Seeing the great effect of that stick, Gu Youyou’s heart leapt with joy, and she grew bolder. Clutching the stick tightly, she chased after it and swung another blow.
But she wasn’t able to land this blow as intended, because the dark shape in front of her looked so much like... a person?
She froze mid-swing, staring at him in shock.
The person opposite also looked at her with a shocked expression.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Gu Youyou gripped the stick tighter and stammered, "You... what are you? Why are you in the mountains looking like a wild man?"
The person opposite swallowed hard but said nothing.
He seemed to be a man in his forties. Gu Youyou had previously thought Jin Zijin was unkempt, but this man was far worse in comparison.
He looked like he hadn’t taken care of himself in a long time, with tattered, dirty clothes, a beard, and hair all matted and dirty. But his eyes, they were like those of a beast of the mountains, fixed on Gu Youyou with a bloodthirsty glint.
Gu Youyou instinctively shrank back and gripped the stick in her hand tighter.
"Don’t come any closer," Gu Youyou hastened to assert her advantage. "You’re unarmed, and I have a stick!"
The man was unfazed; instead, he got up and began walking step by step towards Gu Youyou.
Gu Youyou saw that one of his legs seemed to be limping; perhaps it was an injury she had inflicted moments earlier.
She swung wildly, hitting him somewhere, but she had no idea where.
As he continued to advance slowly, Gu Youyou swung the stick vigorously a couple of times and threatened, "Don’t come any closer. I’m just a villager from below the mountain, here gathering herbs. I’m a doctor and don’t want to harm anyone; don’t force me!"
This man must have lived in the mountains for who knows how long. Surviving in the wilds, he surely wasn’t any less capable than a hunter. With Gu Youyou’s small stature, it hardly mattered that she was wielding a stick; even if she had a machete, it was unlikely to intimidate him.
The man continued to approach her, his gaze fierce and unwavering.
Gu Youyou took a few steps back, her heart racing with fear. "I’m not alone," she said. "My husband is a hunter from the village. He’s nearby hunting. You better leave, or he’ll surely take you for a wild man and shoot you!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Gu Youyou heard a noise in the distance, like something rapidly approaching.
Her first thought was of Jin Zijin; it must be him, he had arrived.
Joy spread across her face; it was like speaking of Cao Cao and him appearing.
The man across her seemed to have highly sensitive ears, and only a moment after Gu Youyou, he detected someone approaching.
Hearing the sound, he furrowed his brow and, like a wild animal, used his hands and feet to run swiftly into the distance.
Gu Youyou watched in amazement as the man, like a monkey, disappeared from her line of sight.
He really was like a monkey, not only running on the ground but also jumping into trees, more spectacular than any parkour she’d seen.
Could the human body truly reach such limits?
Could this man really be... a wild man?
"Youyou!" Jin Zijin’s voice, tinged with urgency, came from behind her.
Gu Youyou turned around to see Jin Zijin standing there, a bow and arrow in his hands, strong and powerful.
Seeing her unharmed, Jin Zijin’s rapidly beating heart slowly calmed down. Suppressing the panic and a hint of anger in his heart, he asked calmly, "How did you end up here? Didn’t I tell you to wait for me in the cave and not to go anywhere?"