Cloud Retainer wasn't staring blankly at Xia Zhi because of his appearance.
With her years and experience, she had long reached a state of perfect tranquility, free from desires or attachments, dwelling in an immortal realm where such things would hardly cause her to lose her composure.
But there was something about Xia Zhi—a strange aura around him—that gave her an inexplicable sense of closeness.
It was an indescribable feeling, as though Xia Zhi were one of her own kind.
Yet it was different from the feeling she got around Mountain Shaper or Moon Carver, her fellow adepti. Xia Zhi's aura seemed far more powerful, noble, and carried a warm, radiant quality.
This odd aura continually drew her attention, almost involuntarily.
A noble lineage... light... warmth…
Could it be that he had the blood of a Golden Crow within him?
A bold thought suddenly crossed Cloud Retainer's mind.
"Come down here already!"
Xia Zhi, standing in the river, waved up at her.
After a brief hesitation, she leaped down into the river, stepping toward him.
The river's cool water only reached her long legs, barely grazing her feathers.
"Squat down a little, and I'll help wash away the blood and dust."
Xia Zhi gestured downward, indicating for her to lower herself.
She bent her legs, half-submerging herself in the river's waters.
Carefully, Xia Zhi reached out to help clean the dirt from her feathers, his movements gentle to avoid touching her injured wing and causing her pain.
She watched his careful and meticulous movements, feeling touched yet somewhat amused.
If she could transform back to her human form, these feathers would merely be her clothes, and there would be no need for such troublesome cleaning one by one.
In her cave dwelling, she had a washing machine of her own invention.
Usually, she would just throw her clothes in there to wash, and when the machine broke down, she would ask her disciple Shenhe to help with the laundry.
After all, her disciple had to wash her own clothes too, so one more or less didn't matter.
Thinking of Shenhe, her thoughts drifted away.
By the time she came back to her senses, Xia Zhi had already finished cleaning all the feathers on her body.
She was no longer covered in dirt and dust, once again becoming that clean and beautiful celestial crane.
"Thank you..."
she tried to express her gratitude instinctively, but due to being in her original form, all that came out was a clear and melodious crane call.
"Are you thanking me?"
Xia Zhi heard her call and smiled, stroking her wet feathers.
"You're thanking me too early. Come on, let's go to the shore."
Xia Zhi walked towards the riverbank and cast a spell on himself.
First-tier Light Magic: [Warming Spell].
A warm sensation swept over, and his body immediately became fresh and dry.
Xia Zhi picked up his clothes and put them on, summoned the system interface, entered the [Shop], found the [White Jade Bone-Mending Paste], and chose to purchase it.
He spent 30 points, leaving him with 10 points remaining.
A white bottle, larger than the previous [Soul-Calming Pill] bottle, appeared in Xia Zhi's hand.
He opened the cork, revealing a milky-white thick medicinal paste that emitted a faint medicinal fragrance from the bottle's mouth.
Cloud Retainer, standing nearby, caught this strange medicinal scent.
Her spirit trembled slightly, and her gaze was involuntarily fixed on the white bottle in his hand.
This was spiritual medicine! And it was high-quality healing spiritual medicine!
Xia Zhi walked to her side, poured some white medicinal paste onto his hand, then gently opened her wings and carefully applied the paste to the broken bones.
"It might hurt a bit, bear with it. Fortunately, it's a recent break and the bones haven't set yet, otherwise we'd have to break them again..."
A cooling sensation penetrated her skin, transforming into pure and extraordinary medicinal power, slowly beginning to heal her bone injury.
However, because the paste was milky-white and thick, like yogurt, when it stained her light blue wings, it somehow gave the impression of something beautiful being defiled.
Xia Zhi applied sufficient medicine to the broken bones of both her wings.
There was still a little left in the bottle, so he carefully sealed it and stored it in his inventory.
"Stay here and rest while I get some food."
Eating sour fruits all the time wasn't good for the stomach, and at his age while still growing, he needed meat.
Xia Zhi stood by the river, using detection to observe the situation in the water.
Finding a spot with many fish, he raised his hand and cast [Holy Light Judgment].
White light struck the water like lightning, creating a big splash.
After a moment, when the commotion subsided, several motionless fish floated to the surface.
Fresh ingredients acquired.
Xia Zhi spent another four points in the [Shop] to buy an iron-quality dagger, an iron-quality small pot, a magnesium rod for starting fires, and a jar of refined salt.
The dagger was more versatile than a kitchen knife and could handle more tasks.
The small pot was the same - it could be used to boil water and make soup or cook rice.
The magnesium rod was waterproof and more reliable than other fire-starting tools.
Xia Zhi squatted by the river, using the dagger to clean the fish.
The fatter ones he skewered on tree branches for grilling, while the leaner ones he put in the small pot to make fish soup.
He gathered some wood and built a fire.
Soon a simple lunch was ready.
Xia Zhi took a grilled fish that had turned golden brown and held it to the crane's beak.
"Here, eat."
She lowered her head and ate silently.
She wasn't afraid of fish bones, as fish were part of a crane's natural diet.
The taste wasn't particularly exceptional, as it only had salt added and was slightly overcooked.
However, the care put into the food was overwhelming.
She ate very seriously.
There was no way not to be serious - she had watched him busily working alone, a blind man having to catch fish, gather firewood, and cook.
It looked so difficult to her.
But she couldn't help much, and now felt guilty about eating food she hadn't helped prepare.
Additionally, he had given her most of the fish to eat, which made her feel even more guilty.
Xia Zhi hadn't thought that much about it.
After feeding her several grilled fish, he nodded.
It seemed these fish weren't poisonous.
He could eat safely now. He took a piece himself and took a bite - it was a bit dry, next time he would reduce the grilling time.
Then he tasted the soup, using a spoon he had carved from wood.
There was no fishy smell, but the taste was a bit bland; he could add more salt next time.
Xia Zhi looked at the fish before him and suddenly thought of something, smiling as he spoke to the crane beside him.
"Do you know what a cat betrothal is?"
"When ordinary families want to keep a cat, they have to give a gift to the cat's mother or owner, meaning they're inviting the cat to their home. They need to choose an auspicious date and sign a cat contract to complete the ceremony."
"Later the ceremony became simpler - if you eat my fish, you become my cat."
"Now that you've eaten my fish, I wonder if that makes you my crane?"
The crane couldn't understand his words and just looked at him bewilderedly, not knowing what happy thing he was talking about.
After lunch, Xia Zhi grilled some more fish, wrapped them in leaves as dried food.
Half a pot of fish soup remained uneaten, which he stored in his inventory along with the small pot.
He used river water to completely extinguish the fire.
Xia Zhi crossed the small river and continued traveling in the direction indicated by the [Divination Staff].
The crane silently followed behind him, feeling her wings slowly recovering under the effect of the white spiritual medicine, her gaze towards him becoming complex.
The kindness of saving her life and mending her bones...
This time she truly owed him an enormous debt of gratitude.