The Geared Immortal

Chapter 7 - Friends?

Chapter 7

Shin Jiao was unable to move as he was sitting behind her, Cherry Lao's head is in his arm and her eyes are throwing daggers on him. He was a little embarrassed as he saw her exposed milky white skin and the twin peaks covered with a bra that he made from the wolf's skin.

Cherry Lao's eyes were slowly filling up with tears as indignation and shame are filling her heart.

As a virtuous maiden, how could she accept that a man has seen her body, and what's worse he might even be the one who put clothes on her?

"Umm… I'm… I'm sorry… I promise I didn't touch or did anything to you while you are unconscious. I just clothe you as your old clothes barely covered your body anymore..." Shin Jiao tried to explain.

However, those words from Shin Jiao made the situation worst and her feeling of being disgraced grew more. It was a confirmation that he really did saw her naked which is hard to bear for a maiden like her. This made her tears began to flow non-stop as she starts sobbing.

And since she can't lift her hand she was unable to hide her pitiful face from Shin Jiao.

Seeing this, Shin Jiao's heart being pricked by something, he could not express his feelings at this time for making a woman cry. He also knows that he just made a big blunder.

An angel crying is what he can describe the scene in front of him.

Without a choice, he put the bowl of soup down, and grabs the wolf skin blanket to cover her body, and carefully wipe her tears.

"Look I promise you this... If you get well I'll let you hit me as a punishment for my crimes, okay? So please stop crying, you still need to eat. Please…" Shin Jiao said with a pleading tone while trying to console the woman in his arms.

Cherry Lao cried for a while as the indignation in her heart burst out like droves. But Shin Jiao held her while slowly patting her back. She didn't know what happened next, but her aching heart seemed to have soften a little bit by the gentle action of the man holding her.

Cherry still could not move her body but was able to tilt her head a little. Then when their eyes met, she saw Shin Jiao giving her a warm smile, that seem to have made her heart skip a beat.

She could not express her feeling right now after bursting in tears a while ago.

"Okay, stop crying now. Here… eat this first." Shin Jiao said as he once again took the bowl of soup and carefully feeds her.

Shin Jiao patiently feeds her until she finished the bowl of soup. After that, he carefully laid her on the bed and made sure she feels comfortable.

Cherry Lao had already calmed down and accepted the fact that the young man in front of her is the one who had saved her life.

Although he had seen what he shouldn't have, she didn't have a choice as it already happened. Judging from his reactions it seems that he is willing to take good care of a stranger like her. She now have a complicated feeling in her heart. In the cultivation world, it is seldom to see cultivators taking care of others, except for their lovers or family.

Suddenly something came to her mind and thought.

"Well, I also have seen him naked and... and saw... that thing…"

Her face suddenly turned red like a tomato.

After eating and cleaning the place, Shin Jiao sat beside her. As he carefully grabs her wrist and checked her pulse.

She was a bit taken aback by his actions but this time didn't react violently.

"What do you think you're doing?" she however asked with an annoyed tone.

"I'm just checking your pulse to make sure that your body is healing well. Don't worry I'm well trained when it comes to these kinds of things."

Shin Jiao didn't bother looking at her as he busies himself checking and feeling her pulse. His only wish at this time the ability to control spiritual energy, as it would be a big help in checking the body condition of a person using Qi.

Hearing his explanation she just kept her mouth shut and just observed his actions.

Suddenly, Shin Jiao asked.

"Just one question... Do you know medicine? Or do you have any healing potion or pill?" he remembers that some cultivators know medicine as Gubu has described.

He also saw that the woman has a spatial tool while he was cleaning her body. He saw the ring on her finger which might be a spatial tool. However, he cannot check it further as he cannot use Qi.

"Yes, I have some healing pills in my ring. But it is locked with my spiritual mark, so you will not be able to open it."

"Oh, I see… Well, we have no choice then but to wait for your own body to heal itself then… But don't worry, I will protect you and help you, okay?" Shin Jiao said with a smile.

Seeing him smile handsomely made Cherry Lao's heart skip a beat. And then a tinge of red once again appears on her cheeks. Shin Jiao was dumbstruck upon seeing the beautifully blushed.

"Damn, this girl is too beautiful. I have to control myself, this is a new world and I don't want to attract problems." He said to himself as he averted her gaze.

Shin Jiao stayed with Cherry Lao inside the cave for a couple of days.

The days they spent together, made the two strangers relationship slowly turned into a friendship. The two began to make small talks about their lives, Shin Jiao presented himself as a traveler from a small village who wanted to explore the world. He then explained that since his village is small and secluded, he is uncultured of the world around him.

This makes sense that he is truly ignorant of almost everything. While talking he learned about her background and why she is in the forest. But of course, there are things that she didn't tell him about her.

The friendship that is slowly developing between them made the awkwardness between the two slowly disappears.

On some days, Shin Jiao would go out to gain more experience and learn more about the place he is in while the spheres in his dantian are also steadily increasing... and because of that after 5 days the spheres in his dantian has reached 10.

However, what confused him now is that no matter how many beasts cores he absorbs, the sphere won't increase.

So he changed his focus on researching in making new artifacts, gears, and equipment in secret.

He didn't want to show his ability yet to Cherry Lao, as it might endanger his or her life if exposed.

And so, every day he did his job taking care of her and giving her everything she needs. And because of his actions, her heart and body began to feel that relying on him was not so bad after all.

She can't absorb spiritual energy yet for an unknown reason. But since her body is already refined, the food she consumes are absorbed automatically and are used to repair her damaged organs and tendons.

"I guess this is how it feels like to have a man to rely on." She said to herself as she thought of the days that went by and things that he did for her.

Though Shin Jiao helps her every day, she could not help but feel that he is just doing these things as a service or pity towards her.

