Chapter 52: Chapter 52
The rain was still pouring heavily, but they were able to find a cave in the mountain.
Arriving, Lin Xu immediately sat down on a small rock as Mo Ying sat opposite her.
Before them were some burnt woods and dry leaves. "Looks like some people have stayed in here."
"Hmm... it does!"
Mo Ying picked up two rocks lying by the wall and struck them together. After a few tries, sparks caught onto the dry grass he had gathered, and soon a small fire flickered to life.
Lin Xu moved closer, holding out her hands to the flames. "Finally... warmth," she muttered with a sigh of relief.
Her hair clung to her face and neck, wet strands glistening in the firelight. The water dripping from her clothes traced lines across her figure, making her look both fragile and striking.
Mo Ying’s eyes lingered on her for a moment. He quickly shifted his gaze, but the image of her soaked, delicate form stayed in his mind.
Lin Xu glanced at him, catching the stiffness in his posture. She smirked faintly, leaning closer to the fire. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"
Mo Ying shook his head, his voice low. "Nothing... just making sure you’re not too cold."
A thought then crossed his mind. "Lin Xu, take off your clothes!"
"Huh?" Lin Xu said, taken aback.
Immediately using her hands to cover herself, she said, annoyed, "Don’t tell me you want me to repay you for saving my life with my body... Mo Ying, you’re such a pervert!"
"W-wha-what? Why the hell would that even cross your mind?" He was completely taken aback by her words.
"If that’s not what you want, then why do you want me to take my clothes off, huh?"
"Oh c’mon, I just wanted you to take your outer robe off so you can dry it by the fire unless you’ll catch a cold. And anyway, even if I wanted to do something to you... why the hell would I do it here! IN A CAVE!"
Lin Xu laughed nervously and slowly slipped off her soaked outer robe, wringing the water from it before laying it near the fire. She rubbed her arms, shivering slightly.
Mo Ying noticed, and without a word, shrugged off his own dry outer coat. He had used an umbrella to find her, so his own clothes weren’t that wet.
He leaned forward and draped it gently over her shoulders.
Lin Xu blinked at him in surprise. "You... aren’t you cold?"
"I’ll be fine," Mo Ying said firmly, settling back opposite her. "Better me than you."
Lin Xu lowered her gaze, fingers brushing the edge of the coat. For a moment, the usual teasing words she might throw at him refused to come. She simply muttered, "...Thanks."
Lin Xu leaned closer to the flames, the warmth slowly reaching her skin. Her eyes flickered toward Mo Ying again. "Hey... earlier... when you shouted for me... you really thought you wouldn’t see me again, didn’t you?"
Mo Ying’s jaw tightened. He didn’t answer right away, staring into the fire instead. Finally, in a low voice, he said, "I did."
Lin Xu’s smirk faded, her expression softening. She hugged his coat tighter around her body, the warmth now more than just from the fire.
"How did you even get stuck in that hole?" he finally asked as Lin Xu then stood and explained everything that had happened, from heading back to the tent to getting hit on the head and being dragged and thrown into the hole.
"There’s only one person I can think of who would want you hurt." He muttered as they both faced each other and said in unison,
"Lu Fei!"
"Sigh! She’s so bad at hurting people... doesn’t she know that we would end up coming to look for you? Keeping you in a hole wasn’t enough." He said mischievously as Lin Xu pouted.
"So you wanted her to finish me off, huh?"
He smiled, "Well... maybe!"
Hearing that, Lin Xu took hold of a small stone and threw it at him. He didn’t dodge.
"Ah!"
Lin Xu burst out laughing. "Serves you right! She must have thought the wild animals would have come after me, but she isn’t aware that due to the rain, most wild animals would have gone somewhere safe."
She said as he shook his head slightly.
"What about the others? Didn’t they come looking for me?" The thought crossed Lin Xu’s mind since Mo Ying was the only one who looked for her.
"They did, but the rain started and it was heavy, so they left... they were going to keep searching after the rain stopped." He explained.
"But you still kept searching... why?" she asked as she stared at him.
"W-well, that’s because I promised the kids to find you... if I had returned, I would have broken my promise to them."
"I see..." Lin Xu nodded. "Well, that’s good, I guess!"
"Hmm."
The atmosphere between them was strange, maybe because there was a slight feeling of disappointment in Lin Xu’s words.
Some hours later, the rain stopped falling so hard and became lighter... soon it would stop completely.
Lin Xu rested her head on the wall behind her and dozed off while Mo Ying just stared at her, his eyes not leaving hers for a second.
Just then, a faint rustle echoed from the corner of the cave. A slender green snake slithered silently across the damp ground, its beady eyes fixed on Lin Xu. It crept closer and closer, tongue flicking, ready to strike.
In a flash, Mo Ying’s hand shot out, grabbing the snake by its neck.
Hisss!
But he wasn’t fast enough. The snake’s fangs sank into his hand before he could crush it.
"Mo Ying!" Lin Xu’s eyes snapped open at the sound. She gasped when she saw him holding the writhing serpent.
With a swift, brutal motion, Mo Ying twisted and snapped the snake’s head clean off, tossing the body aside. But his face had already gone pale, his hand swelling where the bite had pierced his skin.
"Damn it..." he muttered through gritted teeth, his body swaying.
"Mo Ying!" Lin Xu scrambled toward him just as his strength gave out. He collapsed forward, his weight falling against her.
She caught him, panic flooding her chest. "No, no, no... Mo Ying!"
She gripped his shoulders. "You idiot! Why did you block it with your hand instead of just notifying me!?"
Mo Ying’s breathing grew heavy, his forehead pressing against her shoulder as he whispered faintly, "Better me than you... Lin Xu..."
"Shut up!" she snapped, her eyes stinging.
She laid him down carefully, her mind racing as she looked at the ugly bite swelling on his hand. The veins around it were already darkening, spreading fast.
"Susu!" she shouted desperately.
The system flickered into view.
[ Host, this is bad. That snake’s venom is strong. If you don’t do something immediately, he won’t last long. ]
Lin Xu’s heart pounded. "Then tell me what to do! Quick!"