Chapter 67 Fish Soup

Chapter 67: Fish Soup

When Lin Nanshu fell off the cliff, he knew deep down that this would be a narrow escape from death, as if it were a destined calamity.

He huddled alone in the cave, holed up with the dead, and at that time he thought he might end up just like those corpses.

Dying silently in that unnoticed corner, rotting away, maggots crawling all over.

Or being devoured by wild beasts in the mountains, just half a skull left behind.

But now he realized that perhaps those weren’t the real trials, and his real nightmare was just starting.

Like a bottomless, impossible chasm, he was trapped deep within it, vines strangling him till he died, no way out.

The smell hit Lin Nanshu, making his head spin, and he instinctively tried to look away.

But before he could move, the hand on his waist slowly shifted upward, gently cupping his head and giving it a reassuring pat.

The two guys were booking it their way, drawing closer and closer, and Cheng Ge’s throat bobbed nervously.

When they were only ten meters away, Cheng Ge held his breath, his grip on the sword hilt tightening gradually, giving off a mean vibe.

Lin Nanshu dared not make a sound, their bodies practically glued together.

Their hearts pounded like drums, loud and almost in sync.

Right as the two were about to bolt past, one of them seemed to sense something and abruptly stopped.

His gaze suddenly locked with Cheng Ge’s, and Lin Nanshu’s heart jumped into his throat; he felt Cheng Ge tense up too.

The guy’s eyes stayed on them for a sec, and just as Cheng Ge thought they would be exposed,

the two quickly veered off and ran toward the other side of the woods, their pursuers hot on their heels.

A strand of black hair fell, brushing his eyelid, making it itch.

He instinctively arched his back, trying to dodge it.

Feeling Lin Nanshu shift, Cheng Ge looked down at him and whispered, “Don’t move. Just wait a bit longer.”

The warm breath hit Lin Nanshu’s ear, making him shiver.

His eyes somehow landed on Cheng Ge’s half-open lips, but just a glance, then he quickly looked down.

After a bit, sure the group wasn’t coming back, Cheng Ge slowly let go of Lin Nanshu.

He stood up, confirmed the area was safe, then reached out and quickly hauled Lin Nanshu up.

They kept ducking and moving, and perhaps because Lin Nanshu hadn’t been found for so long, the guys chasing them got antsy.

If they blew this chance, they’d never get another shot.

If Lin Nanshu truly survived and returned to the Lin family, he’d definitely come after them.

Then they’d be the ones in deep trouble.

They couldn’t go soft now; they had to finish him off for good.

People kept showing up at Broken Head Cliff in waves, like it was free.

Cheng Ge had Lin Nanshu on his back, having to avoid detection while traveling, staying tense all over.

With no food, after just half a day, he was already wiped out.

His steps were shaky, making him stop a lot.

Dragging along like this, they didn’t spot the cliff till almost sunset.

It was still light, and going up now would be suicide.

Thinking it over, Cheng Ge carried Lin Nanshu toward the river by the cliff.

The river was wide, and due to last night’s heavy rain, the water level had risen considerably.

Cheng Ge set Lin Nanshu down behind a riverside rock, just enough to hide him from view.

He pulled a bamboo tube off himself and scooped some water from a nearby puddle, which looked clean enough.

Looking at the water in the tube, he couldn’t help licking his lips; it was a bit salty, all sweat.

He fished around in the rocks for a bit, just barely catching a few tiny fish, no bigger than his thumb.

Cheng Ge squeezed them hard, squishing out the guts and crap.

After cleaning them, he just tossed them into the bamboo tube, gathered some small dry branches, and quickly ducked back behind the rock, shoes in hand.

Cheng Ge pressed close to Lin Nanshu, staring intently at the bamboo tube, occasionally sniffing his stuffy nose.

The grass juice on his face had smeared with sweat, patchy and looking rather comical.

He shook his dripping feet, picked up his shoes, and was about to put them on.

“Wipe them first before putting them on,” Lin Nanshu said softly, his voice blending with the river’s flow, sounding unusually gentle.

Cheng Ge froze, turning to look at Lin Nanshu, not quite processing it.

At that moment, Lin Nanshu glanced at him and naturally took hold of his ankle, gently resting Cheng Ge’s feet on his own knees.

Lin Nanshu held a moon-white handkerchief and slowly wiped the water off his feet.

The warm touch made Cheng Ge stiffen instantly, his toes curling involuntarily.

Lin Nanshu’s lowered brows and long lashes trembled slightly, his movements exceptionally tender.

Cheng Ge felt a surge of heat spread from his ankle through his entire body, his chest swelling with emotion.

Lin Nanshu looked at the blisters on Cheng Ge’s soles, some already burst,

revealing patches of bloody pink flesh against the pale skin, looking somewhat gruesome.

He moved even more gently, his lips pressed tight, his expression unreadable.

Everything was silent.

The bamboo tube gurgled beside them, white foam nearly spilling over its rim.

“That’s enough.”

“Oh… thanks.” Cheng Ge gently pulled his feet back and quickly put on his shoes.

Cheng Ge carefully used a stick to lift the bamboo tube, blew on it, and handed it to Lin Nanshu, saying softly, "You go ahead and eat. Once it gets dark, I'll take you home."

Lin Nanshu looked at the fish soup, hesitated for a moment, but still took the bamboo tube.

He took a sip of the broth, the warm liquid flowing down his throat, warming his body a little.

Cheng Ge watched Lin Nanshu, swallowing hard, his eyes lit up.

After a few sips, Lin Nanshu handed the bamboo tube back to Cheng Ge. "Here, you drink it."

Cheng Ge waved his hands repeatedly, refusing, "You drink it. I'm not really hungry, and you're still sick."

"It's a bit too fishy for me," Lin Nanshu said softly, directly placing the bamboo tube into Cheng Ge's hand.

It dawned on Cheng Ge, and he felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that Lin Nanshu had grown up in luxury and it was normal for him not to be used to it.

"Then I'll treat you to something good when we get back," Cheng Ge said, throwing out a promise, before taking a big gulp of the fish soup.

"Ugh..." He struggled to swallow the soup in his mouth, unable to suppress a gag.

Looking at the bamboo tube, Cheng Ge's expression was hard to describe. This stuff was absolutely disgusting, worse than Chinese medicine.

But he couldn't let it go to waste.

Then he tilted his head back, took another big gulp, gagged, gulped again, and gagged again.

He looked exactly like someone being forced to eat ten boxes of blue cheese.

By the time Cheng Ge finished the last of the fish soup, he was practically half-dead.