The village that had been looted was called the Gu Clan village.
Now, the whole village was in ruins and resounding with the sound of crying.
When he came back, Su Mo saw dozens of men carrying dead bodies. There were big pits behind the village that had been dug to bury the bodies.
After talking to the men, he found out that they were a hunting squad that had survived the slaughter because they were out hunting.
“You saved so many of our women and killed all the bandits to avenge us. Thank you very much! Please accept my gratitude!”
The leader of the hunting squad instantly bowed to him respectfully after learning that Su Mo had saved the women.
“Brother, you’re welcome. Let’s first bury the deceased and help them rest in peace!”
Su Mo said and waved his hand to the leader.
“Alright!”
The leader nodded silently and continued to carry the bodies.
“Hmm?”
Su Mo looked around and saw the gorgeous maiden from before kneeling down before a body and crying.
The corpse belonged to the old, gray-haired man whom he had talked to.
“She must be that old man’s granddaughter!” Su Mo instantly realized.
Walking over and squatting down next to her, he lightly patted her shoulder and consoled her. “I’m so sorry for your loss!”
However, the maiden continued sobbing, as if she had not heard him.
“Alas…”
Su Mo secretly sighed and thought, “Parting with the dead is the most painful thing in life!”
“Master, I’m an orphan and was abandoned in the wilderness as a child. Grandpa found me and raised me.”
The maiden slowly said in a bitter tone, “Grandpa treated me like his own granddaughter, always saving the best things for me and offering me a good life, but it’s all my fault that he’s dead.”
“Why am I not a martial artist?”
“If I’d been a powerful martial artist, I would’ve been able to protect grandpa and our village!”
“If I’d been a powerful martial artist, grandpa and all the other villagers wouldn’t have died!”
“…”
She kept talking, and Su Mo could not tell if she was talking to him or just murmuring to herself.
Her body shook continuously, and big teardrops rolled down her cheeks.
Su Mo listened to her in silence.
“Survival of the fittest means that the strong preys on the weak, so things never end well for the weak!”
After a long time, she stopped crying.
“You must toughen up if you don’t want your grandpa to worry in heaven.” Su Mo could not do anything but comfort her.
“I’m so sorry to let you see me like this!” she said bashfully, wiping the tears from her face.
“It’s fine. Let’s first bury your grandpa and help him rest in peace,” said Su Mo. They then buried the old man behind the village.
After that, Su Mo was about to leave.
The villagers had buried all the deceased and came here to show their gratitude to him again.
Su Mo returned all the belongings the bandits had stolen to the villagers and was ready to leave.
“Young master!”
Suddenly, a voice chirped behind him. Su Mo turned around and saw the maiden in green.
“I… I want to follow you. Would you be willing to take me in?”
She slowly walked toward Su Mo and was tightly gritting her teeth, as if she had made up her mind.
She stared at Su Mo with her bright, beautiful eyes, as if she was afraid of being rejected by him.
Su Mo was startled and did not know why she would want such a thing.
“Why do you want to follow me?”
He, of course, did not mind having such a beautiful girl around.
However, he still had to understand her intentions. After all, he could not foolishly take her home simply due to her attractiveness.
“I want to learn to practice martial arts with you.”
Her tender face was full of resolve, and she said, “I think you’re a good person. Only by following you can I be a powerful martial artist.”
“You can rest assured that I won’t be a burden to you, since I can cook, wash clothes, and do chores. I’m even willing to be your servant, so please take me in!”
She looked very pitiful, and her eyes widened anticipation. After she spoke, she started to kneel.
Su Mo hurriedly pulled her up and said, “Since you’re willing to follow me, come, and I’ll teach you cultivation.”
“Of course, if you want to leave in the future, I won’t stop you.”
Su Mo sighed in his heart. “The maiden may have seemed weak, but she was strong-willed and resolute.”
“Thank you, Young Master!”
She gave him a rare and charming smile, which stopped his heart.
Then, Su Mo took the maiden back to Sunnywood City.
They did not ride horses and instead walked back.
She had not awakened her Martial Soul to be a real martial artist, but she had reached Lv 6 Body Tempering. Thus, she could easily walk dozens of kilometers.
On the way, Su Mo chatted a lot with her and got a general understanding of who she was.
She was called Gu Lanxi, a very beautiful name.
She was 14 years old this year and 15 in two months, so she was almost the same age as him.
At dusk, they reached the Su clan.
“Holy crap! Where did Su Mo find such an appealing girl?”
“The piece of trash probably knows that he’ll die soon, so he wants to enjoy his last two weeks.”
“You may be right! Damn it, why all beauties are wasted on losers!”
When Su Mo brought Gu Lanxi into the mansion of the Sus, many people were instantly drawn to her looks.
Many disciples spoke sourly out of admiration, jealousy, and in most cases, contempt.
Su Mo led her into his yard and arranged a room for her.
His yard had four rooms. One was for himself, and the other three were empty.
“Xi’er, this is where you’ll stay.”
Su Mo helped her clean up the room and gave her some daily essentials. “If you need anything later, just let me know.”
“Thanks a lot!” She lightly nodded.
“As for cultivating, I’ll buy you some elixirs to help you accomplish your Body Tempering as soon as possible.”
He added, “When you finish your Body Tempering, I’ll find a way to help you awaken your Martial Soul.”
“Alright. Sorry to bother you!”
The maiden felt somehow touched and greatly respected him.
“Haha! Xi’er, you don’t need to be so polite. I’m very casual.”
Su Mo lightly smiled and said, “Don’t call me ‘young master’ anymore, it sounds very awkward. You can just call me by my name.”
“I… I can’t do that!”
She hastily waved her hands and anxiously said, “You did me a great favor, so how can I directly call you by your name? That is quite disrespectful. Besides, I’m only your maid, and I wouldn’t dare to call you that.”
Er!
Su Mo was instantly speechless and thought, “She’s too uptight!”
“Who says you’re my maid? From now on, you’re my little sister,” Su Mo said seriously.
Hearing this, she suddenly widened her bright eyes and stared at him intently.
“So you don’t want to be my little sister?” Su Mo deliberately pretended to be angry and asked her.
“No… No, I want to!”
Her face was blushing, and his words touched her heart.
“Haha! Come on, call me brother,” Su Mo smiled and said teasingly.
“Er… Brother Su Mo!” she said very quietly with her head down, her face blushing with shame.
“Haha…” Su Mo burst into laughter.