021. Warming Up in a Cave

Chapter 021: Keeping Warm in the Cave

A lone crescent moon hung in the sky above. San Le, pressed tight against the horse's flank, was jostled so hard she nearly threw up.

The biting wind screamed past her ears, whipping her long hair behind her. The reins had rubbed her hands raw. She hooked her foot and was about to swing herself back onto the horse when, unexpectedly, a sword strike came at her from behind.

Not even a second of peace!

Just then, a horse galloped up from the left behind them. The rider raised a hand and hurled several sharp projectiles. With attacks coming from both sides, things were getting dicey.

San Le barely blocked the sword strike from behind, only to see hidden weapons flying at her. Unable to free a hand to defend herself, she could only dodge sideways—but still, a flying blade grazed her left shoulder!

"Ow!" Her brows knitted tight as she let out a pained grunt. She quickly withdrew one hand, pulled a dagger from her leg, and slashed the throat of the man beside her. The second he died, the pressure on her sword disappeared. She immediately swung left, knocking down every incoming projectile. Then, pulling her right hand back, she thrust her sword forward again—like a bolt of white light—straight through the man's chest. Dropped dead on the spot!

Having dealt with those two, San Le quickly sent a sword strike sweeping behind her, chopping off the legs of the horse behind. A sharp, piercing whinny rang out as horse and rider crashed to the ground.

She seized the chance to spur her horse on, chasing the figure in the distance.

Along the way, Hei Mobai took the lead, with three groups of pursuers trailing behind in a line. Under the pale moonlight, hooves thundered, kicking up clouds of sand and dust in their wake.

Hei Mobai was riding point when he suddenly felt a gust of wind behind his head. He flattened himself against the horse's back in an instant. Several hidden weapons whizzed past, slicing off a lock of his hair.

Suddenly, a man behind him leaped up, landed on the horse's back, and lunged at him with a sword. San Le arrived just in time, and her heart jumped into her throat. Her green sword shot from her hand!

Just as the man's blade was an inch from Hei Mobai's head, the sword struck him square in the back. He dropped dead on the spot, slumping onto Hei Mobai's back.

Startled by the sudden weight, Hei Mobai turned and saw a green sword sticking out of the man's back.

Meanwhile, San Le had already taken out the men in front of her and leaped onto Hei Mobai's horse.

She pulled out the green sword with one hand, grabbed the dead man's collar with the other, and hurled him backward. The pursuers behind were caught off guard and got hit square on. Their startled black horses reared, throwing them off their rhythm.

By the time they got their horses going again, the two ahead were long gone.

San Le wrapped an arm around the waist of the person in front, holding the reins with her other hand. She glanced back and saw the group hadn't caught up, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't dare take the main road, so she steered the horse into the woods to avoid being chased down again.

After riding several li without hearing anything behind them, her tense body finally relaxed.

Weariness crept across her face. Suddenly, she caught a faint scent of pine and bamboo, and found herself leaning in without thinking.

Just then, the wound on her left shoulder throbbed sharply, making her gasp. Her arm around Hei Mobai's waist tightened on its own.

Feeling the odd sensation at his waist, Hei Mobai went stiff. The body pressed against his back was burning hot, and the ragged breaths at his ear felt like fire, making his ears tingle.

The person behind him leaned in like a kitten, sniffing at his neck before murmuring, "Xiaobai, what kind of powder do you use?

It smells so good..."

His clear eyes narrowed sharply. He felt something soft brush against his neck, sending a faint tickle, while warm breath sprayed across his fair skin, turning it a light peach-pink.

"What's this?" San Le stared at the little bump on his throat and reached out to poke it.

The moment she moved, the person in front grabbed her hand—hard. She yelped, "Xiaobai, let go!"

At that, he let go.

San Le rubbed her hand and instinctively scooted away, grumbling to herself: This girl is way too stingy. We're both women, why so shy!

But then—what the heck was that thing?

Puzzling over it, she craned her neck and felt her own throat. It was smooth and flat. Why was hers different from his?

People really were so different. What did this girl eat to grow up so... big everywhere...

—

The two had planned to find a place to crash for the night, but a sudden sound of hooves behind them put them on high alert.

San Le whipped her head around to see a group of black-clad riders charging at them. Panic flashed across her face. Without a second thought, she spurred the horse into a frantic gallop!

But no matter how they ran or hid, they were caught up within moments.

San Le got suspicious. They'd thrown their pursuers several li behind and hidden deep in the woods, where even objects were hard to make out in the dark—let alone footprints. How did they keep getting found?

Something was definitely wrong!

She wasn't the only one who sensed something unusual. Hei Mobai, riding ahead, also realized something was off.

Since when had Hei Heng's men become so skilled at tracking?

Suddenly, he recalled something Jiang Luo had once mentioned—that a year ago, Hei Heng had purchased a large number of horses of the same breed and specially hired a horse trainer to train them. Horses trained this way could quickly locate other horses no matter where they were. It seemed highly likely that the black horse beneath them was one of them.

They needed to get rid of this horse, and fast!

San Le was still trying to figure out how to shake off their relentless pursuers when the person in front suddenly grabbed her hand and wrote in her palm: 'There's something wrong with our horse.'

