Newfound Companion

"Goodbye, dear brother. If only you didn't witness our conversation, I would've let you live even though I didn't like how nosy you were." His eyes traveled down towards his abdomen, shock and disbelief flooded his senses, as he felt a sudden pang of pain on his lower back. A sharp object pierced through his body as the person right behind him thrusted deeper, forcing the dagger to bury its entirety onto his body.

Tears from the painful stab welled the young man's tear ducts, but it was an understatement of the feeling he felt of being betrayed and killed by his own family. A surge of blood rose through his throat, making him cough out blood. 'Ah, this must be where I meet my end.' He thought, a rueful smile forming on his lips, his eyes flashing a glint of sorrow.

The young man staggered to keep his balance while his vision getting blurry by the second. A sinister laugh filled the air, followed by a hysterical one, "Haa! I never knew it would feel incredibly satisfying to finally get rid of you, older brother!" The person who stabbed the young man asserted, his face displaying a sadistic smile, his eyes screaming pleasure and satisfaction. He kept laughing for a few good seconds then his mood instantly flipped 180. He clutched the young man by the collar and spun him around to face him. He stared at him straight into his eyes and said with a slight smirk on his face, "It's just right for you to disappear." With a push, the young man fell down the edge of the cliff, ultimately losing consciousness.

The moment he fell on the cliff, fortunately, he landed on the water and was swept to the river stream where Jiu Xinyi found him lying half-submerged on a riverside.

Nightfall finally came and he finally started regaining consciousness. His eyes fluttered open and a painful groan escaped his lips when a piercing pain shuddered his senses.

"You're awake." Xinyi uttered, causing him to twist his head towards her direction upon catching her voice.

He looked at her in confusion, "Who are you?" He asked, his eyes narrowed on her countenance.

Despite his voice being defensive, Xinyi remained unbothered and retained her solemn expression. "You mean, who are you?" She retorted back, throwing his question right back at him the next second he asked it.

Instead of answering her inquiry, he threw another question at her once again, "Where am I?" as he cast sideways glances at his surrounding, hoping to recognize the place he's in.

For once, Xinyi felt like smacking someone's head, 'Be thankful that I felt it such a waste to injure that good looking face of yours.'

"Don't you think you should thank me first for saving you?" She countered, her face devoid of emotion.

When he heard her, realization finally hit him. He examined himself and saw his wounds taken care of, the bandages were even wrapped nicely, making his face flush red from embarrassment. "Ah, I'm sorry. Thank you for the help." He muttered quietly in shame, but it was enough for Xinyi to hear his words of thanks.

"Sure." Xinyi replied curtly. The atmosphere became quiet and he felt awkward with her short reply.

He helped himself sit and decided to answer her question earlier. "Fang Guiren." His eyes observing the features of the woman beside him.

"Jiu Xinyi. We're outside the borders of Henghai kingdom." Xinyi responded to his inquiries.

Fang Guiren studied Jiu Xinyi's countenance and found her undeniably attractive especially her unique deep blue eyes. Her face was small and her features were perfect, far superior to the women he saw back in his kingdom. A fresh face his eyes hasn't laid before. Realizing he was staring too much at her, his cheeks flushed red once again.

Ba-bump!

His eyes widened at the erratic beating of his heart. His cheeks turning scarlet at the presence of someone breathtaking beside him. 'Jiu Xinyi. Ah, what a fitting name for a beautiful lady.' He thought. Fang Guiren held his other hand, squeezing it to calm himself down.

"I won't be able to give you a ride tomorrow. I'll be heading towards the spiritual abyss once the sun rises." Guiren's head shot up once more towards her direction when she spoke. Biting his lower lip, he quickly racked up his brain to think of a response. 'Oh, I almost forgot!'

"If you don't mind, can I come with you?" Xinyi looked at him after hearing his suggestive question. Their eyes met and his question finally sank in into his mind, 'shoot!'

"Oh no, no, I meant we were heading the same direction so I thought if I could tag along with you." Fang Guiren's gaze fell downward, sweating profusely despite the cold night air. He then diverted his eyes in the other direction, his sight caught a lone horse drinking water at the riverside. 'Uhh...' He gasped inwardly. 'I'm a mess.'

Jiu Xinyi felt troubled but chose not to pursue it much further. She felt tired and didn't want the conversation to continue. Even after spending more than a month already on her new body, she still hasn't completely gotten used to it. Her new body was relatively week than her former one, but it was quite understandable knowing that she had been traveling a long distance for quite some time already and sitting on a carriage was far more luxurious than riding a horse all day long.

"Alright, I'll take you with me."

Fang Guiren's eyes widened in surprise as he felt a surge of unexplainable feeling within him.

'Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to have a companion.' Xinyi thought. 'Although everything doesn't come for free.'

"You stay here, I'll be right back." Xinyi stood up from her spot and decided that she should wash up instead. 'Who knows when I'll be able to come across a river stream again.'

She walked deeper into the forest and looked for a place to wash up. When Xinyi found a perfect one, she then loosened her clothing and took it off for a bath. 'Yet another first for me.'