As the elevator descended, the damp, decaying smell of the jungle assaulted our senses. The surrounding silence was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional chirping of unknown insects, which sent shivers down our spines.
Ling Huanwu's heart was pounding like thunder. She could clearly feel the heartbeat of the fetus in her womb, which was the rhythm of life and her only support at this moment.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, and the elevator began to shake violently.
Ling Huanwu stared wide-eyed in horror, instinctively covering her abdomen with her hands, her body swaying from side to side with the elevator.
At that moment, the shadow of death loomed over her, but the thought of Zhou Jiuzhen still below, his fate unknown, made her grit her teeth, suppress her fear, and continue descending.
Finally, the elevator touched the ground.
Ling Huanwu's legs went weak, and she could barely stand.
She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, then took the flashlight from her waist, turned it on, and stepped into the treacherous jungle.
"Jiuzhen, you must be alright, I'm coming to save you..." she murmured softly, her voice echoing in the silent forest, carrying a hint of determination and resolve.
The humid, hot fog, carrying the smell of decaying leaves, hit them in the face. Ling Huanwu and two comrades got off the plane together, but unknowingly they got separated.
Her palms were sweaty as she gripped the flashlight. The beam swept through the dense foliage and suddenly stopped on a crooked banyan tree in front of her.
With just one glance, she recognized the man in the tree as Zhou Jiuzhen!
Zhou Jiuzhen's camouflage uniform was soaked with blood, half of his body dangling on a tree branch, his eyes closed, like a withered leaf that might fall at any moment.
"Nine shocks!" Ling Huanwu's voice caught in her throat. Just as she was about to rush over, the withered branch beneath her feet snapped with a "crack".
She froze, only then noticing a dark figure under the tree. She could hear the figure breathing heavily from a great distance.
With just one glance, Ling Huan was terrified.
The wild boar, about half a person's height, slowly raised its head under the tree and came into her view.
The wild boar's dark brown bristles bristled, its tusks were still stained with blood, and its thick forelegs slammed violently into the tree trunk.
The banyan tree swayed violently, and Zhou Jiuzhen's body swayed along with it. His fingers left several bloody marks on the bark, and he looked like he was about to fall.
Ling Huanwu's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She glanced at the rocks at her feet, and without thinking, grabbed two large stones and smashed them against the wild boar's back.
With a "bang," a stone struck the boar's mane, and the boar roared in pain. Its scarlet eyes locked onto her instantly, and it dropped the tree trunk and charged at her.
"This way!"
Ling Huanwu took off running, keeping a close eye on the wild boar's movements out of the corner of her eye.
She remembered seeing a cliff ahead on the way from the plane; all she had to do was lure the wild boar across...
The vines under her feet got tangled around her ankles, and she stumbled and fell. Her palms were cut by the gravel, but she ignored the pain and got up to keep running.
The sound of wild boar hooves grew closer behind us, and their heavy breathing swept past our ears like bellows.
Finally, the outline of a cliff appeared before us, with swirling clouds and mist below.
Ling Huanwu suddenly stopped in her tracks, and a second before the wild boar pounced, she used her mind to enter her personal space.
Unable to stop in time, the wild boar's massive body, propelled by inertia, plunged off the cliff, its mournful howl quickly swallowed by the wind.
Ling Huanwu came out of the space and breathed a sigh of relief, but her legs went weak and she slid down the slope at the edge of the cliff.
She reached out to grab a bush beside her, but only managed to grab a handful of slippery moss. She fell heavily into a hidden cave at the bottom of the cliff.
In an instant, a cold, damp mist enveloped her. The flashlight clattered to the ground, its beam shining upwards onto the dense water droplets on the cave walls. Only then did Ling Huanwu realize that she had fallen into a cold, damp cave...
Just as Ling Huanwu fell off the cliff, Qin Jinshen's heart-wrenching cries erupted not far away.
Just now, as Qin Jinshen parted the last clump of bushes, he happened to see Ling Huanwu bending down to pick up stones.
He had come to intercept her by following the commotion, but the moment he saw her charging towards the wild boar, his feet seemed to be nailed to the spot.
He watched helplessly as the woman hurled stones at the wild boar, and as she stumbled as the beast, its mane bristling, chased her, oblivious to the vines tearing her trousers.
The silvery moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting a thin layer of light on her sweat-dampened temples. Her usual composure was nowhere to be seen; only a reckless madness remained.
All of this was for Zhou Jiuzhen, who was on the verge of death in the tree!
Qin Jinshen's knuckles clenched so tightly they turned white, his heart aching with bitterness and sorrow, until his gaze fell upon the edge of the cliff, at which point his breath suddenly stopped.
Just a second before the wild boar pounced, Ling Huanwu vanished as if swallowed by air!
"What happened?" Qin Jinshen cried out in a low voice, scrambling forward a few steps.
The wild boar couldn't stop in time; its massive body tumbled and plunged off the cliff, its mournful howl quickly swallowed by the clouds.
The next second, Ling Huanwu's figure reappeared out of thin air at the edge of the cliff.
Qin Jinshen had just breathed a sigh of relief when his heart suddenly jumped into his throat.
Ling Huanwu seemed to lose her balance due to weak legs, and her body tilted and slid down the cliff!
"Huanwu!"
Qin Jin rushed over like a madman, only to grab a handful of empty air, his fingertips only feeling the damp wind from the cliff edge.
He lay on the edge of the cliff and looked down. Below was only bottomless darkness, and he couldn't see a single person.
"Ah..." Qin Jinshen's roar exploded in the jungle as he pounded the ground with his hands, oblivious to the blood seeping from his palms from the sharp stones.
Tears mingled with sweat and fell onto the grass. He stared at the dark expanse below the cliff, feeling as if all his strength had been drained away. He collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
He never imagined that after watching her fight desperately for others, he would end up not even being able to keep her shadow.
Qin Jinshen's eyes were bloodshot, and a terrifying killing intent burst forth from them. He panted heavily as he returned to the banyan tree, climbed up the tree, grabbed the still unconscious Zhou Jiuzhen by the collar, dragged him all the way to the edge of the cliff, and slammed him hard onto the gravel.
His cloudy eyes were filled with twisted pleasure. He bent down to take the bucket of water handed to him by his subordinate and splashed the icy water over Zhou Jiuzhen's face.
Seeing Zhou Jiuzhen's eyelashes flutter as he finally struggled to open his eyes from unconsciousness, Qin Jinshen spoke in a sinister tone: "Awake? Perfect, let's see what happens to your wife after her 'beauty saves the hero' moment!"
Zhou Jiuzhen had a splitting headache. Just as he was about to sit up by supporting himself on the ground, Qin Jinshen stepped hard on his wrist.
"Want to move? Listen carefully first. When you were trapped in the tree by the wild boar, who risked their life to rush over, distract the boar, and protect you? Who lost their footing and fell while trying to save you?"
Qin Jin leaned down, his voice like poisoned ice, "If it weren't for Huan Wu, you'd probably be wild boar food by now! Aren't you proud that Huan Wu died for you, and why it wasn't you who died?"
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and in the end he almost shouted it out.
"impossible……"
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