"Chief Nian?" Ruan Fu wondered.
She tried hard to recall the male leads and supporting characters in the book, but none of them had this name. Could he be an unnoticed background character?
But for a background character to look this good was simply cheating.
Ruan Fu looked at him and curled her lips into a smile. "I'm Ruan Fu."
"Yes, I know. Follow me."
Chief Nian released her hand and signaled with his eyes for her to follow.
When Ruan Fu arrived at the entrance to Chief Nian's cave, she realized it was distinctly different from hers. The entrance was constructed from stacked stones, and several pieces of cloth in different colors hung from the top to set it apart.
"Sit there and wait a moment. I'll go prepare some things," he said.
Ruan Fu nodded, sat on a stone stool to the side, and quietly watched the busy Chief Nian. After a good while, he placed a stone mortar and several pieces of cloth on the stone table beside her. Then, he crouched in front of Ruan Fu and motioned for her to extend her arm.
The blood on the fresh cut had already coagulated.
Chief Nian furrowed his brows slightly and comforted her gently. "I'm going to start now. It might hurt a little, so bear with it for a moment."
Ruan Fu nodded and watched as he used a damp cloth to meticulously wipe away the bloodstains on her arm. It hurt more than she had anticipated. Even though she bit her lip tightly, large drops of sweat still rolled down uncontrollably. At some point, her rabbit ears popped out.
Once the blood was completely wiped away, Chief Nian took the thoroughly mashed herbs from the stone mortar, applied them to the wound, and bandaged it with a clean cloth. Having finished treating the wound, Chief Nian let out a long breath. Just as he was about to stand up, he noticed a teardrop sliding from the corner of Ruan Fu's eye.
He froze and asked, "Does it hurt a lot?"
Ruan Fu looked up, tears swirling in her slightly red eyes, but she pursed her lips and shook her head. "It doesn't hurt. I just... I just want to thank you... for being so good to me."
As their eyes met, Chief Nian recalled the time when Ruan Fu and Ruan Ning were about to be born. It was his prophecy that foretold the birth of the Holy Female of the entire Tianbei Continent, but he never expected it to be a pair of twins. Ruan Ning, as he had anticipated, possessed an Innate Pregnancy Body, but Ruan Fu lacked the ability to reproduce.
An infertile female being the Holy Female was completely unprecedented. Yet, no matter how many times he recalculated the prophecy, the result remained the same. Ruan Fu was the Holy Female.
Thus, Chief Nian informed Lu'er of the results, knowing that the status of the Holy Female would protect Ruan Fu, allowing her to grow up safely without being sent to the Female Caves. Later, he heard that Lu'er had cast her out to be raised by another clan, and also heard that she was betrothed to the Snake Clan... Looking at her now, she had grown up quite well.
Chief Nian reached out and rubbed the top of her head. "There will be many more people who treat you well in the future. You—"
"I know the Shaman Clan is just trying to make me happy," Ruan Fu interrupted, tilting her fair little face up to look at him. "However, I still really appreciate your comfort."
Her smile was genuine, and her sparkling eyes held no resentment over her unfair fate. Chief Nian suddenly felt his palm grow hot. A numbing sensation, like an electric shock, made him instinctively retract his hand and turn around.
"This medicine needs to be changed once a day. It's best to avoid water for a while, or it will leave a scar," he spoke as if to himself.
Upon turning back, he realized that Ruan Fu had leaned in close at some point. Looking down, he could just see the top of her head and her gently trembling eyelashes.
"You..."
"I've memorized everything the Shaman Clan said. I'm just curious—are members of the Shaman Clan truly forbidden from taking a mate?"
"Yes. As members of the Shaman Clan, we must maintain absolute purity, so..."
"So you've never been comforted, right?"
Chief Nian gave a slight nod. Suddenly, the very next second, Ruan Fu stood on her tiptoes and leaned in. A faint fragrance wafted from her. Chief Nian's Adam's apple bobbed as he reached out and gripped her shoulders.
"Why are you asking this?" His tone turned cold, and he physically put distance between himself and Ruan Fu once again.
Sensing his resistance, Ruan Fu obediently backed away. "I was just asking out of curiosity." She chuckled softly. "I'll head back first, then. I'll come find you tomorrow to apply the medicine."
Ruan Fu turned and left. It wasn't until her figure completely faded from sight that Chief Nian let out a long breath. He reached up to touch his ears and found that they had indeed reverted to their original form. His furry rabbit ears hung down against his long hair, trembling slightly at his touch.
