1 When I Awoke
"TL Note: Thanks for reading! I think it has huge potential, and I'll be translating the next few chapters some time this week, as well as the summary, which is rather intriguing.
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Translated by Skyfarrow"
Huff!
Huff!
Zi Di (Note: Name means Purple Stem) opened her mouth wide, taking in deep breaths although the pit of her stomach was already aching with pain.
She was dripping from head to toe in sweat. As a magician, her delicate body right now was giving off shocking energy that surprised even herself.
"Hurry, hurry up!"
"I need to leave here at once!!"
Zi Di was full of fleeing thoughts.
This was a thick rainforest.
The broiling heat from the sunlight pierced through small cracks of the layers of canopy, and the air was hot and humid. The dense woods grew prosperous and lush due to the abundant rain that fell here. Vines twisted and roots entwined, creating many obstacles.
Zi Di had a head of curvy black hair, and her wheat coloured skin glistened with sweat, giving her a delicate appearance.
Her features were defined, and she had a beautiful smile beyond the ordinary. The most attractive part of her was her big, purple eyes, shining like clear amethyst.
The young girl wore long blue trousers and qipao, while her feet were encased in moccasins, and the outer garment was a layer of magic robe. No matter whether it was the magic robe, trousers or qipao, it was all covered in numerous scratches and tears. In some of the tears, wounds were sporting - even though it was wrapped carelessly, blood seeped endlessly from the injuries due to the continuous heavy movements.
Pain stung from every wound, tormenting the frail bodied girl.
She stretched out her hand with difficulty, brushing away the green tree leaves that were blocking her view. With all the strength she could muster, she took great strides over the moist soil that was covered in dense vegetation.
Her had a stout hemp rope on her shoulder, which seemed to be holding something heavy behind, causing the rope to press heavily against the girl's tender shoulder.
Although the magical robe was of tough and durable texture, the inner lining of the garment had long been damaged, and the girl's shoulders were experiencing a hot searing pain.
As she pushed away the tree leaves, Zi Di found in disappointment that before her was a big patch of lush thicket, where lofty broad-leaved trees and short shrubbery combined to form a thick wall.
"Darn it, I need to turn around!"
The young girl bit her lip knowingly as her impatience rose.
She knew that the situation before her was urgent, and she had to make do with every precious second. Her mind whirled in thoughts, and she chose the wise decision to give up moving forward, instead advancing towards the left, changing her course a little.
"Ahh---!"
Suddenly a loud intense scream was heard from afar.
The young girl's body trembled just as if she was shocked by lightning.
Soon after was the emotion of panic and imminent danger grasping her heart like a beast's huge claws.
In the spur of moment, there was only one voice left in her head -- run! Run! RUN! Leave everything behind, stop caring about anything else, or you will be killed by that damned wolf, just like those guards that were torn to shreds, chewed into mince meat and then swallowed into its belly!
The young girl's complexion turned ash white, and her gaze showed panic. Yet when she looked behind her, she grew steady yet again.
She had been dragging a hemp rope which was firmly attached to a stretcher, on which a teenager lay.
For whatever reason, this teenager boy had been dead unconscious throughout. However, he had a head of hair that dazzled in gold, and his facial features were very handsome; he gave off a natural, noble aura.
The youthful boy was undoubtedly a burden to her.
Even in this precarious moment of life or death, she still had to lug around a burden that was heavier than herself; it was as if she was giving away her chances of survival.
Zi Di gritted her teeth in pain while looking at the boy on the stretcher.
Immediately with no more hesitation left, she continued dragging the stretcher, resisting her own fears and terrors in her heart, suppressing the pressure of death as she advanced.
"Huff, huff, huff…"
Zi Di's breath was in patches, and her thin and frail body that was lacking in stamina had reached its limit at this moment.
It was deathly quiet behind her, and there were no more horrible cries. It meant that the battle had already ended, and it may very well mean that in the next moment, that dreaded wolf would represent Death itself, coming for her!
She had the will, but not the strength. She could not run. There was only the choice of moving forward, step by step, lugging the stretcher with difficulty.
The dense thicket that reached and covered the sky before her suddenly seemed to spread thin, gradually revealing azure blue skies.
