Chapter 32 [VIP] The Jianghu Saga (13)

Chapter 32 [VIP] The Jianghu Saga (13)

"Your beloved has run off with another man. As a man, don't you feel the slightest bit of anger or sadness? Why aren't you thinking about getting her back?"

Nanyan forcefully pushed his shoulder, ready to discard him after venting, without a hint of hesitation.

Perhaps having vented enough, her sadness gradually subsided, and she was no longer as impulsive as before.

Yet, the words she uttered were still infuriatingly sharp.

Xiao Guanxue coldly glanced at her and said, "I am not like you. As long as she is happy, even if she's not with me, it's fine."

Nanyan gave him a sideways look, seemingly having anticipated his response, yet she couldn't help but sarcastically remark, "Ah, the great doctor is truly magnanimous."

Xiao Guanxue frowned slightly but remained indifferent, accustomed to her mockery.

In truth, he was somewhat puzzled himself; he thought he would be deeply saddened, but upon witnessing that scene, he didn't feel as desolate as he had expected.

Instead, he felt a sense of 'it was bound to happen' inevitability. Perhaps he had already foreseen such a day, so the grief wasn't as profound as he imagined.

Besides, most of his attention was on the woman crying as if unaware of the world around her. Where did he have the time and energy to ponder other matters? He just wondered how she could cry so loudly. Didn’t her throat hurt? Wasn't she afraid of attracting wolves?

Speaking of attracting wolves, he remembered their purpose for this journey. If they delayed any further, the poisoned villagers wouldn’t be able to hold on.

He pondered how to broach the subject, looking at Gu Nanyan, still weeping and wailing in her melancholy, and thought about knocking her out and sending her back. Wouldn't it be less troublesome to search for the antidote alone?

As he contemplated this, Nanyan finally seemed to regain her composure.

She wiped away her tears, her eyes still slightly red. Xiao Guanxue, seeing this, timely offered a white handkerchief, but Nanyan just glanced at him, ignored it, and walked away.

What was the point of offering it now, after she had finished crying? Such an insensitive man.

Xiao Guanxue didn't mind, just slightly furrowed his brow, wondering what he had done to upset her this time. Truly, she was a woman of unpredictable moods and a great hassle.

Nanyan had walked some distance before realizing the man behind her hadn’t followed. Annoyed, she turned and snapped, "What are you dawdling for? Do you want to spend the night in the forest after sunset? If we don’t find the antidote soon, those people will be doomed."

At her words, Xiao Guanxue snapped back to reality. The thought that he had been lost in his thoughts over her gaze irked and puzzled him.

Since when had he become so concerned about her actions? Had he become too accustomed to her bullying, unable to adjust anymore?

It was extremely bizarre.

Xiao Guanxue didn’t respond immediately and, seeing her disdainful expression, had no choice but to silently follow her slender figure.

Nanyan, of course, noticed the unusual behavior of Doctor Xiao since entering the forest. His glances alternated between disdain and sympathy, as if she wouldn't notice.

The two traveled forward, probably due to their foul moods, without much interaction.

However, they soon realized they were in trouble, as unfamiliarity with the area had led them astray.

With evening approaching, they decided to find a cave to rest for the night and search for the way out the next day.

But as luck would have it, just as they circled back to their starting point, they heard a wolf howling nearby.

A grey figure swiftly moved through the deep forest, stirring a fishy breeze. The hungry wolf, having sensed the presence of humans, was quickly closing in on them.

Xiao Guanxue tensed up, keenly alert to the sounds around them.

Nanyan, frightened, instinctively moved closer to him and grabbed his hand.

The delicate and soft touch against his palm startled Xiao Guanxue. Glancing down, he caught sight of the young lady's pale face.

He felt it inappropriate to take advantage of his hand being held, but Xiao Guanxue said nothing, instead stepping back, attempting to withdraw his hand.

This move, far from freeing his hand, only made her grip tighter. Xiao Guanxue, somewhat helpless, simply said:

"…Let go."

"I can't, I'm scared."

Nanyan held on tightly, as if afraid he would leave her behind, her grip unyielding.

His fingers were slender, and due to his years of practicing acupuncture, his hands were meticulously cared for, devoid of any calluses when felt by Nanyan.

This indirectly confirmed that Doctor Xiao’s martial arts skills were mediocre at best. Who knew if he would abandon her for his own safety? She had to hold on to him tightly.

Xiao Guanxue felt a ticklish sensation at his fingertips, unable to shake her off, a wave of embarrassed annoyance rising within him, even his ears felt warm, "Enough, stop touching."

