Ethan went toward the cat and took it into his arms.
"Little guy, you seem to have suffered greatly. Will you let me heal you?"
Ethan gave a light smile and activated his healing skill on it.
Within 30 seconds, the cat returned to its peak condition.
Its fur, which had fallen off and made it almost bald, grew back again. Its body seemed to have been poisoned, probably from eating something toxic earlier.
Now it was a properly healthy kitten. It had fluffy white fur and sapphire-blue eyes. It looked super cute.
Ethan put it down.
"Go on, little one. Have a good life."
He started walking away, but then he felt something following him.
He looked behindâit was the fluffy kitten he had just saved. It was following him with its little paws. As Ethan stopped, it also stopped and looked at him, tilting its head slightly.
"You want to come with me?" Ethan went to it and took it into his arms.
It even licked his hands a bit.
"Hahahaha. Okay, from today onward, you are my partner. Your name shall be Blue."
The cat didnât do anything. It just went to sleep in his arms.
Ethanâs task in the town was completed, so he went near the gate of the town and started waiting for everyone to finish their work.
He cultivated another session.
Now his power reached 40 mammoths. After a while, Blue woke up and mewed at him.
"Are you hungry? Me too. Letâs grab some food."
Ethan went to a nearby restaurant and ordered a lot of food with meat.
Ethan was surprised to see that the kitten could eat a lot.
Soon they finished their food. Its small belly now looked like that of a pregnant cat.
When he came out of the restaurant, Garold and the others also arrived there.
"Ethan, did you find anything important here?"
"Yeah, Iâve finished my task here. What about you guys?"
"Yes, weâre done. Have you eaten? Or else come with usâweâre going to that restaurant."
Ethan shook his head.
"Iâve just eaten. You guys go. Iâll wait in the carriage."
"Alright then," they said, and went to eat.
After eating, they started their return journey. They couldnât stay in the town, as most of the strong men from the village were there. If the village was attacked by bandits, it would be a disaster.
Two hours later, it was already dark. They needed to light up torches to see the path ahead.
Ethanâs senses were very sharp now that he was so strong.
"Garold, we have company. Tell everyone to be prepared."
Garold was surprised.
"You saw them too? Boy, youâre very sharp. Arenât you afraid?"
Ethan smiled a little. "Whatâs there to fear? My grandpa always told meâa man should only fear the Creator and himself. Everything else doesnât matter. No need to waste your time fearing others."
"Your grandpa must have been a great man. Okay, donât worry. Nothing will happen."
But suddenly their carriages stopped.
"Hey Sam, what happened? Why have you stopped the carriage?"
"The road is blocked, Garold. Weâll have to confront those motherfuckers head-on," Sam said loudly, then jumped off the carriage.
"Come on, you bastards! Face your daddy!" He was the bravest among them all.
Everyone came out of the carriage and took their battle positions.
"Donât come out, okay? Weâll handle everything," Garold warned Ethan before he also went down.
Ethan, however, looked at the bandits coldly. He could sense there were at least a hundred of them hiding. There was no way the villagers could face them.
With 40-mammoth-level strength, he could run like lightning. Those bandits wouldnât be a match for him.
The villagers had shown him great kindness. He wouldnât let anything happen to them, even if he had to blow his cover.
The bandits came out from the bushesâabout 30 of themâand engaged the villagers in battle.
Ethan immediately took out the sword he had bought for Rey from his ring and vanished from the carriage.
Like a lightning beast, he attacked those who were hiding, waiting to ambush.
"Ahh! Who are you, bastard? How dare you interfere in the Rhino Gangâs business?"
Someone roared, but then he was silenced forever. Ethan didnât know any sword technique, but swinging it like a novice was enough to kill those punks.
He didnât feel any regret killing humans. Maybe it was because he had seen the harsh reality of the worldâor maybe he was just born this way.
He killed the remaining seventy in no time and returned to the carriage.
No one saw him, as they were busy fighting their own battle.
The villagers were really powerful. They soon gained control and killed every bandit. Sparing them would only bring disaster.
"Why do I feel there were more bandits too?" Sam voiced his doubt.
"Donât waste time. Leave the area. Monsters will come here soon, drawn by the scent of blood."
After clearing the block, they hurriedly got into the carriage and left the area.
"You guys are really strong. Except I saw big brother Dan crying in a corner."
"Shut your damn mouth, you bastard! I wasnât crying,it was just something that entered my eyes."
"Yes, yes, I believe you," Ethan said in a mocking tone.
Everyone laughed out loudly.
The tension in the air eased a bit.
"Kid, youâre really brave. Even after seeing so much blood, youâre not shaken. I like your spirit," Sam said from outside.
"Thank you, brother Sam, the bravest man in our group."
"Cough, cough... Kid, youâre very good. Meet me tomorrow,Iâll give you some of my special cooked food." Sam felt immensely happy.
Everyone felt grateful for having Ethan among them.
They started talking to him about different matters.
Around 10 p.m., they entered the village.
As soon as they arrived, they saw a little boy waiting at the village gate.
Ethan came out from the carriage. Rey ran to him, his face full of worry.
"Ethan, why didnât you tell me before leaving the village?"
Ethan saw his worried face and tussled his hair.
"Whatâs up, champ? Have you finished your training? Letâs go home. I have a gift for you."
Rey was like his little brotherâhe admired and loved his big brother dearly.
After arriving home, Ethan brought out the sword. He had already cleaned the blood off it.
"I bought this sword for you. From now on, practice well."
At that time, Blue came out from his clothes and looked at Rey.
"Mew."
"Where did you get it?"
"His name is Blue. I found him in the town. Heâll stay with me from now on."
"Okay. Go sleep."
Three months passed by.
A white cat was licking Ethanâs face.
"What are you doing, Blue? Let me sleep a little more." But he still woke up.
Blue had turned into a healthy big cat now. He was very fluffy. Ethan would always take him into his arms before sleeping. He didnât feel good if he didnât do that.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I need to take Rey to the city today. The sect recruitment will be in a few days."
So he went out. Rey was practicing with the black sword. He was very proficient with it. His body had grown muscular, and he had turned into a handsome young man.
"Good! You have around one-mammoth-level strength right now. You should be okay out there. Get ready. Weâll leave in a while."
Rey stopped his practice session, then went to freshen up.
After that, Ethan and Rey went outside the house.
The villagers came to say goodbye to them.
"Rey, youâll do great. Just do your best," Garold said, giving him a hug.
Rey felt very emotional. He had grown attached to the villagers in these few months, and if he got into the sect, he wouldnât be able to come back anytime soon.
But most of them were looking at Ethan with respect rather than affection.
Ethan had been using his healing talent on them.
He treated them for a very cheap price, and now every villager was as healthy as they could be. He even got a titleâ
"Sage Doctor."
Though it was just a fun name given by the kids, the villagers also started calling him that. They even built a house for him beside the lake.
Ethan had become a respected person in just a few months even though he was kid, no one dared to treat him that way.
Ethan also bought a carriage from the town and two horses.
"Okay, letâs leave."
Sabro didnât come with them. He left the village a month ago, saying he had something important to do.
The carriage driver was none other than Dan. He had become Ethanâs personal lackey.
"Big brother Dan, let the carriage run."
Ethan had all the information he needed about the city. He got it from Sabro.
This was the first time Rey was leaving the village after coming here.
"I now have 20,000-mammoth-level strength. We should be fine in the city."