Emily Thompson only stopped crying after she saw that the bleeding had really stopped. She stared at his hand for a while, and only after making sure it was fine did she nod slightly. However, she didn’t dare stay in the mountains any longer and hurriedly said, “Little Chad, let’s hurry back. We can have uncle take a look and put some medicine on it so it’ll heal faster.”

Chad Sullivan chuckled softly and once again reached out to grab that thorny little tree.

“Hey, Little Chad, what are you doing? Be careful of the thorns.”

“Haha, there are thorns on those branches. Why don’t we just take the whole rock with us?” With that, he grabbed the ore, which was about half the size of a soccer ball, weighed it in his hand, and nodded. “Alright, let’s go. I’m sure it won’t be long before you can eat that fruit again.”

Seeing how he was still thinking of her, Emily Thompson felt a sweet warmth in her heart. She obediently made a sound of agreement and let him lead her down the mountain toward Shunhe City.

……

Climbing up is easy, but going down is hard. Although Green Shade Mountain wasn’t a big mountain, it still spanned over ten li in area, and the mountain paths were rugged. Going up, they were full of excitement and didn’t feel it much, but going down was truly exhausting.

Half an hour later, after a day of running around and using up a lot of energy, Emily Thompson was the first to give in. She looked pitifully at Chad Sullivan: “Little Chad, I can’t walk anymore.”

Chad Sullivan looked as if he’d expected this, glanced up at the approaching nightfall, and shook his head. “You silly girl, now you know to regret it, huh?” With that, he walked in front of her, turned his back, and squatted down a bit. “Alright, get on.”

By now it was almost dark. Hearing the occasional sounds of insects and beasts from the forest, Emily Thompson started to feel a little scared. She quickly and obediently climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

Chad Sullivan hooked his arms under her knees and called out lightly, “Let’s go.” Carrying her, he strode quickly down the mountain.

Although he was only twelve, as a second-level Qi Refining cultivator, his stamina was far beyond that of ordinary people. Carrying someone was tiring, but he could handle it.

After a while, Emily Thompson noticed something and exclaimed, “Hey, Little Chad, now that you’re carrying me, what about the rock and the little tree growing on it that you were holding?”

“Uh, the little tree?” Chad Sullivan was momentarily dazed.

Right, where did the things I was holding go?

But people are like that sometimes—clearly playing with something in your hand, but after a while, you just toss it aside without noticing, and only realize it much later. This is especially true for children or teenagers who haven’t fully grown up.

“Uh, maybe I accidentally dropped it on the way. It’s almost dark, let’s hurry back first. Tomorrow morning I’ll go back into the mountains to help you look for it.”

“No need. The fruit on that little tree isn’t even as tasty as the fruit at home. Besides, if you were holding something, who would carry me?” With that, she smiled and pressed her face against his back, humming a little tune.

“You…” Chad Sullivan shook his head with a smile, quickly putting the matter of the ore aside, and carried her in big strides toward Shunhe City.

With him, a second-level Qi Refining cultivator, traveling at full speed, they finally saw the brightly lit city walls of Shunhe City just as night fully fell.

Volume One Chad Sullivan Chapter Two Drowsiness

“Little Chad, get up! Master is about to start scolding. Open the door, or I’m coming in!”

A series of heavy knocks and a crisp shout came from outside the door, instantly waking the still-groggy Chad Sullivan.

Half-awake, Chad Sullivan opened his tired eyes. As the door was pushed open, a beam of sunlight shot through the crack, shining on his not-yet-fully-awake face.

Bathed in sunlight, Chad Sullivan shivered and forced himself to snap out of it. When he saw Emily Thompson running in with a grin, he quickly asked, “Emily, is it late?”

“Of course! It’s already past the hour of Chen. Why else would Master have me come wake you up? You little lazy pig, get up!” With that, she ran to the back room to fetch water for him to wash up.

“It’s already past the hour of Chen?” Chad Sullivan was secretly surprised.

He had always been diligent in his cultivation. Since he started at age eight, he would get up early every day before the hour of Chen to train and strengthen his body, rain or shine, never missing a day, not even when sick or injured. Sleeping past the hour of Chen and not waking up like today was completely unprecedented.

“Maybe it’s because climbing up and down the mountain yesterday was just too exhausting, plus I hurt my hand and lost a lot of blood, so my body is weak. That’s why I woke up late today.” Thinking this, Chad Sullivan quickly got up, dressed neatly, and got out of bed. Just then, Emily Thompson had already brought the water. Seeing this, Chad Sullivan hurried over to take it from her, saying, “Emily, I can do this myself.”

“Alright, hurry up. Otherwise, if Master punishes you, he won’t go easy.”

Chad Sullivan gloomily finished washing up, knowing in his heart that there was no way he’d escape punishment today.

After washing up, the two of them immediately left the house and headed to the backyard.