Chapter 61 The Man's Roar and the Woman's Painful Moans

The movement in the grass was faint, accompanied by a barely audible sound.

"Help...help me."

Yun Si gripped the dagger tightly and carefully parted the waist-high weeds.

The sight before her made her slightly taken aback.

A young man lay on the ground, dressed in brocade clothes. Although they were stained with mud and blood, the fine quality of the fabric was still evident.

It's obvious at a glance that it's quite valuable.

His face was ashen, his lips were bluish-black, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing was so weak it seemed he would stop breathing at any moment.

The most conspicuous thing was his exposed calf, with a ripped trouser leg and two clear teeth marks next to the wound, where the skin had turned an eerie purplish-black.

Clearly, they had been poisoned.

And it's snake venom.

The man was extremely handsome, with sword-like eyebrows and a high nose bridge. Even in such a wretched and painful situation, he could not hide his innate noble air.

He is by no means an ordinary person.

Alarm bells rang in Yun Si's mind.

The western suburban valley is dangerous; besides those like her who come to search for talent, it is also the place where pursuers are most likely to appear.

The man was dressed in fine clothes, yet he was lying here all alone, which seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

It's not impossible that he might be one of the assassins hunting down Qin Ye.

At this point, Yun Si had no energy left to meddle in other people's business.

Moreover, she was already being merciful by not stabbing the suspicious person in the back.

"Wait...wait a minute."

The man seemed to sense her intention to leave, and with a sudden burst of strength, he reached out and grabbed Yun Si's ankle tightly: "Save me... I will reward you handsomely..."

Yun Si frowned and struggled, but couldn't shake him off.

"Let go!" she said coldly.

The man struggled to raise his eyes, his sharp pupils now veiled with tears, as if grasping at a straw, revealing a stubbornness: "If you save me, I... I'll give you the Tianshan Snow Lotus."

"Snow Lotus from Tianshan?"

Yun Si's heart skipped a beat.

That was an extremely rare and miraculous medicine.

It has the effect of bringing people back from the brink of death if they have lost too much blood or suffered severe internal injuries.

However, it has little effect on those who are poisoned.

If Qin Ye was seriously injured in the assassination attempt...

Then isn't this Tian Shan snow lotus exactly what we need?

Yun Si remained silent for a moment, quickly weighing the pros and cons in her mind.

Ultimately, their concern for Qin Ye outweighed their vigilance.

"Let go," she said again, her tone softening slightly.

The man understood and slowly released his grip.

"Do you really have Tian Shan snow lotus?"

"I would never dare to deceive you."

"Take it out." Yun Si had absolutely no trust in this strange man: "Inspect the goods first."

"good."

The man didn't mind, and took out a brocade box from his pocket and gave it to her directly.

Yun Si took it and opened it.

It is indeed a Tian Shan snow lotus!

She relied on various precious medicinal herbs to prolong her life since childhood, and the Tianshan Snow Lotus was one of them. Her parents went to great lengths to find one for her, but its quality was far inferior to his.

The fact that this man could so easily produce such rare medicinal herbs suggests that he is no ordinary person.

"It's true."

Inspection completed.

Yun Si covered the brocade box and returned it to him: "Give it back to me after you've cured the poison."

After saying that, she put down her baggage, took out a dagger and heated it over a tinderbox, and then took out a small bottle of strong liquor.

"Bear with it."

She spoke succinctly, and before the man could react, she used a dagger to make a small incision above his wound, releasing the poisonous blood from it.

The man was in so much pain that he was sweating profusely, but he didn't utter a sound.

Dark purple blood gushed out, carrying a foul odor.

After treating the wound, Yun Si took out a completely black pill from her bag.

These are antidote pills she concocted herself, capable of curing all poisons.

Snake venom is nothing to worry about.

Yun Si pinched the man's chin, forcing him to open his mouth, and fed him the pill, then poured some water into his mouth.

After doing all this, Yun Si was about to withdraw her hand when she realized that the man was staring at her intently.

His gaze was so focused, from her mud-covered forehead to her sweat-drenched temples, and then to her tightly pursed lips, inch by inch, as if he wanted to etch her image into his very bones.

Yun Si's heart tightened, and she asked sharply, "What are you looking at?"

The man smiled weakly, his voice hoarse yet gentle: "It's nothing, I just wanted to remember what my savior looked like, so that we might meet again someday..."

"There's absolutely no need for that."

Yun Si turned her face away, her tone distant: "I saved you only for the Tianshan Snow Lotus. Once the poison is cured, give me the item, and we'll be even. There's no question of a life-saving favor."

She paused, then asked, "Who are you? What are you doing in this western valley? It's extremely dangerous here. What kind of good person would come here?"

The man coughed twice, his breathing becoming a little easier, and asked in return, "Didn't you come too?"

He downplayed the issue, saying, "Everyone has their own secrets, don't they?"

That's quite sincere.

Yun Si sized him up for a moment and saw that although he was weak, he had a calm demeanor and clear eyes, which was indeed unlike those sinister and vicious assassins.

She was too lazy to ask any further questions; once she got the snow lotus, the two of them would have nothing to do with each other anymore.

"Give me the things, I'm leaving."

The man kept his word and handed the brocade box to her again: "May I have the honor of knowing your name, young lady?"

Yun Si paused in her action of reaching out to take the brocade box.

Even in her condition, how could anyone recognize her as a girl?

"You have a problem with your eyes."

Yun Si looked at him with feigned amusement: "I'm not some girl. Alright, goodbye forever."

After saying that, she shouldered her bag and walked upstream along the river.

