Chapter 158
As her body tumbled, a wave of dizziness violently hit her, giving birth to a strong feeling of nausea. In the midst of her fall, a shadow jumped down from above, caught her and firmly held her sore and painful body in his embrace, protecting her as their entangled bodies continued to roll down the steep slope without decelerating. As they continued their course to the bottom, Ji Yunshu could feel that the person holding her was doing everything possible to protect her from harm.
Then, she heard a faint whisper. “I won’t let you leave me again!” A warm breath lingered on her ears as she was lulled into unconsciousness, overcome by a feeling of weakness.
…… ……….
Who knew how long she lost consciousness. But her painful wakeup made her less concern about it. She raised her hand and massaged her temples while groaning in pain. She blinked and assessed the situation she was in.
A fire fiercely burnt in front of her with embers flying out with a crackling sound like a popcorn. The fire illuminated the small and dark cave. She surrounded by walls of stone formed a towering semi-circular arc from which ivy climbed on. On the ivy’s leaves, humidity gathered into the tiny pool of dew from where water slowly dripped down.
Pit-pat! Pit-pat!
The rhythmical cadence of the dripping water broke the quietude of the cave like a musical note bouncing beautifully in the ears.
Ji Yunshu stretched her neck. The cloth covering her slid down from her movement.
“Are you awake?” Jing Rong asked in worry.
She glanced at him and saw that he was leaning his back on a rock and dressed in white inner cloth. His eyes were closed and his head lowered. One of his long legs was bent and a hand was weakly resting on his knee. The other leg was stretched out.
Despite the distance separating them, and due to his lowered his head, Ji Yunshu was able to see the numerous wounds covering his face. Wounds made by the scratching branches and blood left by them were glaringly obvious to her sight as it was left untreated.
“Are you injured?” She reached out for his face at the same time the question left her lips. Her fingertips almost brushed Jing Rong’s face, but at the last moment, he raised his hand and stopped her.
“I’m fine.” A feeble voice came out.
“But your face…”
“It’s just small injuries.”
Jing Rong took advantage of that moment to use his hand to wrap Ji Yunshu’s cold, small hand. Then, he wearily opened his eyes and looked at her. After a long moment, he finally broke the silence. “In the future, please don’t do that again.” His voice echoed inside the cave, pounding straight into Ji Yunshu’s heart.
She remained silent while her heart was fiercely throbbing as if it wanted to jump out of her chest and her throat felt squeeze.
“Urgh!” Without warning, Jing Rong clutched his chest. His eyebrows heavily frowned in pain as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Ji Yunshu’s expression tensed. She immediately glanced at Jing Rong’s chest, and saw the white cloth gradually dyed into crimson blood and oozing out from between his fingers. “Let me see!” Ji Yunshu bounced up and crouched in front of him. She was readied to examine the wound on his chest.
“I’m fine.”
“How can you be fine with this much bleeding.” She pushed away his hands overbearingly, yet she was careful when pulling off his cloth, revealing wheat color skin and a muscular and powerful chest, completed with a six pack.
‘This man’s build is truly attractive!’ Ji Yunshu stripped him of all his layers of clothes without noticing the faint smile blooming on Jing Rong’s pale face. It was a smile that couldn’t be described in words.
Her attention was solely concentrated on his wounds and nothing else. From her examination, she saw fragments of wood still attached on the wound while blood continuously flowed out from the hole. “You were stabbed by the branches and the wound is quite deep. What’s more, there are fragments of wood left inside. I’ll help you clean your wound before it gets infected.”
“It’s not painful.” He spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Don’t try to act brave in front of me.” She bluntly exposed his lies.
Jing Rong’s smile became more brilliant. His wound was painful, but Ji Yunshu’s concern was like a panacea for him, reducing his pain with mere words.
Ji Yunshu looked up and coincidentally met Jing Rong’s weary eyes. The smile on his face reflected into her eyes. “At a time like this, you still have the energy to smile?!”
“Yunshu.” He called her name.
“Hmm?”
“If getting injuries can make you worry about me, then, every day, I wouldn’t mind getting…” Ji Yunshu didn’t let him finish his phrase as she covered his mouth and reprimanded him. “You’re not allowed to say such things.”
Jing Rong was looking at her, but when he heard her words, his eyes instantly curved from happiness like two flowers blooming. This cause Ji Yunshu to feel hot at the sight of it. She had to admit that his tired expression, yet filled to the brim with love, made him oozed out pheromone.
Ji Yunshu moved away her sight in haste and said, “I’ll go find some medicinal herbs.” When she got up, her hand which covered Jing Rong’s lips moved away, but the next instant, he grabbed it.
“Don’t go.” Anxiety could be heard in his tone.
“I’m only going to search for medicinal herbs and I’ll be back soon.”
“It’s dark outside, don’t…”
“We need to treat your wounds or there will be complications. You got injured to save me, so I can’t watch you like this without doing anything.” She freed her hand and concealed it under her sleeve before resolutely leaving the cave.
Jing Rong wanted to follow her, but his body refused to obey him. In fact, his body was riddled with wounds by protecting Ji Yunshu as they tumbled down the steep slope. Afterwards, he held on by sheer willpower until he brought Ji Yunshu into this cave. He was planning to stubbornly push his body until Lang Po found them. If only the wound on his chest wasn’t this painful.
He tightly clenched his fists and slumped on the stone ground. He laboriously tried to prop up his heavy body. And, once again, he forcefully tried to move. The effort caused his veins to bulge, seemingly on the verge of bursting. But he was still unable to move a single step. He weakly slid back on the ground, remaining in a sitting position while staring at the cave entrance. His mind was restless while worries gnawed away at his heart. His mind became more frenzy as time ticked slowly.
Finally, he saw a slender silhouette gradually approaching. It was hobbling while clutching a pile of firewood under one arm, and carefully holding a bamboo tube and herbs with the other.
After throwing the pile of firewood in the fire, She quickly approached Jing Rong. Her brows were still covered in sweat.
“I found eight devil’s son herbs and collected some dew. It will hurt a bit when I apply the medicine, so please bear with it.”
When he confirmed that she came back safe and sound, Jing Rong finally relaxed. “I… thought…” He couldn’t finish his words as his eyelids heavily drooped and he fell on Ji Yunshu.
“Jing Rong?” It was the first time Ji Yunshu called him by his name.