Upon hearing this, Nanyan immediately stilled, "I wasn’t touching, just wondering why your hands are without calluses, unlike Brother Yu's."

Xiao Guanxue was speechless. She was touching his hand and still thinking about Xie Yu?

A peculiar irritation arose within him.

He glanced at her, thinking only she could justify taking advantage so boldly and without shame.

However, this was not the time for such considerations. Suppressing his emotions, Xiao Guanxue hurriedly led her in another direction.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t gone far before spotting another gray wolf lurking ahead.

These two wolves were the same ones that had previously attacked Sumo and had escaped, fiercer and more imposing than ordinary wolves, their bloodlust intensified after several days.

The leading wolf pounced towards them, the foul wind hitting their faces, causing Xiao Guanxue to abruptly halt, still gripping Nanyan's hand.

Caught off guard, Nanyan's chin collided with Xiao Guanxue's shoulder. Before she could even cry out in pain, she heard him urgently ask, “No time to lose, can you climb a tree?”

“Climb a tree?”

Nanyan paused, recalling childhood memories of climbing trees. But the trees nearby were too thick for her to scale.

“I don’t think... I can. They’re too high for me to climb.”

After speaking, she deliberately showed a look of panic. How could she climb these bare trunks? She wasn’t a monkey.

As the two wolves drew closer, Xiao Guanxue frowned and flicked a few silver needles from his sleeve at the leading wolf. The effort proved futile, inciting rather than scaring off the wolves, making them even more aggressive.

He had intended for her to climb first, then subdue one wolf for study, but her inability to climb complicated matters.

The lead wolf, sensing Xiao Guanxue’s resilience, shifted its focus to Nanyan.

The wolves coordinated their attack, seizing the moment he reached for the needles, lunging towards Nanyan from behind.

Instinctively, Xiao Guanxue enveloped her in his arms, using his body as a shield to protect her beneath him, as the wolf’s sharp claws struck his back.

A muffled groan escaped him as the wolf's claws tore into his back, causing a gash that bled profusely, bringing cold sweat from the pain.

“Xiao Brother!”

Nanyan called out to him, then felt a sudden tightness around her waist, the sensation of weightlessness making her instinctively close her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, they were perched between the sturdy branches of a locust tree, with the hungry wolves circling restlessly below.

Recalling the recent peril, Nanyan quickly reached out to support Xiao Guanxue, noticing his increasingly pale complexion and trembling voice, “Xiao Brother, how are you? Does your back hurt?”

“Let me check your wound…”

Before she could finish, Xiao Guanxue abruptly placed his hand over hers, “Don’t move.”

Unsure of what was happening but hearing the seriousness in his voice, Nanyan immediately stayed still, still glancing at him, “What’s wrong, is there a problem...”

Before he could finish, a gust of wind whooshed past his ear.

It turned out a finger-thick black snake was coiling around a branch nearby. Its body was pitch-black, almost blending with the branch, barely visible unless looked at closely.

At that moment, the two had invaded its territory. The black snake, with a menacing posture, lunged to bite Nanyan, who was closest. Fortunately, Xiao Guanxue intervened just in time, preventing Nanyan from being bitten.

However, he wasn't so lucky himself, as the snake bit his hand. Xiao Guanxue winced in pain, then quickly grabbed the snake's vital spot and flung it away.

The incident happened so suddenly that Nanyan hadn't even reacted before the snake was thrown far away.

By the time Nanyan gathered her wits, she realized what had happened. Seeing his hand, her eyes immediately reddened with panic, "Brother Xiao, your hand… you’ve been bitten by the snake."

On his clean, fair hand was a deep snake bite, the wound area red and slightly swollen, the bleeding blood tinged with black, a clear sign of venom.

Xiao Guanxue felt darkness encroaching on his vision but still managed to say, "It's nothing…"

"How can it be nothing? The wound is turning black."

Nanyan's voice was tinged with tears, holding his hand and looking worried, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, her eyes focused, as if she had an idea. Just as she was about to lower her head to suck out the poison, she was stopped by a hand against her forehead.

"Don’t be reckless, that method won’t work."

Tears welled up in Nanyan's eyes as she clutched his hand tightly, looking at him with a mix of sadness and vulnerability, "Then what should we do? Brother Xiao, you're poisoned and badly injured, I don’t want you to die..."

If he died, the mission would be incomplete.

Xiao Guanxue, hearing her words, couldn’t help but glance at her. Normally, she wished him dead, annoyed and angry at him, but now her worry seemed genuine, stirring a subtle emotion in his heart, prompting a reassured response.