The man tried to call out to her, but he could only manage a soft call before he lost his strength.

Not long after Yun Si left, several dark figures appeared like ghosts and quickly came to the man's side.

He knelt on one knee, his voice filled with fear: "Young Master! I failed to protect you properly, please punish me!"

The man slowly sat up, and some color returned to his pale face.

He didn't look at his subordinates; his gaze remained fixed on the direction Yun Si had left, lost in thought.

She's clearly a girl, but she won't admit it.

Will we never meet again?

That won't do.

Holding the Tianshan Snow Lotus, Yun Si walked a long way in one breath. Only when she was sure that the man could no longer see her did she slow down and gently exhale.

She packed the Tian Shan snow lotus into her bag, walked to the riverbank, and quickly cleaned herself up.

I feel like it'll go bad if I don't wash it soon.

After washing up, we continued on our way.

However, when she looked up, all she could see was an endless dense forest, with towering ancient trees blocking out the sun.

Scattered slivers of light filtered through the intertwined branches and leaves, and the path beneath our feet was obscured by fallen leaves and vines, making it impossible to distinguish which trail belonged to those who had walked before.

Where did Qin Ye and the others go?

The letter from Dark Night only mentioned the cave's location as being deep inside, but this valley is ridiculously large. How can the so-called "deep inside" be defined?

Looking around at the almost identical scenery, Yun Si felt completely lost and had no direction to follow.

calm.

Especially in times like these, it's crucial to stay calm and avoid making a rash decision.

Perhaps... we should try searching along the direction of the water flow?

She remembered reading in the book that caves mostly exist because of water.

The thought had barely formed when a very faint "click" sound suddenly reached my ears, like a pebble falling to the ground, or something hitting something.

Yun Si suddenly stopped in her tracks, involuntarily holding her breath.

He gripped the dagger hidden in his sleeve.

The clicking sound came intermittently, one after another.

She listened intently to the source of the sound, then slowly turned around.

In my line of sight, a small creature was wobbling and flying low in the air.

He was like a drunkard, stumbling and falling.

Its wings flapped erratically, and it couldn't even tell which way it was going.

"Maple leaves?"

Yun Si gasped softly, both surprised and delighted.

If maple leaves are here, Qin Ye must be here too!

The little guy seemed to hear Yun Si's voice and finally locked onto his target.

It staggered towards her and crashed into her arms with a thud.

It flapped its wings twice and then completely lost its strength, collapsing limply into her palm.

Yun Si quickly caught it, her joy instantly replaced by worry.

Maple Leaf's eyes were half-open and half-closed, devoid of any spirit, and its body beneath its feathers was shockingly hot.

When touched gently, it trembled weakly but did not struggle; instead, it rubbed against her palm.

It is an attitude of complete trust and reliance.

"What happened?"

Yun Si frowned, picked up a bit of maple leaf with her fingers, and gently sniffed the sticky liquid from the corner of her mouth.

A very faint, exotic fragrance carrying the scent of peach blossoms entered my nostrils.

This is... an aphrodisiac?

Yun Si wasn't sure; she just thought it was absurd.

Who would drug a homing pigeon like that?

She was filled with doubts, but had no time to think about them in detail.

With these symptoms, Maple Leaf won't last long.

She immediately took out the antidote pills from her bag, carefully diluted them with water, found a clean leaf as a container, and fed them to the maple leaf little by little.

After the medicine was administered, Maple Leaf's eyelids twitched slightly.

A soft "gurgling" sound came from his throat, and his eyes gradually regained some of their sparkle.

Its wings regained their strength, and it fluttered and rubbed against her fingers.

His head kept resting on her wrist, as if he was expressing his grievances or his excitement at the reunion.

"Okay, okay, it's alright now."

Yun Si felt a warmth in her heart as it rubbed against her, and her anxiety subsided considerably: "You're here, is your master here too?"

As if it understood, the maple leaf raised its head, gently nibbled on her sleeve with its pointed beak, pulled it forward, then flapped its wings and flew up, circling not far in front of her.

He gestured for her to follow it.

With a direction in mind, Yun Si perked up and immediately followed Feng Ye's figure.

The journey was still far from easy; the maple leaves flew at varying speeds, clearly indicating that the journey had not yet fully recovered.

I almost crashed into the bushes several times.

Yun Si followed it over the hillside and across the shallow stream. The light in the dense forest grew dimmer and the path underfoot became more and more difficult to walk. Vines entwined the tree roots, and one could easily trip over them if one was not careful.

Were those assassins constantly chasing Qin Ye at that time?

They actually chased us this far.

After another day and night of walking, their food and water were almost gone. Yun Si's legs felt as heavy as lead, and her eyelids were drooping.

Unable to hold on any longer, just as I was about to lean against the tree trunk to catch my breath, I saw the maple leaf suddenly speed up, flapping its wings and flying forward.

"Hey, maple leaves..."

Yun Si had no choice but to muster her strength and keep up. After passing through a dense thicket of bushes, the view finally opened up before her.

There, hidden at the foot of the mountain wall, was a secret cave entrance.

The entrance to the cave is hidden by vines and weeds, and it is difficult to spot without close inspection. Scattered water stains can be seen on the edge of the entrance, indicating that it exists because of water.

It's a cave!

Yun Si was overjoyed and quickened her pace. Just as she was about to push aside the vines and go inside, a faint sound suddenly came from the cave entrance.

The sound was low, mixed with the damp sound of the wind, yet clear enough.

It was a man's roar and a woman's painful moans.

Yun Si's steps froze on the spot, as if the blood in her body had instantly frozen.

What happened inside the cave?