Gu Youyou sat on the rock at the mouth of the cave for an entire afternoon, and as the sun set behind the mountains, Jin Zijin finally returned.
He looked very dejected, his lips chapped and his complexion flushed. His walk was somewhat erratic; he appeared to be in great pain.
Seeing him in such a rundown state, all of her afternoon resentment towards him vanished in an instant.
Gu Youyou quickly got to her feet, steadying his faltering form.
Jin Zijin seemed to be running on his last breath to make it back to the cave, and as soon as Gu Youyou supported him, the last string of tension snapped, and he collapsed onto her.
Gu Youyou's slight frame could hardly support Jin Zijin's tall and burly figure, and unsteady, they both toppled to the ground.
The ground was littered with small stones and tree branches. Gu Youyou felt a piercing pain in her hand, and upon lifting it, she saw a striking wound on the outside of her thumb, caused by a tree branch.