Chapter 16 - A Touch of Concern

While crossing a forest near Glory City, the explorers continued on their path. Nie Li stayed apart from the others, even though he saw that Zyiun was in the group, he did not try to talk to her. The pain in his rib hadn't subsided, a punishment for escalating the fight to that point.

The girl was very curious about the expression of pain Nie Li was making, besides his slow pace, but she refused to ask. A few days earlier, he and Shen Yue had gotten into a silly argument while she and Nie Li were talking. Nie Li had been bold, so bold that it made the girl uncomfortable. After all, how could he have known about the mark on her chest?

That left the girl wide-eyed about him; she didn't expect him to be that kind of person.

Shen Yue, meanwhile, had gathered a group of 9 bronze rank specialists. If he alone couldn't handle Nie Li, then Nie Li would suffer the punishment one way or another.

With Xiangju and Nie Li dead, Shen Yue was sure he would be the strongest, so he laughed to himself thinking that Shen Fei must have already finished off Xiangju. Everything was going perfectly as planned.

The group was almost entirely made up of Bronze Rank, with only 6 Silver Rank men escorting them as the stronger members. Without much trouble, they walked for 10 hours.

They crossed hills, rocks, plains, and finally decided to take a break in a forest of colossal trees. The tree canopies were so high they were hard to see.

"

Finally..." Nie Li murmured to himself.

People began setting up their tents. Shen Yue tried to convince Ye Zyiun to set up a tent with him, but she obviously refused.

Nie Li didn't have a tent, so he decided to sit leaning against a tree near Ye Zyiun's tent. When she refused Shen Yue, Nie Li laughed inside.

Our orange-haired boy's plan was to cultivate that night; he needed to increase his strength as quickly as possible. Thinking about this, he began to have memories of his past life.

Flashbacks of the destruction of Glory City came to his mind: screams, tears, and that desperate feeling of everything he knew collapsing before his eyes.

Nie Li shook his head to banish those thoughts. If he wanted to prevent that from happening, he had to reach at least Black Gold Rank, if not Legendary Rank.

The boy closed his eyes to start meditating. Minutes passed, but his effort was in vain. The pain in his right flank completely disrupted his concentration. It had been a long time since he'd been hurt like this; this body was nowhere near as resilient as his old one, so he felt the full extent of the pain.

Someone watching from a distance was Ye Zyiun. She had noticed his presence near her tent from the beginning and kept an eye on him, unsure if he might try to spy on her.

But she was curious about him. Contrary to what she expected, Nie Li was just sitting with his eyes closed, apparently cultivating. The girl watched him for a while but became very embarrassed and turned away when the boy began to take off his shirt.

'Do that in a more discreet place!' She cursed him mentally. But even being someone of high class, how could a girl in the bloom of her youth resist sneaking a peek?

She looked out of the corner of her eye at Nie Li... What she saw sent a chill down her spine.

Nie Li had a large purple bruise on his right ribs. As he finished taking off his top, he groaned in pain and panted heavily.

'Damn Xiangju... Did you have to hit so hard?' Nie Li thought to himself as he examined his wound. It was worse than he expected. Maybe he had really broken something.

"Are you okay?" A female voice called out, unmistakable to him.

The boy bit his lip to focus and stop making what he considered a pitiful face, then smiled as he looked at Ye Zyiun.

The girl was in light clothing, having already removed the many layers of her standard attire, yet she remained elegant. The only part of her that really showed a departure from her usual demeanor was her eyes, shocked and fearful.

Nie Li felt embarrassed for some reason; he didn't want her to see him like this.

"What's with that look, Zyiun?" Nie Li forced a smile at her.

"I'm tough, just so you know. This is nothing."

Nie Li finished speaking, wanting her to leave. He wanted so much to talk to her, to get close to her, but at that moment, he prayed she would leave, prayed she wouldn't look at him.

Ye Zyiun didn't leave, though she said nothing. She bent down to be at Nie Li's level, who was sitting on the ground, and brought her porcelain-like hand close to his wound.

She stared for a few seconds, taking her time, not touching abruptly, just barely grazing it. But that was enough to make Nie Li uncomfortable.

"Is it broken?" She finally asked with a mysterious look.

Nie Li didn't answer directly. He looked away to respond.

"I don't think so... I'm fine..."

The girl was silent for a second. She looked at Nie Li with pearly eyes, knowing he was in a lot of pain.

"My father... once had a similar injury." Ye Zyiun resumed talking.

"When I was little, my father got hurt while fighting to protect Glory City..." She paused before continuing.

"After that, he disappeared for a week. My relatives said he went away to cultivate more, but one day I passed by his room, the door wasn't completely closed, so I decided to peek inside. He was sleeping, but sweating a lot and with part of his chest bandaged." Ye Zyiun finished talking, looking down, thoughtful.

"Ye Zyiun, I..." Before the boy could say anything, the girl interrupted him.

"Please, let me help you. If you don't want to, just tell me, and I won't bother you anymore." The girl said with a determined, serious look.

Nie Li didn't respond, just nodded.

"Alright then." Ye Zyiun smiled sweetly.

"What are you going to do? Give me a massage?" Nie Li asked with a mischievous look on his face. Even in such a situation, he couldn't miss the opportunity to tease her.

"N-no!" Ye Zyiun replied quickly, her face turning red.

"Wait here a moment!" She said, getting up and rushing to her tent. She didn't take long inside, but Nie Li could clearly hear her throwing things around, probably looking for something.

Soon the girl returned as hurriedly as she had gone.

In her hand was a small round metal container, a tin.

She sat on her knees, opened the tin, revealing some sort of ointment inside.

"What is that?" Nie Li asked curiously.

"Medicinal ointment! When they found out I signed up for a mission, my uncle basically forced me to bring it." Ye Zyiun said, laughing, probably remembering her uncle's extreme concern. Nie Li gave a genuine smile, one he hadn't had in a long time. Talking to Ye Zyiun like that was just an old memory, so having her there with him couldn't make him happier.

Without Nie Li realizing it, remembering old memories and the happiness he felt now, a solitary tear rolled down his face.

Ye Zyiun, who was now applying the ointment to the orange-haired boy's wound, was startled by the situation.

"W-what happened?? Am I being too rough?" The girl asked, pulling her hand away from the bruised area, with a guilty look on her face.

Nie Li laughed, a calm laugh from the depths of his soul.

"No, it's nothing. I'm just happy." The boy responded sincerely. The girl blushed deeply. For a brief moment, she found the boy very handsome. Seeing him smile, even if she refused to admit it, was her weakness.