Chapter 60 To Save or Not to Save

He was soaking wet, his black hair tangled and covering his forehead. He was completely different from his usual arrogant self. He lay sprawled on the ground, his thin lips slightly upturned, his dark eyes staring at me.

His gaze made my hair stand on end, and I subconsciously took two steps back, moving away from the danger zone and retreating to a safe area.

"Achoo!" I rubbed my itchy nose and sneezed, then shivered slightly, feeling a bit cold.

He stood up, bent down and carefully tied something to the jade belt around his waist, then turned and walked out of my sight in a nonchalant manner.

As I watched his figure gradually disappear into the darkness, I crossed my arms and subconsciously looked around. In the desolate wilderness, there was no sign of human habitation as far as the eye could see. The wind howled in my ears, and in the distance, I could hear the strange roars of wild beasts.

"Hey!" After hesitating for a long time, I finally couldn't help but call out to him, lacking any backbone.

The figure froze, then took a few steps back, turned around and looked at me, its narrow eyes slightly narrowed, like a man-eating beast in the darkness.

I paused for a moment, then instinctively stepped back.

"Scared?" the voice rang out, laced with mockery.

I then noticed that he was squinting and smiling smugly, and I couldn't help but feel secretly annoyed.

I tossed my head and snorted softly to show my disdain.

He smiled, shrugged, and turned to leave.

I glared at him through gritted teeth until his figure disappeared into the darkness and I could no longer make out his features.

Autumn had arrived, and the night was cold and still. A few stars hung in the sky, shining brightly. I shivered from the cold, jumping and hopping around to warm myself up. All around was desolate land, and I had no idea which way to go. I was also worried that the dog would chase me. Since it couldn't see me, I stayed put, too afraid to go anywhere.

I clasped my hands together and breathed on them, feeling incredibly uncomfortable from being soaked. I was jumping around when suddenly I heard movement ahead—footsteps! They were walking rather slowly. A chill ran down my spine; could it be a wild animal?!

The sound grew closer and closer. My face turned ashen, and I pulled out my Swiss Army knife from my bag as fast as I could, pointing the blade at the unknown darkness ahead.

I bit my lip hard, gripping the strength in my wrists to keep my hands from trembling so much that I couldn't even hold the knife.

My eyes were fixed on the darkness, and a strange shadow gradually appeared. I stared intently, ready to fight to the death.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked, tinged with a hint of amusement.

Is that Cao Cao's voice?

I paused, and inexplicably, I felt a sense of relief as I watched the tall figure gradually come into my view. He was carrying a bundle of dry branches in one hand and dragging a deer in the other. The deer was being dragged along, so his steps seemed somewhat slow.

He went to gather firewood? And then went hunting?

He abandoned the muntjac, lit a fire with the dry branches he had gathered, and then took off his soaking wet long robe, hanging it and his undergarments to dry.

In the flickering firelight, his bare chest revealed the tanned skin beneath, long and well-proportioned. I couldn't help but recall the day he was assassinated in front of the Prime Minister's residence, and how I washed away his blood. Back then, he was still Cao Cao...

"Achoo!" I sneezed again and raised my hand to rub my nose.

"Take it off." Cao Cao said without looking up as he dealt with the deer.

"Huh?" I was completely confused.

"Take off your clothes." He skinned the muntjac, cut open its chest with a knife, and removed its internal organs.

I watched him clean up the muntjac in a bloody manner, finishing it off in no time.

I took a step back, staring at him warily, my hands clutching my clothes tightly.

“I’ve seen enough. Actually, I think you’re more tempting this way.” He glanced at me casually, then looked down and focused intently on handling the deer.

I exclaimed "Huh?" and looked down. Suddenly, all the blood rushed to my head. I had just come out of the water, and my clothes were soaking wet and clung to my body, which made my otherwise shriveled and unremarkable figure look strangely alluring.

“My outer robe is dry; I suggest you change into it,” he said, still without looking up.

I took a few steps forward, carefully stepped past him, picked up the long robe he had hung out to dry, and found it was indeed dry. While keeping a wary eye on him, I quickly and deftly peeled off my soaking wet clothes and wrapped the long robe, which was so long it dragged on the ground, around my body.

Feeling dry and warm, I let out a contented sigh.

I reached up to fasten the jade belt around my waist, and my hand touched a cold pendant. I looked down, and by the firelight, I froze for a moment. It was that cheap jade pendant!

I clearly put it in my bag, how did it end up on him?

My face flushed slightly, and I suddenly realized that he must have taken it from me when I wasn't looking.

“We seem to have a special connection with water,” he said, turning to look at me as he placed the cleaned muntjac on the fire to roast.

It seems so. The first time we met was in the rain, and then I fell into the water when I fell off the cliff... I was always soaking wet.

"You really can't swim?" I sat down cross-legged, and I strongly suspected that he had been pretending to be weak to take advantage of me. Otherwise, how could he have taken the opportunity to take advantage of me?

"No," he answered crisply.

I glared at him, "If you can't swim, why are you jumping into the water to join in the fun?"

He raised his hand and flipped the juicy, roasted deer meat over, saying, "Because you'll save me," as if it were the most natural thing in the world, without a hint of guilt.

I gritted my teeth and jumped up. "First, what if I can't swim either! Second, I can't just stand by and watch someone die! Third... third, what if something unexpected happens..." I glared at him angrily. "Then what do we do?"

"You saved me when I fell off the cliff into the ravine."

I was surprised, because I couldn't remember. I was not fully conscious that day, and when I woke up, he was still holding me. How could that be?

"Even though he was already disoriented and about to faint, he still held on to me and dragged me, who can't swim, to shallow water," he said with a smile, his eyes narrowed. "The water was very rapid at the time."

A breeze blew by, and perhaps because I had changed into dry clothes, I didn't feel so cold anymore. I lowered my eyes and rubbed the bracelet on my left wrist that was called the Heart-Breaking Knot. "Are you so sure I'll save you?"

Cao Cao chuckled softly.

I was annoyed. He was already sitting there completely unharmed, and then he asked such a stupid question...

Just as I was feeling down, a fragrant, sizzling piece of roasted meat was placed in front of me.

I swallowed hard, deciding not to get angry at the food, and took it, stuffing it into my mouth.