The sound of a flowing river grew clearer, and not long after, a small river appeared in her view of sight. Lush, nameless water plants grew on both sides of the river, while the river water was not rapid nor deep, but the surface was wide.
Under the young girl's gaze, she knew that the river water may very well just reach up to her waist.
And yet, she dared not to tread the river waters so easily!
"Danger lurks on every side of this isolated island. I definitely must not use common logic to decide. I'm quite certain that this small river is hiding a vicious crocodile or large groups of piranhas!"
"I had no less than sixteen guards before. But now, I'm all that's left. Throughout the journey they continuously sacrificed themselves, using their own lives to expound on the horrors of this isolated jungle island."
"Damn it, if only I could still use magic…"
The young girl observed for a while. Biting her lip, she decided to cross the river!
The giant wolf behind her was like Death coming after her life. There was the huge possibility that it would continue to pursue after her. If she really took the time to hesitate and the wolf catches up to her, there would be completely no way out of it.
Although the young girl was panic-stricken, she never completely lost her rationality. She still maintained a clear determination and deduction towards the situation before her.
She hauled the heavy stretcher and started advancing towards the river.
A moment later, a bright light flashed through the girl's purple eyes.
She saw a small tree that grew in an incline, with its trunk extending from the bank towards the sky, all the way towards the opposite shore.
The young girl observed carefully, and realised that in this tree, there were no poisonous snakes nor brambles. However, the tree trunk was covered in moss and lichen, and was extremely slippery.
Even if it was just her, were she not careful while climbing such a trunk, she would still fall into the river.
What more to mention… she had a burden.
The young teen lay on the stretcher, both eyes shut tight, deep in stupor.
Perhaps… she should give up on this boy.
If she were to cross the river while carrying the unconscious teenager, it was going to be too hard - the risk was great!
The young girl gritted her teeth, quickly untying the rope that connected to the stretcher. She then put the teenager onto her back, twisting the rope around to tie his body towards hers tightly.
After all that was done, the girl took off her shoes, stuffing them into the tight space between her body and the rope.
Finally she inhaled deeply and started climbing the tree trunk, braving the danger as she carried the unconscious teenager.
The moss on the trunk only got more slippery and wet when stepped on.
"I can do it, I can do it!"
"Zi Di, oh Zi Di, you must not fall here."
"You are the president of the Wisteria Chamber of Commerce. You still need to avenge Father!"
The brave girl gave herself encouragement without stopping.
She gave all her strength, clinging onto the tree trunk, taking it step by step, shifting onward. Her purple orbs were full of firm resolution as she glared forward.
Finally, she was able to reach the end.
Because of the weight of two clamping down on the small tree, when the girl reached the opposite end, the trunk was lowered all the way down to the earth. This enabled her to easily and safely reach the ground.
With the weight gone, the tree trunk suddenly sprang up again, the leaves and branches subsequently giving off a gust of wind.
With the teenager still on her back, the young girl sank down to her knees weakly, both hands spread on the soil.
Her face was ash white in colour, and sweat dripped down hastily from the tip of her nose and chin, falling onto the thick green grass.
Her head was spinning slightly, but her heart was fluttering with joy.
"I can't believe it! I did it!"
"I really climbed all the way here."
She gasped for breath, her dizziness gradually leaving, but then her four limbs started to grow limp.
This was the aftermath of using all her full strength.
The girl fished out her shoes from her waist, attempting to put them back on her feet.
At this moment, she finally realised that on both of her legs, large patches of abrasion and friction burn lined the inner parts. All ten fingers and fingernails were damaged and bloodstained.
When she was climbing the tree trunk, she was just too nervous.
The girl knew that her life hung by a thread. Due to her carrying the young teenager, if she was even a bit unsteady, she would never be able to find balance, and would then fall into the river.
Thus she kept her full attention and strength on climbing that tree, entirely unaware of any injuries she sustained.
However, right now the pain from her arms, fingers, legs and feet were all crashing down on her, growing in intensity over time.
Aside from that, her shoulders and thighs were also trembling. She had perspired too much; her body had gone over its limits, and she was starting to feel a chill.
The girl's mouth was dry. Though her undulating chest had slowed down in range, she was getting increasingly tired.
She was still carrying the unconscious youth, too.
Even right now, the young girl felt that the teenage boy was getting heavier.
