She appeared strange. Her skin was pale, and her eyes reflected a lifeless gaze, as though life had lost all hope of escaping. She listened to the crackling sound of the burning wood, and the flames seemed to dance, consoling her and forgetting the emptiness in her eyes.

Suddenly, after a while, she hugged her knees and tried to hide herself deeply when she heard the sound of footsteps. Within seconds, the darkness revealed a young man with a slightly muscular build, though not overly large, carrying an animal he had hunted on his shoulder.

Zhang Yu approached and lowered the animal. He glanced at her and sighed. This had been the case for almost a month and a half, ever since he first released her from the bubble and she looked at him. Though it was just one glance, it was definitely not a look of a sister to her brother, but rather one of fear, as if she had seen a bloodthirsty killer.

Immediately, she shuddered and took a few steps back. Since then, she had always kept a safe distance, and if that distance was breached, she would tremble in fear and quickly fall.

This time was no exception. She lowered her head and tried to hide from him. Zhang Yu, irritated, decided to ignore her once again.

He held back his anger, but a spark still lingered in his mind.

He sat down and began cleaning the animal. After finishing, he cut it into pieces, preparing it for grilling. After some time, he extinguished the fire and removed the meat from the wood. He took a medium-sized piece and approached the girl, coming within five steps. He bowed and placed it down, straightened up, and moved away to eat his meal out of her sight.

He didn't go far, only a few meters, but more importantly, it was an area where he could keep an eye on the girl from a distance. While eating, images of the girl running joyfully through the field appeared before him. A gentle breeze seemed happy to play with her, and animals happily jumped around her, making sounds.

That girl, whose face never left a joyful expression, had now turned into a ghost, caught between life and death. His heart tightened as his eyes gazed at her in despair, and he saw that she was still sitting there, not moving an inch!

Usually, the girl would slowly approach and take the food, but this time she didn't, which ignited a spark in his mind! Disturbing thoughts raced through his head, and he bit his tongue, exhaling deeply.

This was the method he had discovered to prevent himself from acting rashly. He sighed and thought, "What's wrong with this girl? Wutchi said she would wake up in time, and ordered me to get used to the situation and focus on watching her. But how am I supposed to get used to this? She treats me like I'm the killer of her parents. This is so frustrating."

Zhang Yu ignored her until after noon. He had finished his meal a while ago, but his angry eyes couldn't leave her when he saw her slowly walking and throwing the piece of meat away. But that wasn't enough; she started messing with his things, causing the veins on his head to bulge, and his eyes widened, revealing his frustration. The girl seemed to be looking for something specific.

Despite his anger, he didn't act rashly or rush. He just kept watching her as she held a knife and trembled. She slowly returned to her spot and carefully placed the knife on her other arm.

Slowly, with a shaking hand, she made a small cut on her arm, and it quickly began to bleed. Although it was just a few drops. Zhang Yu watched intently as she used the blood to draw lines on her hand. After a short while, she had drawn something that resembled a pattern—beautiful and elegant, resembling ancient seals. But to Zhang Yu, it was just useless lines.

After finishing the drawing, she stared at the pattern for a while, then grabbed some water and cleaned the knife first, then her hand. The pattern disappeared without a trace. She returned the knife and then sat back as she was, though she seemed a little more cheerful.

Zhang Yu's heart raced. This was the first time he saw her cheerful, and only in his absence! He thought, "Damn it! This is driving me crazy! Why does she hate me so much?!"

Outwardly, Zhang Yu continued to stare at her for a while, but inside, it felt like a volcano was about to erupt, releasing all the lava inside him.

He struck the tree beside him with force, causing a roar in the area like the growl of an angry beast. The girl's body jerked in fear, her eyes widened, and she began to move her hands in the cold dirt, trying to pull herself backward. But woe to her attempts, as the tree behind her acted as a cage, preventing her from escaping, while the sound of heavy footsteps approached.

With every step he took, her eyes widened more, and her tremors grew stronger. Until he was directly in front of her, and she instinctively wrapped her hands around her small head, thinking it would hide her. The last traces of her remaining hope fled her eyes, and the little joy she had would not dare show itself again.

Suddenly, her heart raced violently as he grabbed her small hand with force. She shuddered under his grip as he dragged her and lifted her, bringing her terrified face, her tightly closed eyes, directly in front of his, which was filled with fury.

He didn't pay much attention to her features and quickly started shouting, "You! Do you see me as a monster? Do you know what it cost me to get where I am?! Do you understand the amount of suffering I endured?!! Or do you just see me as a heartless killer?!"

"I did this for revenge! To avenge my father's spirit! And now, you're even running from looking at my face? What did I do to deserve this? You are my family! Do you understand what that means?!"

While he tried to continue his yelling, unloading all his anger onto the little girl, finally, the painful mutterings reached his ears—some unintelligible words as if she were trying to express her feelings. Her eyes sparkled, tears flowed down her face like a small stream, her tiny body trembling, and her voice was rough and quivering.

His eyes widened as he realized his mistake, sinking into silence. After all, she was just a ten-year-old girl—how could she understand such matters? He quickly released her hand and let it drop to the ground, leaving her to drown in her sorrow and mutterings.

He stepped back a little, clutching his heart, the pounding of his pulse felt strongly. He thought, while placing his hand on one of the trees, "What have I done… I'm shouting at a child? Wutchi was right, it seems I've only been pretending to be strong."

Conflicting thoughts and emotions battled in his mind, as if two personalities were in constant struggle with each other. The first one dictated cruelty, letting go of the past, treating the girl according to orders, and ignoring her.

The second one emphasized kindness and compassion, honoring the past and moving forward based on it, treating the girl as his sister, with warmth and goodness, not giving weight to those orders if they aimed at separating them.

With every passing second, their struggle grew more intense, leaving the young man, not yet fifteen, confused, unable to be harsh with his sister or disobey orders. Amid the turmoil and the difficult situation, he couldn't maintain his dignified facade.

Soon, his tears began to overflow as he slowly sank down, as though something had escaped him. Leaning against a tree, he muttered, "Damn it!"، Only then did a voice appear in his mind "You look pathetic, disgusting."