Chapter 84: Something to Prove

She woke up to Zen’s worried face, a blur of myriad colours made of the leaves that held on to their parent branches passed overhead.

“Wang… Zen?”

He looked down with a touch of relief on his face. “You’re-You’re awake!”

“Can we please stop,” Xue Shaonu said, realising that Zen was carrying her in his arms, which explained why they were both jerking in sync. “And please let me down.”

Zen nodded and did as he was told, albeit not the way anyone expected. He fell face forward, unintentionally throwing her and causing her to roll along the ground.

“Zen!” Jao Cong said, running beside Zen.

“Don’t check on me,” Zen said as he struggled to his feet, “check on her!”

“Oh!” Cong ran to Xue Shaonu. “Are you okay?”

“You should be checking on Wang Zen,” she said.

“Oh!” Jao ran to Zen and stopped halfway. “But he said I should check on… and then she said I should…” Jao vibrated in place, unsure who he should go to as they both got up. He collapsed to his knees. “I don’t know what to do!” he cried as Shibi came down from a tree and climbed up his shoulder to pat him on the head.

“We’re okay, Cong’er.” Zen giggled as well did Xue Shaonu. He tried to get up and immediately collapsed.

‘Zen, your foot is still hurt!” Cong said. “And Xue Shaonu is hurt. We should just forget about all this and go back to town.”

““No!”” Zen and Xue Shaonu both said.

“I’m okay,” she said as she got up. “I felt a little light headed before but now I’m fine.”

“That’s the reinvigorating pill I fed you but it’s not very high quality.”

“Well it was high enough.” She said as she thrust a palm to the air. “See, I’m good.”

“B-But what about Wang Zen?” Cong turned to Zen, who had not moved from the floor. Shibi was even checking up on him.

“I’ll-I’ll be okay.” Zen said. “I just need to bind my wound tightly to support my foot. We can carry on.” Zen looked up to the red sky. “And besides, we shouldn’t move, considering the sun is about to get dark soon.”

Night had come. Zen sat down, his back propped against a tree as he struggled to wrap his foot in a bandage. He was taken aback when another pair of hands, much lighter than his, came over his. He looked up to a smiling Xue Shaonu.

“Here, let me help you.” She said.

Zen removed his hands and let her take over. “Th-Thanks!” Zen said, feeling his cheeks getting red from her proximity and touch.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to walk on this?”

“Sure,” Zen said. “What’s a little pain to a cultivator?”

She continued wrapping the bandage and in horror, Zen noticed the front of his pants begin to rise up. He quickly placed his forearm over it, causing Xue Shaonu to look at him from the sudden movement.

“Uhm… you should wrap it tighter.” Zen smiled nervously.

“Oh, yes.” She said as she tightened the bandage, the pain taking Zen’s mind off his other issue.

“Why did you decide to continue?” she said, looking down at his foot as she worked. “You could be back in town now, healing up. Instead you’re here.” She looked up at him, her blue eyes bore into his. “Was it just because of me?”

Zen looked away shyly, unable to hold her gaze. “N-No. I-I-I guess I-I have to do this. I have to go all the way and I can’t just stop because of an injury.”

She nodded, tightening the bandage one more time before sitting beside him on the tree. She sighed and looked up at the sky of stars. “You and I are the same Wang Zen.”

“We are?” he squeaked, looking at her as she gazed up at the sky.

“We both have something to prove.” She said. “That’s why we keep pushing on.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess that’s a proper way to put it.”

She turned to look at him and once again, Zen was treated to her blue eyes, albeit, this time their faces were close to each other. He fought the urge to turn away as he held her gaze and shared her breath. “But what about your cousin? Will he keep going on with us?”

“Yes,” Zen gulped before he looked away, not in fear but in thought. “I guess we are a group made of like members cause he also has something to prove, even if he does not admit it.” Zen looked at Jao, where he was stoking a fire to life. “Well, either way, we have to be careful from here on out.”

“Because of the trap?”

Zen nodded. “That trap was no ordinary trap. The pit was normal but the boulder… No hunter would ever use such a thing, it would crouch the animal and ruin the meat, coat and any other thing they may want to harvest off the animal.”

“What are you insinuating?”

“That trap was not meant to kill an animal, it was to kill humans.”

“Not sure but while I was carrying you, I became aware of someone following us.”