The young girl tried once more to put on her shoes, but at this moment!
Roar!
The wolf's howl sounded, and a silhouette as large as a calf sprang out viciously from the thicket.
The girl's body trembled. She turned around knowingly, and saw a deep blue coloured giant wolf.
At this moment, her pupils constricted like a falling icy cave!
The giant wolf bared its teeth, and in between the gaps were fresh shreds of meat.
The wolf's eyes were all red, and it was staring right at the young girl, full of brutal killing intent.
The young girl fell down onto the underbrush along the riverside.
When she turned around to look, her movement was too frantic and she had forgotten that she was carrying the teenage boy. His weight produced strong inertia, causing the girl to fall.
On such display of frailty and weakness, the wolf's fearful nature was further excited.
And yet, the wolf remained on the opposite shore.
It jumped and paced back and forth, looking at the babbling river water, showing obvious fear.
On seeing this, the girl immediately understood that her earlier actions were really wise.
However, in the next moment the wolf saw the tree trunk as well. It unexpectedly learned from the young girl, and started to prance over to the trunk that extended over both shores!
It was without question that this tyrannical and brutal giant wolf had an intelligence that would horrify people.
Although the wolf's body was well-built, it was also good at keeping its balance, and its speed was much faster than the girl.
In the midst of her shock, the girl felt as if she was zapped by electricity. She fished out a dagger from her bosom in great hurry, cutting away the ropes. She then jumped up and used her strength, crashing her body into the tree trunk looming overhead.
The tree trunk immediately started to sway from the impact.
Although the swaying was not that great, it still brought considerable trouble to the giant wolf.
With it's balance broken, the wolf almost fell into the river. It could only jump back onto shore, battered and exhausted.
Roar!
The wolf snarled at the girl, baring its sharp teeth, growing more irascible.
The young girl had successfully stopped the giant wolf, and rejoiced at first, then quickly regretted it.
"I should have let this damned beast go towards the middle of the trunk before acting, and let it fall into the river!"
The young girl and the giant wolf faced off across the shore. The wolf did not stop howling, and refused to retreat.
The young girl kept her eye on the giant wolf, never letting her guard down at any moment. If the wolf showed even a bit of wanting to climb the tree trunk, the young girl would knock against the trunk, making it sway.
A moment later, the girl figured it out - her earlier actions of panic were actually correct.
This was because she was unable to estimate exactly how far the wolf could jump.
It could be that the wolf would just need to climb a short distance before being able to jump straight onto the opposite bank.
Even if she could manage to shake the wolf into the river, whether or not the danger lurking in the water would react, or even if it did - whether or not it could stop the wolf, this was something she could not be sure of either.
In this case the safest course of action would be to not give the wolf any chance of acting. As long as it dared to try and climb, the young girl would interfere with all her might.
As time went by, the wolf tried many times but never succeeded.
Finally, at one point it turned sharply and darted into the bushes, disappearing out of sight.
The young girl stood on the spot, stupefied. After a few minutes, she finally reacted, sinking down onto the ground in one go.
Her face that had gone numb from panic slowly started to ease, and like ice that was melting, two lines of tears streamed down her face.
Finally, she got her chance of survival back!
With that, the girl sobbed.
Her legs were curled, both feet still bare. She never got to put on her shoes in time.
She buried her head in the bend of her legs, and her shoulders trembled slightly following the sounds of her sobbing, as if she were a delicate kitten.
But in the next moment, the girl raised her head as if she had touched electricity.
Her two eyes were puffy and red, and tear streaks were evident on her face. Her expression was complex, showing doubt, suspicion and fear.
"Is the wolf really giving up like this?"
"That is a possibility. But…"
When she thought of what had happened throughout the past few days, the young girl began to feel that the possibility of the wolf giving up was not great.
"It is possible that it suddenly turned and went into the bushes just to fool me."
"Or maybe it is going along the river right now, finding another shortcut to the other side!"
"Or perhaps right now, it has already gotten across, and is running towards here at full speed!!"
Once she had reached this line of thought, the young girl felt like she had fallen into an icy cave, and the chill reached into her bones.
What should she do?
Bring the boy across the tree trunk?
Not to mention, the tree trunk that was looming overhead had a considerable height from the ground, and it would be more difficult for the girl to climb back up while carrying the teenage boy.
