Jiang Yunshu looked up, the mountaintop finally within reach.
She let out a long sigh. "We're almost there!"
Xie Lin turned to glance at her, noticing the damp strands of hair clinging to her flushed cheeks. She was panting heavily, yet her eyes—clear and bright—seemed washed by the mountain mist.
"Should we rest for a moment?" he asked.
"No need." The summit was so close; Jiang Yunshu wanted to push through in one go.
But then she followed Xie Lin’s gaze to a smooth, flat boulder by the path, and her legs refused to move another step.
The rock looked like a natural bench, too inviting to ignore.
Though she insisted on continuing, her feet stayed rooted in place.
Xie Lin watched her struggle, amusement flickering in the corners of his eyes.
He said nothing, observing her silent battle between exhaustion and stubbornness.
Her hesitant, conflicted expression was… fascinating.
His attention lingered on her—until it was too late.
"Watch out!"
In an instant, Xie Lin yanked Jiang Yunshu toward him, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off the ground.
His foot slammed down with brutal force.
Only then did Jiang Yunshu realize what had happened.
A sharp pain shot through her ankle. She looked down to see two small punctures in her boot, blood seeping through the leather.
Beneath Xie Lin’s foot lay a snake, crushed at its vital spot.
"Ah—"
Her face drained of color, her body going limp.
Terror had stolen her voice—she couldn’t even scream.
Jiang Yunshu had always been deathly afraid of snakes. Even videos of them made her shut her eyes, her heart pounding wildly. She couldn’t stand seeing the word "snake" written down.
As a child, her cousin had insisted on watching The Legend of the White Snake every summer. The moment the opening scene flashed with a giant serpent, Jiang Yunshu would shriek and flee with her eyes squeezed shut.
And now—she had encountered a real one.
Well, not exactly. By the time she saw it, Xie Lin had already killed it.
But it was still a freshly dead snake, its body not yet cold—
Wait, snakes were cold-blooded. It was never warm to begin with.
But she was still terrified! And worse—she’d been bitten!
Her mind spun into chaos. Unconsciously, tears streamed down her face.
It wasn’t until Xie Lin cupped her cheeks that she realized he’d been speaking to her.
"Jiang Yunshu, the snake was venomous."
"Stay calm. Panicking will only speed up the poison."
The worst news yet.
Worse than every other horrifying revelation of the last few minutes.
Yet, like a bucket of icy water dumped over her head, the words jolted her into clarity.
For a moment, she was back in that burial chamber, watching imperial concubines drop dead around her—knowing she could be next.
Back then, she had clung to Xie Lin as her lifeline.
But now, not even he could save her.
Slowly, she sank onto the nearby boulder, bending to remove her boot—
But Xie Lin was faster. He grasped the toe of her boot, loosened the laces, and carefully slid it off.
Her slender ankle was marred by two deep puncture wounds, blood still oozing from them.
The surrounding skin had already swollen, discolored an ominous shade of blue-black.
Jiang Yunshu picked up the discarded boot, intending to tear off its laces to use as a tourniquet.
Again, Xie Lin acted before she could. He tied the cord tightly around her calf, the pressure leaving deep indentations in her flesh.
She sucked in a sharp breath but made no sound, biting her lip hard.
When Xie Lin drew his sword and made two precise cuts over the bite marks, she didn’t utter a word.
He pressed his hands to her ankle, attempting to force out the venom.
But after several attempts, only a trickle of blood emerged.
The swelling had worsened.
Xie Lin met Jiang Yunshu’s gaze.
Her eyes burned with an intensity he recognized—the same fierce will to live she’d shown in that burial chamber, while the other concubines had resigned themselves to death.
The scouts ahead had already reached the summit. Even if they saw his signal now, it would take time for them to return. The rear guards and servants had fallen far behind, unable to catch up quickly.
They were alone—because Xie Lin had ensured it earlier.
A bitter smile touched his lips. He’d been careless, never anticipating such danger.
But Jiang Yunshu didn’t have time to wait.
Xie Lin looked toward the mountaintop, where a grove of peach trees bloomed in full splendor.
The mountain breeze whispered past his ears, carrying echoes of words spoken a decade ago:
"Those who fight hardest to live… deserve to survive."
He bent down, pressing his lips to the porcelain skin of Jiang Yunshu’s ankle, sucking out the venom with desperate force.
She gasped. "Xie Lin, stop!"
"You’ll poison yourself!"
"The venom will seep through your mouth!"
Mucous membranes offered no protection against snake venom.
Jiang Yunshu assumed Xie Lin, as someone from ancient times, wouldn’t know this.
Yet he didn’t stop.
If anything, he worked faster, more urgently.
She watched as the dark, tainted blood he spat out gradually turned bright red.
Dazed, she stared at the top of his head, recalling how swiftly and correctly he’d acted after the bite.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
And he was risking his own life to save hers.
…Why?
