Chapter 53: Chapter 53
Panicking, Lin Xu summoned Susu, "Susu, what do I do... he’s been poisoned, I have to save him."
[ Host! To stop the venom you have to suck it out and spit it, then use a cloth to tie it tightly so it won’t spread further. ] Susu instructed.
Lin Xu’s hands trembled. She looked at Mo Ying’s pale face, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. Without wasting another second, she leaned down and pressed her lips to the swollen bite.
She sucked hard, the bitter, metallic taste of blood and venom filling her mouth. Quickly, she spat it onto the ground, wiping her lips with the back of her hand before repeating the process again and again.
Mo Ying groaned weakly, his body twitching as the venom burned through him.
"Stay with me, Mo Ying!" Lin Xu cried, her voice breaking. She continued until she was sure she had drawn out as much as she could. Then, tearing a strip from her already damp robe, she wrapped it tightly around his arm just above the wound.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tied the knot, her fingers shaky but firm.
She pressed her forehead against his for a moment, whispering, "Don’t you dare leave me..."
Facing Susu, she said, "Susu, I want to activate the herb identifier."
[ Affirmative, Host! ]
A faint golden glow flickered before her eyes, symbols forming as her vision sharpened. Every patch of moss, every sprout of grass, every leaf inside the cave lit up with tiny labels hovering above them.
Her gaze darted frantically, scanning through the words until one caught her attention.
[ Green Vein Grass – slows down snake venom if applied immediately. ]
"There!" Lin Xu gasped, scrambling toward the far corner of the cave. She yanked the plant from the damp soil, crushing the leaves between her fingers until the juices oozed out.
She hurried back to Mo Ying, her knees hitting the rough ground. Carefully, she pressed the paste over the bite wound, watching as the dark veins around it seemed to slow their spread.
Mo Ying’s breathing eased slightly, though his face was still pale and drenched with sweat.
Lin Xu brushed his damp hair back from his forehead, her own eyes red with worry. "You reckless fool..." she muttered, her voice trembling. "Don’t scare me like this again."
After some time the rain finally stopped and so Lin Xu scattered the burning wood and placed Mo Ying’s arm over her shoulder as she dragged him out of the cave and back to the mountain.
It wasn’t easy; his heavy weight and the cold temperature made her shiver, but she pushed through and after one hour, they made it back to the village.
"Lin Xu!" Zu Shi was the first to catch sight of them as she ran towards them at huge speed.
The other villagers, including Chief Yan and his family who were busy getting ready to go find Lin Xu, stopped what they were doing and ran to them.
"Lin Xu, what happened?" Zu Shi went towards them as she pulled Mo Ying on the other arm and the both of them dragged him to the tent.
"H-he was bitten by a snake... he needs to be checked!" Lin Xu said, her voice cracking in between sentences.
"Physician Li!" Fuhan immediately ran to call him as Yan Mei went into the tent to bring two blankets while Lin Xu was literally shivering.
"Lin Xu, thank goodness you’re safe... what happened to you.. where did you go?" Madame Yan asked worriedly as Yan Mei arrived with the blanket and covered Lin Xu and Mo Ying with it.
The villagers all gathered, concerned but relieved that she was back safely.
"It’s a long story, I’ll explain later.. right now we just have to focus on treating Mo Ying, cough!"
Just then, Physician Li arrived and immediately checked Mo Ying’s pulse.
"What happened to him?"
"He was bitten by a snake." Lin Xu immediately responded.
"His breathing is steady.. looks like the poison is almost flushed out, what did you do?"
"Well I just sucked out the poison and applied some green vein grass..."
Surprised, Physician Li flashed Lin Xu a confused gaze, "How did you—sigh!"
Standing up, he instructed, "Let’s get him into the tent.. I have to completely detoxify him first."
They all nodded as Fuhan and some other village men helped carry Mo Ying into the tent.
"Lin Xu, here.. have some water." Yan Mei handed her some water while Zu Shi covered her with another blanket.
"What exactly happened, Lin Xu?"
Hesitating, Lin Xu then revealed, "It was Lu Fei!"
"What!?"
"I should have known! That wench, I’ll best her to death.." Yan Mei stood up ready to march towards her but Lin Xu stopped her.
"Yan Mei, stop!"
"But why?"
"What do you mean why?" Zu Shi scolded, "Lin Xu probably doesn’t have any evidence against her. If she just goes and starts accusing her, she would just deny it with a fake cry and anyway, she’s Big Man Lou’s wife. Even if he doesn’t love her, turning on her is turning on his image.. he would totally protect her."
"Ohh!" Yan Mei sat back down, "So what are we going to do then? We can’t just let her go scot-free without teaching her a lesson."
Smiling, Zu Shi said, "If it has to do with teaching her a lesson.. I have one or two ideas to share."
Lin Xu and Yan Mei faced her.
"While we were looking for Lin Xu earlier today, I overheard some noise coming from behind a tree."
"Noise? What type of noise?"
"Pleasure noises.. and when I peeked closer to look, I found Lu Fei having sex with someone and guess what.. that someone wasn’t Big Man Lou at all."
Yan Mei gasped, "So she’s a wench and a cheat!"
Zu Shi nodded as she smiled, facing Lin Xu she reassured, "Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to teach her a lesson."