Hei Mobai couldn't do much else. Since he couldn't summon Xiao He right now, this was the only way to warn the person behind him—and use her as a shield!

San Le might be carefree, but she wasn't stupid. With that reminder, she quickly understood the root of the problem.

She wrapped her arms around the person in front, about to leap off the horse, when—just then—a series of piercing sounds came from behind. Several hidden weapons shot toward them!

Seeing she couldn't dismount, she immediately drew her sword to meet the attack. With a flick of her wrist, she spun the blade in a flourish. Sharp and swift, the sword rang out with crisp metallic clangs as the incoming projectiles were knocked down one by one.

San Le spurred the horse onward, then suddenly swung her sword at a large tree nearby. With a crack, the trunk snapped clean in half, crashing down onto the pursuers behind.

Seizing the moment, she grabbed Hei Mobai and rolled off the horse. The moment they hit the ground, a man lunged at them from behind. She immediately raised her sword to block and exchanged blows with him. But the man didn't want to linger—he turned and struck at Hei Mobai beside her.

San Le, displeased, followed after him.

Hei Mobai narrowly dodged each strike, escaping by the skin of his teeth. Then another man joined in, the two closing in from both sides at once!

San Le arrived just in time to see a man swinging his sword at Hei Mobai. Her heart lurched, and she flew forward without hesitation.

Facing the incoming blade, Hei Mobai retreated several steps—only to discover a steep slope behind him. With no room left to fall back, his foot slipped on the edge, and he tumbled backward—just barely dodging the sword aimed at him.

San Le flew in, kicking one man aside, and saw Hei Mobai plummeting down. Shock filled her eyes!

She reached out to grab him, but only caught a glimpse of a white sleeve slipping through her fingers. Without a moment's hesitation, she dove straight down after him!

Hei Mobai curled up as he tumbled through the bramble-covered forest, bouncing and crashing along the way. His body was already covered in bruises, yet he didn't let out a single sound. But his delicate face had turned deathly pale. Suddenly, another roll sent his head slamming into a rock. A searing pain shot through him, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

On the other side, San Le bounded down the slope with swift, agile movements. Her bright eyes swept across the mountain like a hunting leopard.

Before long, aided by the moonlight, she spotted a white figure lying not far away. Joy surged in her heart, and she quickly ran toward it.

When she reached him, she saw a gash on his forehead, blood streaming down—a truly gruesome sight!

She was so frightened that she thought she was dead!

It wasn't until she reached out to test her breath that she finally relaxed, then took out a handkerchief to stop the bleeding. She tore a strip of cloth from the hem of her garment and bound it together with the handkerchief around her forehead. Only after doing all this did she pick her up and hurry southward.

In the quiet forest, occasional unknown howls came from somewhere—unidentifiable spirits or beasts.

San Le, holding the person in her arms, wove through the woods without a moment's pause, until her head grew dizzy and her strength waned—only then did she realize she was about to collapse.

The priority now was to find a hiding place as soon as possible; otherwise, they might end up in some beast's belly.

Fifteen minutes later

San Le took Hei Mobai to a narrow cave. Though it wasn't large, there were no snakes or beasts around, and it was sheltered on all sides—a fairly safe spot.

She gathered some dry grass and spread it on the ground, laid her down on it, and leaned against a stone wall nearby to rest with her eyes closed.

After a short while, she felt her head growing increasingly heavy, and even her breath was scorching hot. Her body was drenched in sweat and she felt miserable.

She wiped her forehead and found it hot to the touch. It was almost certainly a fever, likely caused by her injuries. With no medicine available here, she could only tough it out.

Just as she was about to close her eyes and hold out until dawn, a faint moan came from beside her. She turned to look and found the person on the ground curled up, trembling uncontrollably.

This strange behavior made San Le frown involuntarily. She moved closer and called out a few times: "Xiao Bai, what's wrong?"

"Wake up, Xiao Bai..."

After several calls with no response, she reached out and gently patted her. It was fine until she touched her—her body was freezing cold to the touch!

She thought it might be due to her own fever and misjudged, so she reached out again to check, this time touching her face, hands, waist, and other places, but everywhere was cold.

What was she to do? She knew nothing of medicine, and she herself was weak and feverish. The girl had a gash on her head and was like ice!

"Sigh, if only I'd brought the bundle, then at least we'd have some tinder!"

But even without a fire, she couldn't let her freeze. As San Le was thinking, a flash of inspiration struck her.

"You're cold, I'm hot—we complement each other perfectly! I'm like a walking furnace. Tonight, I'll hold you while we sleep, and you won't feel cold at all!"

With that, she lay down directly, moved closer to her, and pulled her into her arms.

At that moment, her icy-cold body soothed her burning heat, and she couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh: "Comfortable!"

To Hei Mobai, who felt as if he were trapped in a frozen hell, San Le's action was like encountering the warm spring sun.

In his daze, Hei Mobai sensed something scorching hot nearby. He instinctively reached out and wrapped his arms around it, locking his legs around the person—one above, one below—and buried his entire face into the crook of her neck, leaving no gap, desperately absorbing the warmth.

San Le was so tightly entangled she could barely breathe. She tried to push him away but found him as solid as a rock—she couldn't budge him at all!

She was already weak, and after a few attempts, she was completely spent. She simply closed her eyes and let him do as he pleased.