Upon returning to her cave, Ruan Fu picked out a few of the largest animal skins from the pile An Bei had sent over. She layered them thickly over her stone bed and lay down in satisfaction. She originally thought the stone bed would be quite uncomfortable to sleep on, but perhaps because she was too exhausted, she drifted off in no time.
While she was sleeping soundly, she suddenly felt something moving on her leg. The slippery, ice-cold sensation jolted her awake instantly. She threw off the blanket, only to see a jade-green snake wrapped around her leg, inching its way up. Upon realizing it had been discovered, the snake reared up, tilted its head to look at her, and flicked its red tongue.
"AH!" She let out a scream, grabbed the snake's body, and hurled it onto the ground with a backhand throw.
The snake writhed a few times and transformed into a familiar figure.
"An Rui? Why is it you?"
An Rui never imagined that Ruan Fu would be so terrified of him. After all, when he previously asked her for comfort, she had been highly cooperative. And now she had thrown him out of bed.
He rubbed his aching waist. "A fu, why are you so heavy-handed? You almost broke my back."
"Cut the act! What were you trying to do climbing into my bed in your true form in the middle of the night?" As Ruan Fu spoke, her gaze unconsciously followed An Rui as he stood up, and she suddenly caught sight of... Flushing deeply, she immediately threw an animal skin down at him. "You're going to be the death of me! Cover up before coming over!"
An Rui found her panicked, bashful expression highly amusing, but he still picked up the animal skin she threw and wrapped it tightly around his lower half before sitting on the edge of the bed. He gazed at Ruan Fu's cheeks with gentle eyes. "I missed you, so I came to see you."
His gaze drifted downward, clearly catching sight of the red marks on Ruan Fu's neck. He reached out to touch them. "Did my brother do this? Does it still hurt?"
Ruan Fu instinctively reached up, her fingertips brushing against his. She had almost forgotten that she was nearly choked to death by An Bei. Had she remembered, she would have asked the Shaman Clan for some herbs to treat this spot as well.
"It doesn't hurt. An Bei didn't use deadly force."
"I don't believe you. I know my brother better than anyone." As An Rui spoke, he suddenly noticed the herbs applied to her arm and grabbed the hand she was about to pull back. "What happened? You're hurt?"
Ruan Fu lowered her eyes, her long, thick lashes casting a shadow beneath them. She curled her lips, pretending to be strong. "It's nothing. I just took a careless tumble."
"You're lying to me again." An Rui paused. "Did someone in your clan bully you?"
Ruan Fu looked up, her pupils filled with the guilt of being caught in a lie, but she still insisted, "No. I'm the Holy Female, how could anyone bully me? Besides, I'm about to become your brother's female. Even less reason for... Even less..."
Before she could finish her sentence, An Rui slowly lowered his head and pressed his lips to her arm. An Rui's body temperature was always ice-cold, yet somehow, his lips were warm.
Ruan Fu froze and pulled her hand back. "You..."
"I know you've suffered a lot of grievances. The situation for females without the ability to reproduce is always difficult. But you don't have to be afraid anymore. I will protect you."
Ruan Fu's eyes instantly widened. "Really?"
Meeting her sparkling gaze, An Rui felt his heart sink an inch. He couldn't resist reaching out to rub the top of her head. "Yes, really."
Ruan Fu bit her lip, looking at him nervously and tentatively. She hesitated for a long time before saying, "You're only helping me because I'm soon going to be An Bei's female. But... what if when the time comes, An Bei..."
"I'm not helping you because of him," An Rui interrupted her. "I know the choice you made today didn't come from your heart. My brother must have said something to you. But since my brother is unwilling, I won't defy him. Either way, you will marry into the Snake Clan, so whether it's him or me doesn't matter."
"I understand."
"What do you understand?" An Rui couldn't help but chuckle softly at her wronged, timid appearance. "If you really understand, tell me who bullied you. Who injured your arm?"
Ruan Fu looked at An Rui and remained silent for a long moment before saying Guna's name. But she quickly added, "She didn't mean any harm. She just accidentally pushed me."
"You don't need to explain." An Rui looked at Ruan Fu with a serious expression, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. "When I was young, I was bullied a lot because my natural talents weren't high. Fortunately, I always had my brother to protect me.
"So I can completely understand your situation. From now on, I'll protect you just like that."
"Thank you, An Rui."
As soon as Ruan Fu's words fell, An Rui suddenly closed the distance between them. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear, "If you're truly thankful, why not sleep with me tonight?"