They talk, they laugh, but he was too reserved and cautious.

Suddenly a thought entered her mind. 

"Is he not attracted to me? Or... Maybe I'm not that attractive for him, or... maybe he had a special preference..."

But she could not deny that his actions made her appreciate him more as a man.

Though she is not thinking of finding a partner as her goal is to become a powerful cultivator. But if she could find someone someday, she wanted her man to be like Shin Jiao. Someone who would talk to her and even hear her out when she complains. And most of all would take good care of her.

...

Two weeks have passed…

The darkness of the night was chased out by the glorious light of the rising sun. Inside a cave, where only dim luminous stones are the only source of light. Cherry Lao slowly opens her eyes and a small smile crept on her small dainty mouth as morning is one of her most anticipated part of the day.

This is because Shin Jiao would always carry her outside the cave to help her absorb the energy revitalizing morning rays of the sun.

Every time she would think about being in his arms, she can't help but blush and become expectant of the next coming days.

She then shyly touched her face and giggled as she slowly turns to look at the side where Shin Jiao usually sleeps. However, this time, she could not see anyone there. This made her frowns and felt displeased.

Then she suddenly froze and her eyes went wide open. She felt the two soft hands on her face and a realization suddenly dawned on her. She can now move her limbs and body, although she still felt a little stiff.

Then she forced herself to sit with great difficulty. When she was able to do that Cherry Lao felt happy. Now a glimmer of hope can be seen in her eyes.

While she was still in a trance by her recovery, the stone door of the cave slowly rumbles as it opened.

Shin Jiao walks inside and then saw the woman on the bed sitting with the rough beast skin robe he made. This scene made him feel surprised and happy.

"Oh, you can sit now! That's amazing! I guess your body is almost healed." Shin Jiao excitedly walks towards the bed and sat beside her.

"Yeah, I can move my body now, but still a little stiff though. I can still feel some pains when I move. I think I still need a couple of days to be able to heal completely."

"That's good… how about spiritual energy? Can you absorb it now?"

"Wait a minute I'll try…" Cherry Lao said as she closed her eyes and feel her surroundings.

Then she opens her eyes with a dejected look and shook her head.

"No I can't, I don't know what the problem is." She said in a sad tone.

"Hey, don't feel down. I promise to help you with that problem, okay? At least now you can move." Shin Jiao tried to cheer her up.

"Shin, thank you for taking care of me all this time."

"Geez, what are you thanking me for. Aren't we're already friends, right?"

Cherry Lao suddenly bits her lower lip upon hearing his answer. She felt like there's something wrong with her, as she felt a little frustrated and angered by what she heard from him.

The following days, Shin Jiao spends his time helping her regain her movements slowly by assisting her in walking.

He also improves the way he makes clothes using the beast's skin as they now feel and looks like proper robes.

And then another week has passed...

Cherry Lao can now move around the cave without assistance. Although she still can't absorb spiritual energies, at least she can now walk by herself and help with the chores. Then she discovered some weird things inside the cave that she saw Shin Jiao would use.

Like the metal box with two holes at the top which he uses to cook food. Only with a twist of a knob, she can already control the heat without using her own energy. And then there is that cool air coming from somewhere which made the cave smell and always feel fresh. But what she likes the most is the one he called, the bathtub.

Whenever she takes a bath she can choose the temperature of the water which makes her feel relaxed and comfortable.

These amazing things made her a little curious about who he really is.

...

Today, outside the cave which is full of danger, a shadow is traveling through the forest by jumping from tree to tree.

Shin Jiao is moving like a specter wearing weird black goggles, black coat, and black pants with a side holster holding a Glock 17-like handgun. Then a dark wakizashi blade is strapped on his back while he wore military-grade boots on his feet with some strange runes in it.

These are some of the equipment that he crafted combining his modern knowledge and the crafting method of Gubu.

As he swiftly moves through the forest he can feel the effect of his equipment. First is the goggles, which can detect spiritual signatures, have night and heat vision, and can zoom in and out for about 3 kilometers. This idea is actually not originally his, but of Gubu. He just modified the blueprint he found inside the ring and made it smaller hence it becomes the goggles he is wearing now.

The second is the boots which can improve his agility and speed by 3 times his normal speed through the use of runes and a beast core on each boot.

With the equipment, he is confident that he would be able to protect himself and survive in the dangerous forest. 

While he was going through the forest trying to test his newly crafted artifacts a loud roar interrupted him.

Not too far from him is a tall cliff, is a giant monkey-like creature that suddenly plummeted to the ground. Its body is full of wounds with blood spraying everywhere as it fell.

Then he saw the creature smashed into a pulp on the rocky side of the cliff.

He first observes the surroundings as Shin Jiao is afraid of encountering another beast who might be stronger than the giant monkey. And Judging from the appearance of the monkey it is a 3rd level beast that Shin Jiao could not face head-on.

After some time, as no other creature appear. Shin Jiao decided to approach the carcass of the giant monkey. He then quickly store it in his ring and ran as fast as he could.

Using his goggles he suddenly detected a giant snake's energy signature at the top of the cliff.

Shin Jiao's heart began to beat faster as the creature he just saw is actually stronger. So he decided to just run back while checking his surroundings to prevent himself from being followed. Since his goggles have an X-ray vision like function he can prevent himself from facing other beasts as he retreated.

Not long later, he was able to reach the cave and breathe a long sigh of relief. Before entering, he hid all his equipment in his ring.

Upon entering, the first thing he notices is the beautiful figure of Cherry Lao who is focused on cultivating while sitting on the bed.

Suddenly, this made Shin Jiao smile as he can feel a small fluctuation of energy around her body. Although not that strong the energy is there, and that is the first time he felt Qi.. This then gave him an idea of what to do next for his cultivation.