Chapter 5

Xia Zhi had gathered eight fruits in total.

He ate one and gave the remaining seven to the crane.

Whether the fruits were sour didn't matter—he simply didn't want it to go hungry.

Seeing the crane's eyes grow misty, he assumed it was deeply moved by his actions.

Spiritual beasts truly had rich emotional lives.

"Come, let me heal you again," he said, raising his hand as white light emanated from it, touching the crane's body.

Familiar and warm life energy flowed in, bringing a comfortable sensation.

The crane's beak still tasted sour as she watched the young man with complex emotions, finally sighing inwardly.

Let it be—his intentions were good.

Though she resolved never to eat fruit again.

When sufficient time had passed, Xia Zhi withdrew his hand, showing signs of fatigue.

She could feel that most of her internal injuries from the fall had been healed by his technique, except for...

"You should be almost better now, right?" Xia Zhi studied the crane, feeling something wasn't quite right.

After a moment's observation, his gaze fell upon its wings.

Those pale blue wings seemed to be held at an unnatural angle.

Xia Zhi carefully reached toward them.

Noticing his movement, the crane stepped back, avoiding his touch.

Xia Zhi raised his head, looking at the crane with his lifeless gray eyes.

"I just want to check on you."

Though she couldn't understand his words, his sincere expression conveyed his lack of ill intent.

They gazed at each other for a moment before she slightly lowered her neck.

Only then did Xia Zhi reach for her wing again.

This time, she didn't retreat.

As his fingers glided over the wing, they encountered an abnormal spot, causing him to pause.

"Is this... a broken bone?"

These beautiful wings had been forcibly broken!

Xia Zhi's expression grew serious as his fingers gently pressed against the delicate bone through the soft down, examining carefully.

Her eyes flashed with pain and embarrassment.

What are you touching so carelessly!

"This won't work—I can't set it," Xia Zhi withdrew his hands with concern.

He had no experience setting bones, especially not for non-human spiritual beasts.

Even if he understood its skeletal structure, this kind of injury wouldn't be simple to heal.

A spiritual beast's injuries likely required spiritual medicines.

"Ah..." Xia Zhi sighed, looking at the crane with complex emotions.

This spiritual beast was truly too kind.

Even with broken wings, it had endured the pain last night to shield him from the cold wind with those very same wings.

Was it really necessary?

He really couldn't do anything about this one.

Xia Zhi's gaze softened as he opened his system panel, entering the store to search for information about spiritual medicines.

Sorting by price from low to high, two items met his requirements:

[White Jade Bone-Mending Paste]

Quality: Silver

Type: Consumable

Properties: None

Effect: Can heal broken bones; if the bone has already set, it must be rebroken first.

Hidden Effect: None

Price: 30 points

 ...

[Complete Vitality Recovery Potion]

Quality: Gold

Type: Consumable

Properties: Instant Recovery

Effect: Immediately heals all injuries

Hidden Effect: None

Price: 100 points

From their descriptions, either item could heal the crane's broken bones.

The former was for external use, slow-acting but cheaper.

The latter was for internal use, fast-acting but expensive.

Xia Zhi had only 20 points left—not enough for either item.

However, if he recycled the [Burning Incense Burner], he would have 120 points, enough to buy either.

Yet recycling a gold-quality item seemed wasteful—unlike the [Virtue Template], the [Burning Incense Burner] had practical uses.

Xia Zhi furrowed his brow, lost in thought.

To the crane watching him, his expression after touching her broken wing seemed troubled and worried.

Could this young man be concerned about my injury? This isn't an injury that can be easily healed.

Still, witnessing this made her heart warm.

She moved closer and gently nudged his shoulder with her beak in comfort.

Xia Zhi snapped out of his thoughts, smiled at her, and said softly, "Don't worry, I'll heal you."

Such a beautiful and kind spiritual beast deserved good fortune.

If for nothing else, then for those warm, fragrant wings from last night.

Xia Zhi looked into the distance and said, "Come on, we need to find a place with water."

He walked in the direction the [Divining Staff] had indicated yesterday, with the crane quietly following behind.

After circling the large crater and walking two or three li, Xia Zhi faintly heard the sound of water.

Determining the direction of the sound, it was directly ahead.

Xia Zhi continued forward as the sound of water grew clearer—likely a small river.

Suddenly, the crane behind him let out a soft cry, stepped forward, and blocked him with her beak.

Xia Zhi stopped, looking at her in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

The crane let out another soft cry, as if warning him of something.

"Is there something ahead?"

Xia Zhi's detection range was only twenty meters—beyond that, he was truly blind.

The crane must have seen something in the distance, prompting this warning.

"It's alright, I won't be reckless. Let's assess the situation first."

Xia Zhi gently moved the crane aside, holding [Holy Judgment] in one hand and [Spatial Transfer] in the other as he slowly advanced.

He chose to trust the [Divining Staff]'s guidance.

Yesterday, he had met the injured crane and obtained the [Burning Incense Burner] from her.

Perhaps today would bring another stroke of luck.

The familiar footsteps followed—the crane had joined him.

Perhaps she was worried about him, or maybe she wasn't afraid of whatever lay ahead. Either way, she followed, not abandoning him.

Xia Zhi's fondness for her grew even stronger.

The sound of water grew louder ahead.

There were also strange "splash" "splash" sounds.

Like something colliding together.

Xia Zhi became alert.

Moving closer, his detection range finally revealed the source of the sounds. Semi-transparent, round, and bouncing—they looked like enlarged jelly drops.

They even appeared somewhat cute.

"Are these... slimes?" Xia Zhi stopped, his gray eyes focusing on the largest one among the group.

In his vision, it had a progress bar attached to it.

A silver one, at that.

Progress [0%].