Chapter 106 (2/2)

”Alright,” said Nan Xun. He walked into the woods with Jun Huang. His men trailed after them silently.

There was a path that should take them to the top of Mount Wuming, but it was clear that no one had been here for a while. Th.o.r.n.y vines hung from above at the mouth of the path, blocking their way in.

The men exchanged a look. They were unwilling to damage the land. Jun Huang knew what her priority was. She took Nan Xun's sword from him and cut down the vines with a decisive slash, making way for them to pa.s.s.

It was going to be difficult to navigate through the path. One wrong turn could cause them to get lost.

The men shared a look as they walked. They silently commended Jun Huang for having the endurance to travel through the difficult terrain. They had thought that Jun Huang was merely a frail gentleman. She couldn't possibly make it to their destination. And yet she persisted. She didn't even once fall behind them.

They walked and walked, but they couldn't find a way out of the woods. The path had led them to the middle of nowhere.

Suddenly, thunder cracked through the sky, splitting the gloomy grey of thick clouds. The falling rain obscured their view.

They were deep inside the woods. The road forward was unknown to them, and they had no way to return. They were stuck here.

There was no living places in view for them to seek refuge in. Soon, they were soaked wet from head to toe.

Jun Huang tightened her jaw and wiped away the rain on her face. ”Since we're drenched already, let us check what's over there.” She took the lead and go forward.

Nan Xun hurriedly caught up with her. He brushed branches away as he walked. The rain didn't bother him at all.

It was getting darker and darker. One could see no further than three meters away. And the rain had further decreased the visibility. It was almost impossible to even see what was right in front of you. To make things worse, there were a lot of vermins in the woods. They had to keep their eyes on not only the raod, but also on their surroundings.

Something snapped. Jun Huang looked over at Nan Xun, the muscles in her neck tightening so much it might break. She slowly breathed out when she saw that Nan Xun had simply broken a tree branch that was in their way. Her skin was covered in cold sweat. The rain caused her body temperature to drop further.

She turned back and walked forward. In her haste, she slipped and fell towards the edge of the hill. She yelped as her body pitched sideway.

Nan Xun had been watching Jun Huang. Seeing that she was about to fall off, he leaped towards her and caught her hand.

He pulled Jun Huang into his arms and s.h.i.+elded her with his body as they tumbled down.

It all happened in an instant. When the guards heard the sound and rushed to where they had been, they were nowhere to be seen. The guards hurriedly split up to search for the two of them.

Nan Xun held Jun Huang tight against his body. His one hand was on her waist, and the other was s.h.i.+elding the back of her head. He clenched his teeth as tree branches clawed open the skin of his back. Fortunately, this area of the mountain was mostly covered in soft soil. There weren't a lot of rocks. And they had not fallen from a great height. His injury wasn't severe.

Once they had landed, Jun Huang looked up at Nan Xun's face. Her heart skip a beat when she saw how close they were. She quickly pulled away and helped Nan Xun up.

”Are you alright?” she asked worriedly.

Nan Xun moved his head and elbows experimentally. He let out a relieved sigh. ”I'm fine. The cuts are shallow. My bones and tendons haven't been damaged.”

Jun Huang wasn't convinced. She circled Nan Xun to check over his body. His clothes were tattered, and his sleeves were torn by the branches. He looked like a ridiculous mess.

Jun Huang couldn't find it in herself to laugh. She leveled Nan Xun with a sharp gaze. ”Do you know how dangerous your action is? What do you expect to achieve by jumping off after me like that? You're only getting yourself hurt along with me.”

Nan Xun didn't expect Jun Huang to be so agitated. He scratched his head and awkwardly said, ”At that moment I couldn't exactly think. Besides, I couldn't possibly let you fall off on your own. I have promised to protect you.”

”To protect someone, you have to first protect yourself,” said Jun Huang. ”If you can't even save yourself, how can you save other people?”

Nan Xun didn't know what to say in response. He stopped talking. There was no use in arguing with Jun Huang.

He looked around. He couldn't tell where they were now. The trees around them were tall enough to cover the sky. Rain fell through the cracks between the leaves.

There was a cave a little away from them. Nan Xun said to Jun Huang, ”We shouldn't stay here in the rain. Let's take refuge in that cave until the rain stops. We'll talk about what to do next.”

Jun Huang nodded. She helped Nan Xun towards the cave. The soil was as soft as snow. Their footprints were clear on the ground, one set of which were lighter than the other set.

Jun Huang took a look inside when they reached the cave. It was a shallow one formed by piles of rocks, but it was more than enough to s.h.i.+eld them from the weather.

Literally means mountain without a name. ↩