After pampering two villainous cubs, the rough hunter becomes addicted to flirting with her.

Li Xiaoyun was momentarily flustered. He never expected to meet her here, let alone that she would go through such a dangerous ordeal.

Seeing her disheveled state, he felt both pain and relief. His chest felt like it had been stabbed with a sword, a dull ache that made his breathing rapid.

He reached out and, unable to resist, touched her head.

Her hair was already disheveled, with long ends hanging down to the ground, just like the beautiful hair that hung in the water when he found her by the stream.

But after being cared for for so long, she seems to have become even more disheveled and pitiful.

At this moment, her eyes were red, filled with panic and helplessness. She looked like a little wildcat who had just been bullied, pitiful and homeless.

Li Xiaoyun's voice was deep and gentle. He gently stroked her hair and murmured, "It's alright now. Let them kill you. I'm here."

"It's alright, let them kill you."

"They deserved to die."

"You did a great job, really great."

"Don't be afraid, it's all over now."

"Sorry I'm late..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yu's long-accumulated fear and grievances surged forth like a burst dam, and tears fell without warning.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. It felt as if that cold hand was gripping her throat again, and the feeling of suffocation returned.

Only now did she dare to shed all pretense and finally let go of the tension that had been building up for so long, a tension solely for survival.

She cried and threw herself forward, burying her face in Li Xiaoyun's broad chest.

His chest reeked of sweat and blood, along with a faint, unpleasant odor of vegetation.

But she couldn't care less about anything now. All the rules about the separation of men and women and the prohibition of physical contact between men and women were thrown to the winds.

All she wanted was to cry her heart out in this strong embrace, to let out all her fear and lingering dread.

"Waaaaah..."

"Waaah...you've finally come...I thought...I was really going to die here..."

"Waaaah... You stinky Li Xiaoyun! It's all your fault! You're so late coming back!!"

She cried as she clenched her little fists and punched Li Xiaoyun's chest a couple of times to vent her grievances.

Li Xiaoyun let her hit him, but she was secretly wondering: Her hand was so badly injured, would it hurt a lot if she hit him so hard?

After crying for an unknown amount of time, Shen Yu finally cried herself out, and her sobs gradually subsided.

She lifted her head somewhat shyly from Li Xiaoyun's embrace, her face covered in blood, snot, and tears, looking like a little kitten that had just rolled out of the mud.

Li Xiaoyun didn't say anything, but simply stretched out his rough hands and used his rough sleeves to gently wipe her face clean, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a rare treasure, showing no disgust at her current disheveled state.

Shen Yu kept her head down, her voice barely audible: "I'm sorry you had to see this..."

Li Xiaoyun's expression was unusually serious, and he shook his head: "No. I don't think there's anything ridiculous about what you're doing right now."

He paused, then said in an unquestionable tone, "Let's go home."

Shen Yu twisted the hem of her clothes, her cheeks flushed red, and said in a low voice, embarrassed, "Um... I'd like to find a place... to relieve myself first..."

She had been holding it in for too long, and no matter how embarrassing it was, everyone has to go to the bathroom eventually.

She found a dense thicket of trees, had Li Xiaoyun retreat fifty paces away, and only after confirming that he couldn't hear any noise did she finally breathe a sigh of relief, having solved her immediate problem.

The wound on her hand was pulled painfully, but she gritted her teeth and slowly pulled up her pants.

As soon as she emerged from behind the bushes, Li Xiaoyun quickly walked over, turned around without a word, and steadily carried her on his back.

When they passed the patch of kudzu scattered on the ground, he gently put her down, bent down to pick up the kudzu roots one by one and put them back in the basket. He then tied the basket around his waist, picked her up again, and walked step by step toward the cave.

Shen Yu leaned against his warm back, her tense nerves completely relaxed, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on a stone bed in a cave.

A bonfire blazed nearby, the firewood crackling in the flames, and a copper pot hanging above was bubbling away, its rich aroma filling the entire cave and making one's mouth water.

She moved her wrist and found that the wound on her hand had been carefully re-bandaged and wrapped with clean strips of cloth.

As soon as she rolled over, Ya'er, who was lying next to her playing with pebbles, immediately raised her head and cried out in surprise, "Sister! Sister, you're finally awake!"

The curtain separating the men's and women's areas was lifted, and Li Erlang's eager gaze immediately fell upon them.

Seeing that she was awake, Li Erlang immediately put down the book in his hand, quickly got up, poured a bowl of warm water and brought it to her.

Shen Yu was indeed extremely thirsty; as soon as she opened her mouth, she found that her lips were so dry they were almost stuck together.

She took the bowl and, like a fish out of water, gulped it down, finishing the bowl of water in just four or five mouthfuls.

After finishing her drink, she asked Li Erlang for another bowl, her voice hoarse.

Li Erlang didn't say anything, but silently turned around and poured her another bowl.

Finally quenching her thirst, Shen Yu felt much better. She looked around and realized that there were only the three of them in the cave.

Li Erlang noticed her confusion and took the initiative to speak, "Big Brother and Grandpa Wu went out."

"Grandpa Wu!?" Shen Yu's eyes widened in surprise. "Old Wu has come up the mountain?"

She was startled when she opened her mouth.

When she drank water earlier, she thought her throat was dry and hoarse because she was thirsty, but now that she has drunk water, her voice is still as hoarse as a broken gong, and every word she says hurts as if her throat is being sanded.

She reached up and touched her neck, only to find that it was also wrapped in thick gauze.

She then realized that her vocal cords had been severely damaged because the assailant had choked her.

Her heart sank; she wondered if she would ever be able to speak normally again.

Li Erlang pursed his lips and explained softly, "After my elder brother brought you back yesterday, he immediately went down the mountain to pick up Grandpa Wu and invited him up the mountain overnight."

"Yesterday? All night?" Shen Yu was startled. "It's broad daylight outside now. Have I slept all day?"

Before she could finish her question, Li Erlang had already given his answer: "Yes, you've slept for a full ten hours."

Shen Yu: "..."

No wonder she felt sore all over, as if she had been run over by a car; she had slept for so long in one go.

She quickly looked at Ya'er, reached out and touched her forehead, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the fever had subsided.

Ya'er rubbed her hand gently against her sister's and said with a smile, "Sister, I don't have a fever anymore! Grandpa Wu said it was because I've been eating too much meat lately and haven't been exercising much, which caused indigestion and a fever. I'm fine now!"

Shen Yu was finally completely relieved: "That's good."

Seeing that she was so badly injured herself, yet still so concerned about Ya'er, Li Erlang felt a mix of emotions—both heartache and admiration.

"Are you hungry?" Li Erlang asked. "Grandpa Wu made some bone broth and said you can eat it when you wake up."

Shen Yu's stomach immediately growled loudly; she was indeed starving, so hungry that her stomach was practically sticking to her back, and she could eat a whole cow.