Plop. Plop. Plop.
On the dirt ground, crimson drops kept falling, staining the earth red. They came from the wounds of a young man, whose clothes were torn and who had a dagger in his hand, the blade embedded in the body of a wild boar, silver in color.
A rare species in the Falling Star Forest, and also valuable due to its unusual hide, which could be used to craft weapons. The silver boar wasn't very strong, possessing power equivalent to the Minor Realm of Bodily Temperament. Even so, it was dangerous to mortals.
The young man, named Lu Wuyang, who had no cultivation, had the misfortune of encountering this animal. But thanks to his advanced sword skills, and taking advantage of the creature's lack of intelligence, he managed to kill it after being brutally beaten.
'Why the hell am I so unlucky?'
Lu Wuyang had no idea at all. Shaking his head, he pulled the sword from the boar's neck and began cutting it into pieces, doing his best not to damage the creature's hide, which was worth a lot of money.
Crrr-crr-crr!
While he was dissecting it, the sound of wheels against the earth cut through the silence, putting Lu Wuyang on extreme alert. His hands tightened on the sword. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a carriage being pulled by a black horse with a red mane, traveling along the road, which passed about ninety centimeters from him.
"Hmmm." Letting out a breath through his lips, Lu Wuyang hid the prey behind him. He didn't want a fight—his condition wasn't the best. But he would never accept someone stealing his things. If the people inside came with ill intent, he would fight to the death.
'Just pass by,' he prayed silently in his heart. But too bad: when the carriage reached opposite him, it stopped. Irritated, Lu Wuyang gripped the dagger even tighter.
"Are you all right?"
The bandit voice he had imagined did not come; the voice from the carriage was soft, like the song of a beautiful siren. It left Lu Wuyang dumbfounded, not understanding anything. But composing himself quickly, even if the other party were a woman, he wouldn't show mercy if she tried to rob him.
"Sir? Are you all right?" the voice hesitated, then continued in a more tremulous tone, "I'm not a bad person…"
"Keep going, I don't need help." Lu Wuyang refused the favor and gestured with his face to the right, indicating for the person to continue on. But before she left, he felt his vision blur. "I've lost a lot of blood!"
He murmured, still trying to stay upright, but his mind began to fade as well. His five senses vanished, and the weight of his body became enormous, like a shroud over him. Unable to remain steady, he lost feeling in his legs and collapsed.
The sword he held slipped from his fingers as he fell toward the ground. Placing the palm of his hand on the earth, he still tried to look with the corner of his eyes at the carriage. Blurred, he saw the curtain part and a figure rush out.
'Is she going to rob me? Or is she truly a kind person?'
Lu Wuyang wondered, without regret for his choice. In this cruel world, it is rare to find people who aren't selfish and who are truly kind to others.
'Well, it doesn't matter, she won in the end. I made a wedding dress for someone else! This sucks.'
He was angry, but could do nothing. If he wanted something to blame, it was his life, which made no sense. Besides encountering a boar, a carriage had to appear at the damned hour and take his spoils. That was bad luck at the highest level.
"Hahaha!" Lu Wuyang began using his last strength to release loud laughter. As he laughed, he felt something drop into his mouth that silenced him instantly. Startled, he swallowed, taking saliva and all into his throat. The moment the strange thing reached his stomach, a warmth began to travel through his body, healing his wounds and clearing his mind.
Recovering his sight, he saw above his eyes the face of a young woman—quite beautiful, like a piece of jade perfectly carved. She had pale blue eyes, like the ocean. Moving his gaze slightly downward, he saw the young woman crouched and, unintentionally, noticed something light-green that made him feel warm.
Suddenly sitting up from the ground, straightening his spine, he sat in an L-shape, eyes shocked and cheeks slightly flushed.
The young woman, who didn't understand what had happened, looked at him strangely. "What happened to you? Are you still ill?" she asked, concerned.
"I'm fine." Lu Wuyang tried to regain control of his body, but couldn't stop replaying the earlier scene. He covered his mouth with his hand and looked aside, still blushing.
"Have some hot tea. My mother says it's good for calming a restless heart." The young woman spoke softly, a faint smile on her face. Then she produced from nowhere a steaming cup of tea, from which waves of vapor still rose. "Here, you can drink."
Lu Wuyang, who until then had been hunched with his hand over his mouth, was instantly stunned to see her offer the drink. That young woman was far too innocent, seeming like someone who had never seen the world beyond her home. It was as if she had left home for the first time.
"You don't have to… thank you for saving me." He said, regaining his composure and stopping the thoughts about the earlier scene. Her innocence calmed all his perverse thoughts.
"Are you sure you don't want it?" she pouted. "It's delicious, it was made especially by my mother."
'Woe is me…' Lu Wuyang didn't want to owe any more favors, but seeing that little face made his heart race. He didn't want an angel like that to be sad.
Taking the cup from her hands, he saw her smile sweetly. When he brought the cup to his lips, a delicate aroma filled his nose. Tasting it, various flavors blended, creating a unique sensation on his palate.
"So delicious… your mother is amazing." he praised, slowly savoring the tea he had at first refused. When he finished, he returned the cup to the young woman.
"What's your name? Mine is Lu Wuyang."
"An Lianyue," she replied, putting the cup away.
Lu Wuyang noticed that she had placed it in her purple storage ring on her ring finger, which made him envious. If he had one, he wouldn't be afraid of being robbed. Too bad those are very expensive.
Forgetting that with a bitter smile, he looked at An Lianyue. "Don't do that again in the future; the human heart is unpredictable. If you help strangers, you'll end up screwed — people can repay kindness with ingratitude. Especially you, being a pretty woman, you could attract covetousness."
He warned her, wanting to open the mind of that pampered young woman who had never seen reality. If she continued like that, she would suffer in the future. Kind people don't live long. Selfish people live longer because they know how to scheme and use everything to their advantage.
Lu Wuyang, on these matters, was neutral. He would never act like An Lianyue, saving strangers on the road. But he also wouldn't do things that went against his survival instincts.
An Lianyue, having heard this, smiled even more kindly. "I can tell good people from bad. Brother Wuyang is in the first group."
"I would have killed her if I hadn't fainted. Do you still think I'm a good person?"
"Yes… you seemed concerned about the corpse you killed, right? It's not bad to defend what you won with your own blood. That's the attitude of a true man." she praised.
Lu Wuyang became shy, rubbing his nose at those words. "But I'm bad too, you know? When I woke up I saw something light-green, totally tempting, and I didn't even apologize. Good men wouldn't do that."