed oblivious to it all, throwing punch after punch without knowing fatigue, as if he had been possessed by madness.

As soon as Chen Chao realized that the little girl had been eaten by Ge Ming, his mind had already fallen into a trance. At this moment, there was only fury in his eyes, and deep in his heart, that voice had quietly sounded out once again.

If the brief intrusion of the heart demon on that night had merely planted a seed of latent danger for Chen Chao, then at this moment, his true heart demon had begun to gradually take hold of his body and mind.

Just as Chen Chao was swinging his fist for the nth time, a soft whimpering suddenly sounded out from behind him.

The mist in Chen Chao's eyes cleared in an instant.

He abruptly raised his head, released Ge Ming from his grasp, and looked toward the room behind him.

Then Chen Chao rushed into the room and saw the medicine cauldron still emitting a medicinal fragrance. Approaching the cauldron, he peered inside and saw many spiritual medicines floating in the cauldron, along with a little girl with closed eyes. Her blood had already mixed with the medicinal soup. Chen Chao reached in, lifted the girl out of the cauldron, and then tore a piece of cloth from his garment to bandage the wounds on her wrists.

He reached his hand out to check the girl's nose and mouth.

Her breathing was weak, but she was indeed still alive.

Chen Chao became much more lucid.

Carrying the little girl, Chen Chao gently infused a breath of qi into the girl's body.

Then Chen Chao gave a medicinal pill that Xie Nandu had prepared for him before leaving the Divine Capital to the little girl.

The girl let out a muffled groan, but her eyes remained tightly shut.

Chen Chao's brows were knitted tightly.

Her breathing was extremely weak at this moment, and she could pass away at any moment.

Chen Chao felt overwhelming regret. If he had not separated from her earlier, this tragedy would not have happened.

Then Chen Chao remembered the immortal medicine he had obtained before. If the immortal medicine were still around, perhaps he could still save her. But now, he was powerless.

The biggest difference between a martial artist and other cultivators was that martial artists lacked those so-called miraculous methods. They only possessed a physique that could look down upon the world, and their martial arts prowess.

The qi within Chen Chao's body continued to flow into the girl's body, but besides this, he did not know what else to do.

He called out softly to the girl, but received no response.

……

……

On this night, heavy rain unexpectedly fell over Clearwater Commandery City.

The bookshop owner, who had planned to close early for the night due to the rain, was about to shut the door when a hand suddenly pressed on it. Looking up, he was surprised to see the young man from earlier.

Before he could speak, the young man had already opened his mouth, "Do you have any way to save someone? Can you save this little girl?"

Only then did the shopkeeper notice that the young man was holding a frail little girl in his arms.

He was shocked and said in disbelief, "Did you snatch her from the Clearwater Pavilion?"

Chen Chao nodded silently.

"Come in quickly."

After Chen Chao entered, the shopkeeper looked at the little girl in the young man's arms and reached out to check her breathing. Frowning, he said, "Her breath is weak. If it weren't for you maintaining her life force with your qi, she would have died by now."

Chen Chao asked, "Do you have any solutions?"

This was not the Divine Capital, and Chen Chao did not have anyone to turn to. The only person he felt might be able to help was this scholar he had met briefly before.

The shopkeeper shook his head. "Her life force has dissipated severely. The heretic techniques from Clearwater Mountain are extremely malicious. You're a bit too late. Her life force has likely been drained already. She's on the verge of becoming a medicinal fruit. Even if a real immortal were to come now, I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done."

Chen Chao furrowed his brows, and opened his mouth to speak, but did not know what to say.

The shopkeeper sighed softly. "My condolences."

Chen Chao remained silent, just lowering his head to look at the little girl in his arms.

The last time they met, she was still so cute, with her hair in pigtails, talking about how eating sugar figurines would ruin her teeth.

It was all his fault. If only he had not left, it would have just added a little more time to his journey.

Chen Chao closed his eyes in pain.

But after a moment, a weak voice suddenly sounded from his arms, "Big Brother."

Chen Chao abruptly opened his eyes, looking at the little girl in his arms.

She struggled to open her eyes, gazing at Chen Chao's face, unable to distinguish between tears and rainwater.

"Big Brother, it hurts."

Chen Chao's heart clenched, but he could not find the words to say.

"My mother... and Grandpa Fu... were killed by someone... Big Brother, help me... avenge... them..."

The little girl spoke intermittently, some brownish medicinal soup flowing from her mouth. There was no blood left in her body.

Chen Chao nodded gently and whispered, "I've already killed him."

The little girl opened her mouth, "Thank you..."

Chen Chao whispered, "It's my fault."

The little girl shook her head laboriously. "Don't... say that... I... thank you... Big Brother..."

Before Chen Chao could speak, the little girl continued softly on her own, "Big Brother... don't be sad..."

Chen Chao could not say a word.

"Big Brother... you don't know... my name yet."

Chen Chao shook his head and said softly, "Don't tell big brother. Big brother haven't asked yet."

The little girl struggled to stay awake, seemingly aware that she did not have much time left, and whispered with great effort, "My name is Xie... Ying... the ying in 'firefly'... What about you?"

Before Chen Chao could speak, the little girl whispered again, "I'm sorry... Big Brother... I lost... the gift... you gave me..."

These words struck Chen Chao like thunder.

After a moment, Chen Chao said softly, "It's okay, I'll get you another one later..."

His voice suddenly stopped.

Chen Chao widened his eyes, looking at the little girl in his arms.

She had already slowly closed her eyes.

At this moment, outside the bookshop, the sound of pouring rain did not stop.