Looking back at the body on the ground, Zhi Yan sighed tossing a talisman on it, and watched as the paper instantly engulfed the body in flames. Black wisps of energy rose from the corpse changing to a lighter color as they reached the top of the flames before dissipating. Whatever residual qi in the man would fuel the rest of the fire until even his spiritual root was burned to nothing so as to prevent any foolish person from resurrecting their body with demonic arts. She closed her eyes and leaned against the tree trunk.

Mooooo. Zhi Yan jumped, the grip on the cleaver tightening.

A black ox ambled out from the trees and shook its fur, bending its head down to munch on some grass. It lifted its head, large saucer-shaped pupils stared at her before it walked closer to the burning corpse. 

"Not there." Zhi Yan muttered, clicking her tongue at the animal and pushing it away from the fire. She wondered if it would be missed if she killed it.

"Burning bodies is not a common hobby I hear young ladies indulge in, Miss." came a voice and an oddly familiar man stepped out of the shadows, across the clearing.

"Neither is ox herding in the middle of the night." Zhi Yan moved closer to the ox and held a knife to its neck. "I will kill it."

The man's smug appearance immediately dropped. "Only a joke, only a joke, Miss." He held up his hands in a move of surrender and gave her a wronged smile. "Come on, the animal did nothing wrong. We're just out here for a walk in the moonlight."

She let out a huff and lowered her hand, straightening her back despite the burning sensation from the wounds. Slowly, Zhi Yan moved away from the man and the ox, still eyeing him warily. She didn't make it far though before a searing pain in her head caused her to stumble. In a flash, her hands that were outstretched to the nearest tree were caught by the man as his arms supported her crumpling body. "Woah, it's alright. Easy."

He looked down at the woman in his arms, blood-stained hands attempting to push him away. At the distrusting and tearful eyes staring up at him. At the messy hair and bruised neck. "I wouldn't say our first meeting was extremely romantic, yet you've managed to recreate even the way you were threatened last time. Do you want me to save you so bad, Miss?" Something wet trickled onto the hand that was holding up her back, and he gingerly tilted her to the side, ignoring her groans of protest, to see that fresh blood had seeped through the fabric of her robes.

A look of recognition crossed her face and Zhi Yan's nails feebly dug into his arm as she searched the man's face. "Why do you follow me? What do you want?" She rasped trying to free herself. 

"Truthfully, to kill you. But," He sang dragging the word out with a wolfish smile revealing a sharp canine. "I as a righteous warrior of Jianghu would never abandon a lady in pain, especially if she so valiantly fought for her life just now."

And with that, he carefully moved her to lay on his shoulder as he walked over to his ox. 

"My belongings..." Zhi Yan had given up on moving and tiredly gestured to the landing up above. 

A calloused hand roughly patted her leg. "Of course, of course." Then with a surprising ease, he splayed her onto the back of the ox so that she was lying on her stomach with an arm and a leg hanging over on each side. He placed a large hand on her lower back peering at her face for approval to which she just waved her sleeve limply. This had to be one of the most humiliating experiences she had gone through so far. This pain is not something my immortal self should succumb to yet I have.

******

They were someways up the mountain when she asked, "Stranger, you have substantial power why do we travel back on foot?"

The man hummed absentmindedly. "Same as you, all those imbued talismans and money you stole from me yet you chose not to waste any on me." 

Zhi Yan let out a tsk, her eyes languidly watching the trees pass by as she swayed on the back of the ox. A pause. "I traded you for them." 

He cast a glance at her body awkwardly splayed on the ox and laughed. "Yes, yes. The little lady is always right."

She felt his thumb rub comforting circles on her back that appeared to slowly ease away at the pain. Zhi Yan's eyes fluttered as the heat from his hand seemed to have swallowed her in a cozy warmth of sorts.

Under her guidance, the man led the ox to where she had previously hidden her belongings. Once he helped her climb down from the ox, she discovered that the majority of the discomfort was gone. She could feel most of the internal issues within her meridians had been healed with little trickles of qi circulating through her qi vessels. Zhi Yan tentatively felt along her back. Even most of the large wounds had scabbed over. 

She could see the man looking at her proudly, waiting. "...Thank you, Stranger."

 "Anything for my little lady. And since I saved you twice now, we are not strangers anymore. Niu Hejun, your gracious savior." 

"I think I prefer Stranger."

Before he could respond, a call came from above and the two disciples Qu Zihao and Tong Ye, descended from the skies on their swords.

"Miss Yan, we have been loo-Who are you?" Qu Zihao, rushing to Zhi Yan, stopped and immediately drew his sword as he stared at Niu Hejun. 

"So you are the pesky flies chasing my sweet Birdie." Zhi Yan’s brow twitched at the nickname. But she stopped herself from saying anything coming to the realization that the only plus side of Niu Hejun’s talkative nature was that it saved her the trouble of entertaining such conversations.

"Miss Yan, do you know this man?" Qu Zihao had not put down his sword and was cautiously inching towards them.

"Miss Yan?" Niu Hejun whispered raising an eyebrow at her. 

"...Yes. Yan Zi."

"Like the bird?"

"My mother had a penchant for unique names." Zhi Yan declared refusing to look embarrassed. The man next to her however did not help as he let out a snort.

"Of course she does, we have been close acquaintances since I saved her. Twice. Naturally, Birdie fell in love with me.” Niu Hejun declared looking up at the men and dramatically swung an arm around her, pulling her closer. “And I could never say no to her.”

“I did not know members of Qitian Dao Sect associate with vagrants.” Tong Ye had joined his senior brother.

“There is no need to concern yourself with his jests." Zhi Yan abruptly cut in removing the arm from her shoulder before the man next to her could dig them a deeper hole. 

At her words, Qu Zihao finally lowered his sword. "Then if Miss Yan does not mind, we can accompany you to the nearest town before we return to Gui Rong City. I am afraid I do not trust your safety with this...unfamiliar wanderer."

Niu Hejun who didn't seem offended at all shrugged and smiled at the two men almost in an amused manner. On the other hand, Zhi Yan was a bit more peeved by his statement but for another reason. "You want to accompany me?"

"I hope that my words do not offend Miss Yan when I offer the reminder that it is unsafe and improper to travel with a strange man even if he has saved you before." Tong Ye's nasally assertion hung in the quiet night air as he looked down at her.

She narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin. Niu Hejun turned around and coughed into his hand though it sounded suspiciously similar to a laugh. "I never said that I would be traveling with him, boy. Though what I choose to do does not concern you does it, Disciple of the Tongshan Sect?"

Immediately Qu Zihao swept in front of his brother blocking him from view. With an awkward smile, he said, "Brother Tong Ye is ineloquent with his words and does not mean to overstep, Miss Yan. He is merely concerned. Though our offer still holds." Of course, Zhi Yan who was more than done with the whole ordeal said nothing and had moved on to adjusting her saddle.

"Then us two disciples will take our leave back to our sect. Again thank you for the help with the demonic cultivators, Wang Qin told us before he fell unconscious."

The hand on the saddle stopped and she turned around. "Unconscious?" This was when she noticed Tong Ye had moved to tend to an unconscious Wang Qin a little ways behind them, slumped against a tree.