“Don’t worry, I’m a doctor…”

After speaking, he took out several silver needles from his sleeve and inserted them near the wound on his hand. A few drops of blood seeped through his fingers. Perhaps due to the severity of the injury, Xiao Guanxue felt his consciousness fading and eventually lost consciousness after administering the acupuncture.

Nanyan cried and pleaded with genuine concern, calling out to him several times. After ensuring he was unresponsive, she pushed him aside indifferently. As long as he wasn't dead, it was fine.

She assessed their situation; they were about ten feet off the ground, with two wolves circling below, unwilling to leave, effectively trapping them.

Nanyan then examined Xiao Guanxue’s wound. A deep gash on his back, where the claws had struck, was gruesome and bleeding profusely.

Thinking he couldn't die yet, she rummaged through her bag for medicine and hastily bandaged his wound, feeling slightly relieved.

They rested huddled in the tree all night until dawn the next day when Xiao Guanxue regained some consciousness.

However, his mind was still hazy, disturbed by a noisy and familiar voice incessantly bothering him, faintly tinged with sobs.

No matter how much he tried to avoid it, the voice persisted, incessantly burrowing into his mind, unbearably annoying.

“Brother Xiao, why won’t you wake up?”

“Are you going to die? From now on, I’ll listen to you and never anger you again. Please don’t die, okay?”

“Brother Xiao, please wake up…”

Was she cursing him or what, with every sentence revolving around death? It seemed like she could irritate a living person to death.

Irritated by her constant weeping, Xiao Guanxue rubbed his aching forehead, only to feel a sharp pain in his back with the slightest movement.

Sensing his movement, Nanyan immediately helped him sit up, “You’re awake, Brother Xiao.”

A surprised and joyful female voice suddenly reached his ears.

Xiao Guanxue frowned slightly, barely opening his eyes.

What he first saw was the girl's tear-reddened eyes. At that moment, the light was shining on her shoulder, her silhouette against the light with some strands of hair loosely framing her face, giving her an ethereal glow.

Her pupils were a pale hue, with dark lashes quivering, tears brimming on her flushed cheeks, and her pale face filled with worry.

Xiao Guanxue was momentarily stunned, feeling uneasy as he came to his senses. He wasn't sure if it was due to the blinding light or her beauty, which bloomed like a flower, but the more he looked at her, the faster his heart seemed to beat.

He coughed lightly, his dry throat making it difficult to speak. Xiao Guanxue could only hum softly in response, then hoarsely whispered, "…water…"

Perhaps his voice was too low, Nanyan didn't catch what he said and asked again, "Big Brother Xiao, what did you say? I didn’t hear you."

"Cough… I said…"

"You said, you said, what do you really want?"

"…water…"

Nanyan looked at him nervously, fearing he might faint again, "Who? What happened to who? Big Brother Xiao, can you speak more clearly? I don’t understand."

“……”

Sigh, he was just thirsty and wanted some water, why was it so difficult?

This spoiled and pampered young miss probably never took care of anyone in her life. Asking her to fetch water, she dawdled for so long and didn’t even understand what he was saying.

Xiao Guanxue coughed and forced himself to finish, "I said, I want to drink water, please… cough, Miss, could you hand me the water skin from the bundle? Is that clear enough?"

But after speaking, his throat hurt even more, and Xiao Guanxue couldn’t help but cough uncontrollably. Holding his chest, even his glance towards her carried a bit of disdain.

As soon as Nanyan heard this, she immediately understood. She clumsily rummaged through the bundle for the water skin and hurriedly handed it over, but just as the water skin touched his fingertips.

Nanyan's hand loosened, and the water skin fell to the ground with a "smack", landing right on the tail of a grey wolf. The two wolves circled around the locust tree a few times, showing impatience with this object that had fallen from the sky, grinding their paws against it.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, they were wordlessly locked in each other's gaze.

Xiao Guanxue: “……”

If it weren't for the young lady's pale and helpless expression, he might have suspected she was deliberately opposing him.

“You…”

Before he could voice his reproach, the young lady started crying out of guilt.

Her eyes fixed on the fallen water flask, growing more aggrieved and sorrowful, and the tears she had been holding back instantly fell.

“What should I do, I haven’t even had a drink myself.”

Xiao Guanxue: “……”

Wasn’t this the time to apologize to him first?

Xiao Guanxue, looking a bit pale, coldly observed the tearful young lady. As he watched, he realized that his anger was somehow dissipating.

Perhaps it was the sight of the clumsily bandaged wound on his hand or the anxious look in her tearful, reddened eyes when she looked at him…

The things about the young lady that had previously irked him now seemed somewhat endearing.

"Well, it seems this woman was born to be his nemesis."