The increasingly strong scent of blood wafted from Dongfang Cangwu's chest.
A rustling sound came from the dense forest not far away. Yan Jiaojiao looked up, only to notice several demonic beasts drawn by the smell of blood lurking there. However, they seemed to be wary of Dongfang Cangwu and dared not approach, yet they were unwilling to abandon the fresh blood, thus they lingered in the forest.
Upon seeing Yan Jiaojiao approaching Dongfang Cangwu, the five or six demonic beasts could no longer restrain themselves. They emerged from the forest one by one, staring at Yan Jiaojiao menacingly, as if telling her to get away and not encroach upon their food.
Strictly speaking, Dongfang Cangwu was Yan Jiaojiao's savior. How could Yan Jiaojiao allow these beasts to defile him?
Immediately, Yan Jiaojiao stepped forward, shielding Dongfang Cangwu. She brandished her Ziyan, which erupted with even more dazzling light, blinding the fierce beasts.
Then, Yan Jiaojiao gathered her breath and released her aura. A magnificent pressure surged outwards.
Yan Jiaojiao's cultivation had improved, and releasing her aura was no longer a strenuous effort.
The moment the demonic beasts opened their eyes, they felt the terrifying aura emanating from Yan Jiaojiao. They immediately dared not take another step forward. Their previous ferocity vanished, and they lowered their heads, retreating one after another, disappearing into the dense forest shortly after.
Yan Jiaojiao paid them no further mind. She immediately crouched beside Dongfang Cangwu, using the light of Ziyan to examine his injuries.
She untied his black robe, and the smell of blood intensified. A knife wound, deep enough to expose bone, ran from his shoulder to his waist. In its deepest parts, cracked bone was visible. Faint black wisps of gas rose from the edges of the scarlet wound, clearly indicating demonic poison from the demon realm.
He was almost cut in half!
Yan Jiaojiao was shocked. What had Dongfang Cangwu done to incur such deep hatred?
However, Dongfang Cangwu looked so near death that he could not answer Yan Jiaojiao's questions.
Yan Jiaojiao sighed, speaking as if to herself and as if to Dongfang Cangwu, "What luck you have, to have me come across you. One life for another; I suppose I'm repaying a debt now."
With that, Yan Jiaojiao's hands did not falter. She took out medicinal herbs and bandages from her spiritual jade space, cleaned his wound with river water, and then applied the medicine.
The medicine stung the wound, causing Dongfang Cangwu to writhe a few times even in his unconscious state, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent.
Yan Jiaojiao admired his self-control. However, this medicine was specifically for wounds inflicted by the demon realm; it could stop bleeding and control the spread of demonic poison. For the sake of his life, Yan Jiaojiao poured it all over him.
The black smoke from the wound became even more vigorous, indicating the dispersal of demonic poison. The foul smell in the bloody scent intensified, forcing Yan Jiaojiao to cover her nose and mouth and step aside.
After the black smoke billowed for a while and gradually dissipated, Yan Jiaojiao peered over and took out another bottle from her spiritual jade space, intending to treat it thoroughly and expel all the demonic poison.
Without hesitation, Yan Jiaojiao uncorked the bottle and poured it onto Dongfang Cangwu's wound again. As the medicinal liquid dripped onto the wound, Dongfang Cangwu shuddered again. Then, he raised his left hand, and his cold grip seized Yan Jiaojiao's wrist. Before he even opened his eyes, a weak command came from his lips, "Enough!"
Startled by the sudden grip, Yan Jiaojiao recovered and, hearing the hoarse and weak voice, exclaimed with delight, "You're awake! It seems the medicine is quite effective!"
Veins bulged on Dongfang Cangwu's forehead, and he wished he could strike Yan Jiaojiao on the head.
This damned woman was always racing towards the path of taking his life!
No matter how effective the medicine, one shouldn't pour it on him like it was free! He would die from the pain before he even died from the poison.
Dongfang Cangwu had no choice but to open his heavy eyelids and stare at Yan Jiaojiao, weak but annoyed, "You don't need to bother anymore."
With that, Dongfang Cangwu pushed Yan Jiaojiao's hand away.
This time, Yan Jiaojiao was rather displeased. She had tried to save him out of goodwill, yet he woke up and yelled at her, looking so disgusted. What was the meaning of this?
When he saved her, she hadn't been so ungrateful.
Yan Jiaojiao put the medicine back into her spiritual jade space and stood up, hands on her hips. "You were almost eaten by demonic beasts just now, and I cleaned your wounds. Don't you have any gratitude?"
Dongfang Cangwu frowned and ignored Yan Jiaojiao's questioning. He merely raised a hand above his wound, and with a phantom grasp of his fingers, a mass of thick black gas rose from the wound and floated in his palm.
Dongfang Cangwu threw the black gas aside onto the ground as if it were trash, exhausted. The black gas shattered on the ground and dissipated without a trace.
His wound was now free of any demonic poison.
Yan Jiaojiao pouted. Well, he did have the right to disdain her clumsy method of expelling poison with medicine.
If she had her previous cultivation, extracting the poison this way would have been possible, but she didn't have that ability now.
As Yan Jiaojiao was contemplating, Dongfang Cangwu impatiently commanded again, "Bandage me!"
The cut was quite deep. Even after expelling the demonic poison from the wound, some had entered his meridians during his unconsciousness. Detaching it was not easy, and the wound could not heal quickly, hence the need for bandaging.
Yan Jiaojiao was startled again and responded, "Huh? Oh, okay!"
Yan Jiaojiao snapped back to attention and instinctively complied. She picked up the gauze she had prepared and placed nearby, supported Dongfang Cangwu with one hand, and carefully wrapped the gauze around him.
Dongfang Cangwu's body was cold from blood loss and injury, but when Yan Jiaojiao's fingertips brushed against his firm muscles, she felt an unusual warmth.
Yan Jiaojiao tried hard to ignore the subtle sensation, focusing only on the white gauze in her hands. After finally finishing bandaging Dongfang Cangwu, Yan Jiaojiao came to her senses and wondered why she had been so obedient. He had yelled at her to bandage him, and she had done it so dutifully!
Dongfang Cangwu had closed his eyes and rested since the bandaging began, circulating spiritual energy within his meridians to repair his injured body. He had not noticed Yan Jiaojiao's fluctuating thoughts at all.
When he opened his eyes again and saw Yan Jiaojiao frowning and then looking annoyed, he asked, "What are you doing?"
Yan Jiaojiao looked up. Dongfang Cangwu's complexion was no longer pale. If not for the blood seeping through the gauze on his chest, one would not have guessed he was injured just by looking at his face. His recovery speed was truly remarkable.