The woman standing before Chu Feng looked quite young — judging by her appearance, she was probably not yet twenty. Calling her a girl wouldn't be an overstatement.
As for her looks, she wasn't some heavenly beauty, but she was certainly a pretty girl. With fair skin and clear eyes, she carried a purity about her that was rare to see in others.
However, what truly shocked Chu Feng had nothing to do with her appearance — it was the token hanging at her waist.
The Gong Clan Heavenly Clan. This woman was a member of the Gong Clan Heavenly Clan.
The Gong Clan Heavenly Clan — Chu Feng had encountered them shortly after arriving in the Nine Dragons Upper Realm.
The juniors of the Gong Clan had been arrogant and overbearing, which had left a rather poor impression on Chu Feng. But what had stuck in his memory so deeply wasn't those juniors — it was something else entirely.
From the clan master of the Wuma Heavenly Clan, Chu Feng had learned that there was a woman in the Gong Clan named Gong Mingyue, who was bound to him by an engagement.
Of course, speaking of this engagement, it was somewhat laughable. It had been casually arranged by the Chu Clan Heavenly Clan master during Chu Feng's father's absence, and the Chu Clan master had made similar engagements with many families. Gong Mingyue of the Gong Clan was merely one among them.
Though the engagement was more of a joke than anything serious, it had nonetheless left Chu Feng with a deep impression of the Gong Clan.
"What are you looking at?"
Seeing Chu Feng staring fixedly at the token at her waist with a contemplative expression, the woman furrowed her brow.
"Nothing. Thank you for pulling me out of the lake." Chu Feng cupped his fists in gratitude, then turned to leave.
A chance encounter was all this was, and Chu Feng had no desire to have any further dealings with the woman — not even because of the Gong Clan Heavenly Clan.
"Squeak squeak!"
But just then, a series of strange cries rang out from within the woman's arms.
Chu Feng turned back to look and saw the woman pull an object from inside her garment.
It looked like a small hedgehog — not only was it covered in spines, its appearance was strikingly similar to one as well.
However, it was entirely golden, and it wasn't just covered in spines — its offensive power was formidable. This was no ordinary hedgehog, but rather some kind of special creature.
What's more, this creature possessed remarkable spiritual awareness, otherwise it couldn't have been covered in highly dangerous spines without injuring the woman.
And at this moment, this creature looked extremely weak — it was sick.
"It's ill," Chu Feng said.
"You can tell?" The woman was visibly surprised.
"Why haven't you treated it?" Chu Feng asked.
"I have, but it's very difficult to heal. Apparently, no one can cure it other than a Saint Robe Spirit World Master."
"I heard that there was a Saint Robe Spirit World Master at Ice Summit Peak, so I was planning to bring it there for treatment. But when I arrived, all the Saint Robe Spirit World Masters had already left. I heard the great formation at Ice Summit Peak had been broken too, and the Nine Dragons Saint Robe left behind by the Spirit World Immortal King had been taken by someone."
"In the end, the whole trip was for nothing. I don't know how much longer my Little Thorn can hold on."
As she spoke, the woman gazed at the hedgehog in her arms with a pained expression, carefully stroking it as though trying to comfort it.
"Who said only a Saint Robe Spirit World Master can cure it? An Immortal Robe level would clearly be enough," Chu Feng said.
"Stop talking nonsense. I already had a Venerable Robe Spirit World Master examine it, and even he said it couldn't be healed. That's why I went looking for a Saint Robe Spirit World Master," the woman said.
"That just means the Venerable Robe Spirit World Master you found wasn't skilled enough," Chu Feng said.