The young boy kept backing away. As he did so, he retracted the vines to one side. Only then did Zhao Shuning see that behind the boy, there were mountains of animal corpses. All these corpses still had their fur on, and there were wounds on their necks. Presumably, over the years, he had survived by relying on these animals.
This was no way for a human to live. Even wild beasts lived a better and freer life than this.
"You don't need to be afraid of me."
Previously, the boy must have regarded Zhao Shuning as an animal too, so he wanted to hunt her and satisfy his hunger with her.
When Zhao Shuning's tender little hand stroked the boy's back, his expression changed slightly.
Before, the boy had been crawling on all fours, baring his teeth and staring warily at Zhao Shuning, as cautious and on - guard as if she were a natural enemy. But when Zhao Shuning's hand gently caressed his body, so tenderly, his expression began to soften.
"You're injured."
Zhao Shuning took out a bottle of pills from her Qiankun Bag and handed it to the boy. The boy looked at her blankly. Thinking that after so many years in the cave, the boy must have lost the ability to communicate with people, Zhao Shuning opened the bottle, poured out a few pills, and then offered them to the boy.
The boy was stunned for a moment and then took a few steps back. Seeing Zhao Shuning's encouraging look, he got on all fours and slowly walked over. Then he snatched the pills from Zhao Shuning's hand and quickly hid to the other side.
After that, following Zhao Shuning's gesture, the boy threw the pills into his mouth. After about a quarter of an hour, the sharp pain in his shoulder blades caused by the strenuous movement earlier had eased a lot. Therefore, his look towards Zhao Shuning became much friendlier.
"Come here."
Zhao Shuning waved. The boy cautiously shuffled two steps towards her. Zhao Shuning smiled at him, and he also imitated her and opened his mouth. But his smile was uglier than a cry.
"Can you give me that rabbit?"
Zhao Shuning pointed at the rabbit that the boy had sucked the blood from and then thrown away. The boy seemed to understand her words. He actually used his mind to command the vines to reach out, pick up the rabbit, and place it in front of Zhao Shuning.
"You're really amazing."
Zhao Shuning could control living things with her mind, but judging from the boy's state, he could even control these mindless plants. Such a boy was definitely not an ordinary person.
Zhao Shuning looked around and walked behind the boy. There, she found a cold pool. The pool was extremely quiet. When Zhao Shuning put her hand in it, she immediately felt a bone - chilling cold.
"It's so cold."
"Plop!"
The boy thought that since Zhao Shuning had put her hand in the cold pool, she was asking him to jump into it. Without hesitation, he leaped into it. Seeing the boy shivering from the cold, Zhao Shuning smiled.
She could tell that although the boy was bloody and violent, and his temperament was not exactly docile, his mind had not been fully developed yet. He was no different from a three - year - old child.
Zhao Shuning released a bit of the power of the red lotus into the cold pool, and the water in the pool began to warm up. The boy showed that ugly - than - crying smile again.
The boy played in the pool while Zhao Shuning pondered beside it.
"Although I don't know how you managed to survive under the claws of the ancient monster at such a young age, don't worry. I'll save you out."
The boy looked at Zhao Shuning blankly. The way the little girl murmured to herself was prettier and cuter than anything he had ever seen before.
"However, aren't ancient fierce beasts extremely rare in the Nine - Province Continent? Even if there are one or two occasionally, they've long been subdued. How could there be a fish that slipped through the net in this cave?"
Moreover, just what was this boy's identity? How could an ordinary child grow up in such an environment?
Despite her doubts, Zhao Shuning did not give up the idea of saving him out.
Previously, she had been separated from her younger brother. She had also been locked in a dark and hopeless prison. At that time, people were so hungry that they would eat anything. Life was worse than death. So when she saw the boy in such a situation, she felt pity for him.
Zhao Shuning, who was still deep in thought, was suddenly pulled back to reality by the sound of splashing water.
She came back to her senses and saw that the boy had finished playing in the cold pool and was now standing in front of her. At this sight, Zhao Shuning almost felt embarrassed. Although her physical age was only eight, her mental age was already thirty.
Zhao Shuning lowered her head and rummaged in her Qiankun Bag for a long time before she found a piece of clothing and handed it to the boy for him to put on. This clothing belonged to Zhao Huai. The boy's figure was not much different from his, so she thought it would fit.
After the boy got the clothes, he only knew how to fumble with them up and down but didn't know how to put them on. Zhao Shuning smiled at his awkward appearance. Then she tried to teach the boy to stand up. Seeing the boy stumble and stagger, she found it interesting and burst out laughing.
The boy was infected by the girl's laughter and laughed along.
It took Zhao Shuning about an hour to teach the boy to stand. Then she thought that since she could treat the boy like those naughty kids, it should be okay to help him put on the clothes. So, Zhao Shuning took the clothes and slowly put them on the boy.
The boy hadn't worn clothes for a long time. When Zhao Shuning was dressing him, he felt extremely uncomfortable and kept fidgeting with his hands.
Because there was a dragon bone piercing through the boy's body from behind, Zhao Shuning looked at him and then at the clothes, and finally put the clothes down.
She stroked the boy's head and gently said, "Let me take out the dragon bone for you, okay?"
Although she knew the boy couldn't understand, Zhao Shuning still wanted to ask.
Sure enough, the boy's eyes became very blank. But when Zhao Shuning placed her hand on the dragon bone behind him, although there was fear and panic in his eyes, he didn't push Zhao Shuning away.
Fortunately, her master had given her the Red Lotus Karma Fire when she came in. The Red Lotus Karma Fire could burn everything. No matter how hard a thing was, it couldn't withstand the scorching of its flame temperature.
Zhao Shuning first used the Red Lotus Karma Fire to burn through the dragon bone. Because the bone had been there for too long and was extremely hard, it took a full day and night.
After the dragon bone was burned through, Zhao Shuning's little hands reached out towards the bone.
"It might hurt a bit. Take some pills."
The boy seemed to understand. He took the pills from Zhao Shuning's hand and poured them all down.
Then, Zhao Shuning placed her hands on the dragon bone, held her breath, and poured all her spiritual and mental power into her hands.
With a sudden pull.
Even though the boy had taken so many pills, he still couldn't bear the immense pain.
"Ah!"
The heart - rending scream echoed through the heavens and the earth.