Chapter 156
"Boss! What are we going to do now?!"
The men in black present were clearly taken aback that Fan Xiaoxiao and Gu Zhongtai would jump off the cliff together. The leader of the men in black stared at the bottomless abyss, his face filled with a sinister look. He glared at his subordinate who had approached him and cursed in a vicious tone, "They wanted to use the river to escape! Go find someone to control the upstream and downstream! We need to see them alive or dead!"
"yes!"
A moment later, the men in black scattered. After a long while, the commotion on the cliff finally subsided. Gu Zhongtai released his hand from Fan Xiaoxiao's mouth and nose, and the two slumped down in a stone cave.
Fan Xiaoxiao, breathing in fresh air again, coughed repeatedly, choking on the fumes. She had genuinely thought she was about to jump into the water with Gu Zhongtai. Now, realizing what had happened, she felt her heart nearly leap out of her throat. At that height, even if they miraculously survived, they would likely be missing limbs. Thank goodness, thank goodness they were still alive.
After coughing several times, Fan Xiaoxiao finally caught her breath and looked around.
"Cough cough cough. Where, where is this?"
"Wait here in the cave at the bottom of the cliff, I'll go and block the entrance."
Gu Zhongtai dusted himself off, stood up, and walked to the cave entrance, blocking the only opening with stones covered in moss. The place was secluded, with many vines outside, and now that he had blocked it with stones, it would be very difficult to spot the cave from the outside.
However, as the opening narrowed, the light inside also diminished. After Gu Zhongtai blocked the hole with the last stone, the cave was plunged into complete darkness. Coupled with the utter silence within, Fan Xiaoxiao felt her heart, which had just begun to calm down, start pounding again.
"Gu Zhongtai?"
After calling out twice, no one responded. Fan Xiaoxiao's heart pounded wildly. She wondered if that heartless Gu Zhongtai had abandoned her.
"Gu Zhongtai!? You, you're scaring me!"
"What are you trying to scare me about?"
A flickering firelight illuminated the scene. Gu Zhongtai stood not far from Fan Xiaoxiao, his expression obscured by the firelight: "Weren't you very brave when you jumped down with me just now? Why are you scared now?"
Seeing the light again eased Fan Xiaoxiao's tense nerves slightly. She didn't notice anything wrong with Gu Zhongtai's expression, and her shoulders slumped slightly as she breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was just now, now is now. Hiss."
Fan Xiaoxiao tried to stand up, but as soon as she moved, a sharp pain shot through her ankle. Looking down, she realized that she had twisted her foot during her heroic jump off the cliff.
Gu Zhongtai heard her gasp, frowned, and walked over to check her injuries. He then noticed that Fan Xiaoxiao's ankle was swollen like a bun. Seeing this, he recalled how, before he fell off the cliff, Fan Xiaoxiao's eyes were filled with him, and her expression was one of panic he hadn't realized he'd seen before.
"They're talking about how Lady Fan is fond of the master."
Gu Zhongtai's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly remembered what Bai Hua had said. He took a serious look at the person in front of him. In the dim firelight, the girl was thin and small. Her face was yellowish from the bumpy journey, her clothes were tattered, and her little face was as dirty as a little kitten.
But her eyes were very clean and bright, clearly reflecting her own image.
"Weren't you afraid of falling down and dying with me just now?" As if possessed, Gu Zhongtai asked the question again, stubbornly wanting an answer from Fan Xiaoxiao.
Fan Xiaoxiao glanced at him strangely, wondering why he had suddenly asked this question after treating her injury. But seeing his long eyelashes lowered, making it impossible to discern his emotions, she simply sighed and said honestly.
"I jumped, and I didn't think about all that at the time. But I'm really scared now. Look, my hands are still shaking."
After saying this, Fan Xiaoxiao extended her hand to Gu Zhongtai. Her hand, as she had said, was trembling slightly.
Gu Zhongtai concealed the expression in his eyes, his heart skipped a beat, and his gaze fell on Fan Xiaoxiao's sprained ankle.
Fan Xiaoxiao noticed his gaze and subconsciously pulled her leg back. She gave a dry laugh, trying to change the subject.
"This sprain is nothing serious. What do we do now? We can't just sit here and wait for the old man to come and save us, can we?"
She showed no concern for her leg, struggling to stand up. But the slightest movement sent a jolt of excruciating pain through Fan Xiaoxiao. Gu Zhongtai frowned and stepped forward to support her: "Don't move."
The two were standing quite close, so Gu Zhongtai held the tinderbox a little further away from Fan Xiaoxiao to avoid touching her.
The situation was urgent when she was riding the horse, but now, feeling the heat and strong physique of the person in front of her, Fan Xiaoxiao felt a little embarrassed.
She cleared her throat and turned her head to casually look around the cave, only to discover that there was a long, narrow passage at the back of the cave.
Gu Zhongtai noticed her gaze: "That leads to the other side of the woodland. We'll go out from here."
"How did you know all this? Have you been here before?"
"I've been here before. I stumbled upon it last year when I was walking this road."
Gu Zhongtai didn't explain the matter further, but simply gave a brief explanation before squatting down in front of Fan Xiaoxiao: "Come up."
"Huh, huh?"
Fan Xiaoxiao stared at the broad back in front of her, somewhat bewildered. Gu Zhongtai turned around and urged her, "What are you waiting for? Or do you want to stay here?"
"No, no... I, I can walk by myself."
Fan Xiaoxiao stammered, somewhat confused about what Gu was up to. Besides, he had looked incredibly weak before, and asking him to carry her felt like she was abusing him.
Gu Zhongtai clicked his tongue, turned around and stood up. He handed the tinder to Fan Xiaoxiao and then bent down to pick her up.
"Hey hey hey! Carry me! Carry me! Carry me! Carrying me is fine!"
Are you kidding me? A princess carry is no better than a piggyback ride! If she were carried by Boss Gu the whole way, her heart might explode.
"Too much trouble!"
Gu Zhongtai sounded impatient, but he still obediently squatted down in front of Fan Xiaoxiao. Fan Xiaoxiao pouted, leaned over, and muttered something under her breath.
"Weren't you poisoned? I was just worried about how weak you were, okay?"
Gu Zhongtai carried Fan Xiaoxiao on his back and took two steps forward: "The Ghost Doctor sealed my acupoints, which completely prevented me from using internal energy and also suppressed some of the poison. However, this also shortened my lifespan, so the Ghost Doctor rarely used it on me."
After speaking, Gu Zhongtai nudged the person behind him.
"Besides, you're as thin as a bamboo stick, with hardly any meat on your bones."
Fan Xiaoxiao: Tsk, what a dog of a man!
(End of this chapter)
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