Mated at First Sight

She gently sat up and stepped out of her bed. Outside, the place was already deserted, aside from the already cleaned dishes, as if those people had never been there last night.

A faint smile curled up at the corner of her lips. In the early morning, when the first ray of sunlight sprinkled down, an eagle shrieked in the sky, and she slowly opened her eyes. There was no trace of confusion or murkiness in her eyes, only the same vivid clarity.

They were a pair of lucid eyes, as still as water.

She slowly sat up and stepped out of her bed. Outside, the place was already deserted, except for the already cleaned dishes, as if those people were never there last night.

A faint smile quietly curled up at the corner of her lips.

It appeared that those people last night really took her words to heart, or rather, they had no intention of bothering her.

That worked well for her.

She cleaned herself up, then proceeded to have breakfast. Day by day, monotonous yet repetitive days, began once again.

To Mu Lin, these days were tranquil and comfortable; production, practice, and searching for herbal medicine with a little bamboo basket on her back became her routine habits. They had become a part of her life and were ingrained into her bloodstream, an indispensable part of her.

Meanwhile.

He took two steps, occasionally glancing back, then another two steps, repeating the same actions, acting like a reluctant young bride.

"Xigua, why are you dawdling so much today?" This was out of character for the carefree Xigua.

With a glance at Xigua's reluctant face, several people turned around and asked amusingly,

You wouldn't have fallen for her, would you?

Even though the Poison Doctor is indeed quite attractive, ordinary people likely can't afford to harbor such thoughts.

Unless they think their lives are too long.

Upon hearing this, Xigua replied, "Shall we not say goodbye to her before we leave? She did save our captain, after all, and kindly took us in for the night! At the very least we should say thank you."

"If you want to go, go by yourself," replied Black Shark indifferently at those words.

"Yeah, Xigua, we're afraid of offending the Poison Doctor, even if you're not." The skill she had shown last night and the near-healed wound they saw when they changed the captain's dressing this morning meant they truly wouldn't believe it if told she wasn't the Poison Doctor.

That medicine of hers is incredibly potent.

However, a young girl living alone in such a wild mountainous region, and possessing such medical skill, undoubtedly would have had an unusual array of experiences.

No wonder her temperament is so strange.

Even though she had helped them and taken them in, her words remained cold and threatening.

But, they didn't find her blunt way of speaking displeasing, in fact, they rather appreciated it.

...

Shaking his head with a sigh, Xigua mumbled to himself as if to self-soothe, "Actually, I really wanted to become friends with her."

He felt that living alone in such a place, with only one parrot for companionship, she must have felt incredibly lonely.

What one could say is, someone was overthinking things. In Mu Lin's case, she originally had her Master; now, even though she only had Qiaozi for company, for someone like her who had already accustomed to everything, life was good.

Not wanting to care about the daydreaming individual, Black Shark walked over to Jing Chen and asked, "Captain, how's your wound? We've been walking for so long, do you want to take a rest before we continue?"

Jing Chen's leg wound seemed to have healed quite a bit, but it had only been overnight, and considering the previous trouble, it was better to be cautious.

Upon hearing Black Shark's words, Jing Chen was silent for a few seconds and then gave a nod. "Fine." His wound was indeed slightly aching.

No matter how good the medicine, recovery still took time.

"Let's take a break here." After hearing Jing Chen's response, Black Shark turned around and commanded. The group found a relatively clean spot and casually sat down.

They were in luck today. The rain from last night had gradually stopped in the latter half of the night. Now, the pale sunlight was finally peeking through, emitting a faint aroma of earth and trees.

By leaning slightly against a huge tree behind him and closing his eyes, Jing Chen could gather his strength. However, his thoughts had already drifted far away, possibly to the girl who was now peacefully digging up herbs.

Of course, such sentiments definitely didn't comprise of fondness or even a liking; apart from curiosity, the only emotions left were coldness and indifference.

Surprisingly, even a man like Jing Chen who normally paid little attention to extraneous matters was profoundly impacted by those three straightforward words.

Yet, he was still curious why Mu Lin lived in such a place. Was she the only inhabitant there?

Jing Chen didn't know that many feelings often begin with curiosity.

...

Time always slipped away in the blink of an eye; in no time, two days had gently passed.

The scattered golden rays of light rose, casting a gentle glow on the lush jungle's edge where a slender figure slowly came into view, approaching ever closer.

Stepping slowly in front of a clean and neat tombstone, she quietly sat down, as if she was merely having a casual chat.

"Master." Looking at the name on the tombstone, a slight curve appeared on Mu Lin's face. There was no distance; it was rather clear-cut. "Master, today...I'm here to bid you farewell."

Mu Lin chuckled softly, "Every year after Qingming festival, Linlin leaves for a few months. Master had once instructed Linlin that possessing medical skills meant helping those who need you. Though Linlin doesn't like it, what Linlin promised Master, Linlin will definitely fulfill."

She was not a good person and didn't like treating people, but helping and healing was her Master's lifelong hope and ambition. Hence, there would always be a few months every year when Mu Lin would leave the mountain to do what she wasn't particularly interested in doing; no matter how much she disliked it, she would never break a promise she made.

A while later.

"Qiaozi." Standing up, Mu Lin looked at Qiaozi, who was slouching and looked lifeless on the tombstone. She said softly, "I've left enough food to last for a few days. Remember to take good care of the place while I am away for a few months. Visit Master and keep him company whenever you're free, got it?"

Even though it was a bit reluctant, the parrot nodded slightly.

Every year after the Qingming festival was always a time it hated. It would be a long time before it could see Mu Lin again. Even though she liked to tease and prank it, it enjoyed staying by her side nonetheless.

"Such a good boy." Mu Lin smiled and gently patted Qiaozi's drooping head. She then picked up her small rustic backpack and left.

Only after she had completely disappeared from the Black Forest that Qiaozi reluctantly turned around and flew towards its home with Mu Lin.

All this while, Mu Lin had no idea, that every time after she left, Qiaozi would always stay in the house that still smelled like her for several days.

Until it consumed all the food.