Let's say in the possible chance that the wolf stayed in place, what would happen?
Should she stop in the middle section of the tree trunk?
Now that was even less likely. The amount of physical energy required would be too great.
The young girl was deeply aware of her own physical state at the moment, and she had not a single ounce of confidence to climb the trunk again. Thinking back at the time she went through while climbing over, merely filled her heart with gratitude and fear.
What if she kept moving forward while carrying the boy?
If the giant wolf came chasing after her, it would be an obvious dead end.
Even if she had nothing on her, her speed would still be far less than the wolf's.
"In that case, I can only choose the last option!"
A strong light flashed through her gaze.
She hurried back to the boy's side, half kneeling on the ground. She took out a milky white pillar crystal from her bosom and.
The girl gathered all her concentration and did her best to open the white crystal.
The crystal was pressed hard slightly above the young boy's forehead. It hovered over in place, unmoving for a long time.
"It still doesn't work, huh?"
"No, this is my last hope. Even if it's too small, as long as there's just a small possibility of hope…"
The young girl's heart grew frantic, and she whispered, "Hurry, hurry up! I'm begging you, please work."
As if it heard the pleas of the young girl, the white crystal slowly started to light up with streaks of rays of light, slightly hard to see.
But it was with this faint light that the girl broke into a happy expression, as soon as she was aware of it.
"Although this island prohibits a vast majority of magic, it is only relative. As long as the grade is high enough, it will be usable. However, the power and effect will be greatly reduced…"
Magic was such, and the same applied for magical instruments and tools.
The light that was emitted by the white crystal grew richer, and then like a drop of water that had condensed sufficiently, the light formed into milky white glimmers of water flow.
Small little water streams dripped onto the forehead of the unconscious youth, and then magically blended into the skin.
In a short amount of time, Zi Di who had trouble pressing the pillar crystal was already pale-faced all over. Her forehead was full of sweat, and her body was on the verge of collapse.
The pillar crystal began to lose colour. From the top, it started turning into grey rock.
"Persevere, I must persevere, no doing things halfway!" Zi Di squeezed out all the strength she had left in her body, as if hypnotising herself, constantly challenging the limits of her ability.
When the crystal had almost lost half of its colour, Zi Di had already fallen into the state of a semi-consciousness. She was merely relying on a shred of stubborness to support herself at this point.
"I must wake you…"
ROAR!
The howls of the wolf suddenly echoed out, and the blue wolf that had disappeared earlier suddenly sprang out with great speed from the lush thicket.
At this moment, Death descended!
Zi Di received a shock, and her frail, petite body trembled. She looked up. Her beautiful, dainty face was already covered by the shadow cast from the wolf's body.
She saw that the giant wolf had leaped into the air, and was swooping down towards her.
At that moment, time seemed to slow down.
The wolf's maw was wide open, revealing razor-sharp teeth and splashing saliva.
"Am I going to die?!" Zi Di's will struggled against her body that was no longer responsive; she had already expended every bit of strength that she had left.
"How regretful…" The strong aura of death surged forth. The young girl's purple orbs carried the last bit of hope, glancing at the pillar crystal in her hands.
The crystal had lost two-thirds of its luster which turned into grey rock, but there was still one-third remaining.
"There's no hope left."
Grave defeat etched onto her face at the flash of a moment. She lost all her strength, and her head drooped slightly, her eyes shut tight.
But just as she was ready to be killed, a severe jolt shook her hand.
Bang!
With a loud noise, the crystal exploded into countless pieces.
What's going on?
The young girl opened both eyes, bewildered.
Then, she saw that the boy who had been unconscious this whole time finally awoke!
This golden-haired, blue-eyed handsome lad suddenly flipped to the side, then raised his leg and kicked.
His movements were graceful and strong, direct, and efficient.
While his body had seemed weak, right now, it was revealing ferocious power!
The strength of his legs was like a storm!
The giant wolf was unable to dodge in time, meeting the kick instantly.
The wolf's howl stopped abruptly as the enormous power came attacking, and the wolf was flung far away.
The youthful boy propped himself up from the ground with his hands, and he stood up with a glare.
The young girl's pupils shrunk and her breath paused. As she gazed at the boy's thin and weak back, she felt as if she had just seen a mountain rise up.
