"Am I seeing a god? How can someone be this good-looking?" Si Lu murmured as she gazed at the man in front of her and then fainted.
The beastman's lips curled into a slight smile, and a hint of joy flashed through his eyes.
"You're quite pretty too, little female!" The man's lips lifted into a smile, his eyes forming charming arcs, looking irresistibly seductive.
If Si Lu had seen this, she would have surely cursed under her breath, "What a wicked enchantress!"
This was the kind of face that could bring ruin to a nation.
He bent down and scooped her up in a princess carry.
This female was so light!
She didn't even weigh as much as the prey he usually caught.
Seeing all the cuts and bruises on her body, a trace of pity flashed through his eyes.
Since I found her, she's mine now!
Hei Yao glanced at the little female in his arms and noticed the beast marks of two other beastmen on her wrists, a trace of displeasure appearing in his gaze.
He carried Si Lu back to his cave.
Hei Yao fetched some clean water and carefully wiped her body, dressing her in clothes made of beast hide and applying herbs to her wounds.
After finishing all this, he transformed into a large black snake and coiled up beside her, squinting as he watched her.
Quietly, attentively, he observed the female in front of him.
This female not only had soft, delicate skin but was also incredibly beautiful. He was beginning to feel a bit moved.
Looking at how fragile and delicate she was, he felt a sudden urge to protect her.
He just watched Si Lu quietly, his vertical pupils reflecting only her image.
"So cold... so cold!" Si Lu muttered that night as she came down with a fever. Mostly, she had been frightened and exhausted, leaving her feeling miserable and weak.
"Her body is burning up, yet she's saying she's cold." Hei Yao frowned as he looked at Si Lu murmuring in her sleep, his gaze heavy with concern.
He had always known that females were fragile, but he didn't expect them to be this delicate.
Despite coiling his body around her, trying to transfer his own warmth to her, he could still hear the little female crying out that she was cold.
The next moment, his pitch-black tail produced a small red flame, igniting the dry wood he had gathered earlier to raise the temperature in the cave, hoping to warm her up.
Finally, she stabilized, but soon after, Si Lu began pushing against the large snake in a daze, muttering that she was now too hot.
The snake's face darkened.
This little female... how can she be so troublesome?
First, she complains about being cold, and now she's saying she's hot.
He didn't know what to do.
In the end, he patiently extinguished the fire in the cave, cooled his body, and coiled around her again.
He had no choice. He had never interacted with females before, let alone cared for one. He genuinely had no idea how.
After all, since he could remember, he had been a wanderer, struggling to survive. How would he know these things?
Moreover, no tribe liked the presence of wandering beasts, so there was no way he could have learned any of this.
As he gazed at the little female in his arms, his heart grew heavy.
Can I really take care of her?
What if... what if she dies because of me?
At this moment, Si Lu stopped complaining about being hot and instinctively reached out to embrace the cold figure beside her, letting out a soft, contented sigh.
Hei Yao's body stiffened, and a strange light flickered in his purple eyes.
For the first time, someone was so close to him, and they weren't afraid. He began to savor this sense of warmth.
What should he do?
He felt like he was poisoned!
Poisoned by this little female. "You, little female, you can't escape me in this lifetime. You've attracted me, so I hope you don't regret it, or else I might get so angry that I kill you... and then maybe even kill myself to be with you," Hei Yao whispered as he held her.
But no matter how hard he tried to feed her, nothing seemed to go down!
Hei Yao grew even more worried.
Normally, if someone was sick and stopped eating and drinking, it could be fatal.
He had finally developed feelings for a female and certainly didn't want her to die like this.
With no other option, he took a mouthful of the broth from the stone bowl, kissed the unconscious Si Lu on the lips, and passed it to her that way.
Surprisingly, it worked!
Hei Yao's eyes brightened, and he continued to feed her this way.
He kept going until he had given her two bowls of meat broth before stopping.
It wasn't that he didn't want to continue feeding her; he simply couldn't. Each time he gave her a mouthful, she would spit some back out, so he decided not to push any further.
Still, at least she had consumed something.
Hei Yao looked at the little female in his arms, full of concern, his heart filled with anxiety.
It had already been a full day and night, and she still showed no signs of waking up. He was genuinely worried.
As night fell, Si Lu still hadn't woken up.
The large snake glanced at her, full of concern, and then left the cave.
He returned deep into the night, carrying another beastman with him.
"Blind one, you're a witch doctor, right?" Hei Yao asked coldly, looking at the white-haired, white-robed youth in front of him.
If he wasn't...
What had he caught? The youth's eyes were covered with a white piece of beast hide—was he really blind?
"I'm a witch doctor's apprentice," the youth replied coolly, seemingly unbothered by being called blind.
He rubbed his large head against Si Lu's cheek and held her close as he fell into a deep sleep.
At dawn, Hei Yao glanced thoughtfully at the unconscious Si Lu before hesitantly leaving the cave to go hunting.
After filling his stomach, he gathered some wild fruits and hunted a few tasty beasts, preparing them before returning to the cave.
Now, it wasn't just him—he had a little female to care for. He still didn't know why she had ended up here, injured like that, but he did know that females were precious in every tribe. Her appearance here was certainly no simple matter!
So, he had to be extra cautious.
Blood could attract many wild beasts, and besides...
Yesterday, he had also caught the scent of wandering beasts on the little female, so he had his suspicions. That made him even more careful.
After finishing everything quickly, he returned to his cave.
At the entrance, not detecting any unfamiliar beast scents, he sighed in relief and entered, only to find the little female still unconscious, worry flashing through his eyes.
Why hasn't she woken up yet?
Could something be seriously wrong?
He wasn't a witch doctor and had no idea how to treat illness. All he could do was tend to her visible wounds. The herbs he used were ones he had applied to himself when he was injured before—otherwise, he wouldn't even recognize medicinal plants.
Of course, even then, he only knew one or two types of herbs.
Still, no matter what, he had to find a way to make her eat something and drink some water.
He gathered water in leaves to help the little female drink, and she did drink it.
But what about the meat?
With no choice, he boiled the meat until it was soft and mushy and then tried to feed it to her.