Intense! And even in such a situation, Cheng Muyun oozes s.e.xiness.
Wen Han's emotions were a somewhat on the edge, and with the alcohol acting as a catalyst, she was not able to control them.
Wordlessly, she rose to her feet and returned to her own tent. This time, she truly did sleep. The instant she shut her eyes, it was as if she had been pushed into a whirlpool, and heavyheaded, she slipped away from consciousness.
However, it seemed that before long, she was awoken by screams of terror.
Abruptly, she sat up. Vaguely sensing that this was not a dream, she immediately crawled out of the tent.
There was no one beside the campfire. Far away, silhouettes of people were flocked together in one place, hugging their heads and squatting down beside the tents.
In the darkness, she had taken only two steps forward when someone suddenly seized her by the arm and crouched down. "Poachers! They must be poachers! There are so many Tibetan mastiffs!" Agnesa cried in Russian, her words quivering.
Pain stabbed Wen Han's wrist from Agnesa's grip. She patted Agnesa's hand, her own arm sore from the anxiety that clenched her. What about him? Where was he? Frantically, she searched around with her eyes but was unable to find the two guides and him, or his friend Meng Liangchuan.
All around, there were only the snarling and barking of dogs, ferocious and ruthless-sounding.
Injured, two soldiers who were stationed to guard the lake held their wounds as they roared out furious shouts. A group of hounds pounced into the jungle thicket, clamping down and tearing with their teeth or being clamped down upon and torn at by teeth. In the black of the night, nothing could be seen. There were only the yowls and cries of beasts.
Someone carrying a hunting rifle was taking backwards steps, and as he walked past where Wen Han was, he narrowed his eyes. "If you see any animal, slash at it. If you don't hack them to death, you'll be the ones bitten to death." Meng Liangchuan yanked out a knife and tossed it at her feet.
Reaching her hand out, Wen Han pulled the dagger over and clutched it tightly.
She did not know what use there was for her to have a dagger. The speed of those darting shadowy figures was too terrifying. Her sight had become blurry from fear. The landscape before her eyes shook and would suddenly grow larger, then suddenly smaller. All of a sudden, the tent behind them, which was used to hold cookware and utensils, was knocked over, and two animals flipped and rolled into it. Amidst the smas.h.i.+ng sounds of pots and bowls cras.h.i.+ng to the ground, the beasts, swathed in the tent canvas, came charging in her direction. Behind her, Agnesa gave a shrill shriek as Roman yanked her by her collar, and tumbling and scrambling on their hands and feet, they raced toward that largest tent. Besides hiding, there was nothing they could do.
"Wen Han!"Agnesa yelled her name.
She did not move.<>This is an UNAUTHORIZED copy, taken from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com
She had clearly seen a familiar-looking shadow entwined with a Tibetan mastiff, rolling on the ground with it. Under the moonlight, there was blood on Cheng Muyun's face. The look in his eyes was even more ferocious and chilling than the beast beneath him. With a single stab, he thrust his knife straight into the Tibetan mastiff's heart, then dragged the blade crosswise, nearly splitting the beast in two at the chest.
Blood came gus.h.i.+ng out, a brilliant red, completely staining his pants.
Climbing back up onto his feet, he cast an emotionless glance at Wen Han.
Wen Han's feet seemed to have a mind of their own and wanted to run toward him.
But in that moment when she let her guard down, a shadow suddenly dove at her. The instant the beast's jaws clamped down on her shoulder, Cheng Muyun had thrown himself at her, tearing her back out from the Tibetan mastiff's mouth. The two crashed together into the ground, the sky and the earth seeming to spin around them as their bodies bowled toward the pitch-black waters of the lake.
Right before they were about to hit the water, he thrust her aside onto the lakesh.o.r.e with his knee. In that split second before she slammed into a rock, she watched as Cheng Muyun rolled into the water—
There were crocodiles in the water…<>Translation from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com
She lost all consciousness.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.
So painful. Such a sharp, acrid smell.
The pain in her shoulder was becoming more and more intense. She clenched her teeth together tightly, but no matter what she did, she simply could not bear through this. Tears surged forth unceasingly, falling along her cheeks. She had woken to extreme pain. The view before her eyes was hazy as she groaned in a dazed stupor.
A voice was saying in a low tone to her, "I need to treat your wound for you."
Half of Cheng Muyun's body was covered in blood—there was his, and there was Wen Han's.
Sitting on the metal cot in the tent, he set Wen Han on his thighs and held her in his arms. The other vacationers were still overcome with terror, and gathering tightly around the two of them, they moved in close. To them, they could only depend on these two men and the guides.
The campsite outside was in utter shambles. Corpses of hounds and Tibetan mastiffs were strewn all about.
The sight was simply too stimulating to the senses and the heart, and an ordinary person's nerves could break down from simply beholding it.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.
"I'm going to say, this wound of hers is quite frightful—"
"Shh…" Cheng Muyun quietly put a stop to Meng Liangchuan's words.
w.a.n.g Wenhao's face was pale as he gazed at Wen Han, who was half-drenched in blood. His care and worry were genuine, but he could still only watch. Cheng Muyun had been the one to save Wen Han and bring her back. When he climbed back up alive from beneath the crocodiles, the first thing he had done was pick her up into his arms. So, w.a.n.g Wenhao had no excuse he could use to seize Wen Han back from him.
Wen Han's gaze was blurry, and she only roughly knew that the person by her side was Cheng Muyun.
She was fevering. Her throat was parched. And she was so engulfed in pain it seemed as if her soul had already left her and drifted somewhere beyond the heavens.
"Dearest." Cheng Muyun's lips were against her ear as he spoke softly. "The first time I saw you, when you were holding your hands with your palms pressed together, your two index fingers were unconsciously rubbing lightly against each other. Do you know? You were drawing my attention." He allowed his hand to feel down along Wen Han's arm. "My observation skills are extremely good, so good I will notice every action, every move of any person, including how heavy or light each breath is."
Cheng Muyun's words were like bait that hooked in her attention, because these were all things that she was curious about and even wanted to hear. He was a.n.a.lyzing himself for her. Regardless of whether what he said was true or not, there was still an indescribable lure in it to her.
More than half of the garment on her arm was already torn open. The lotus flower henna design seemed glaring beneath the blood.
With his bare hands, Cheng Muyun washed her wound, cleaning out the sand that was in her flesh.
There was absolutely no gentleness or tenderness in his actions. He looked only for speed.
Blackness swam before Wen Han's eyes from the pain, and a shriek burst from her lips.
He held her down. "Of course, it is not for this reason that I am interested in you. I have said before, from the moment I first saw you, there has been a strong desire in me to get close to you, to kiss you, to caress you…"
Cheng Muyun pinched her chin between his fingers, tossing out his last five words: "To make love to you."
With his tongue, he forcefully put a stop to her action of inflicting injury upon herself. Swiftly, he thrust his tongue into her mouth, snaring the tip of her tongue and bringing it into his own mouth, where he entangled their tongues together.
Most of her body was numb from pain, and she felt absolutely nothing, including this kiss.
He plunged deep into her throat, then grabbed the deep green bottle of liquor from Meng Liangchuan's hand. The translucent liquid was poured over her shoulder that was exposed to air.
Something exploded inside her body, and her hands clutched fiercely at the front of his s.h.i.+rt.
Tears gushed relentlessly from her. She could not see anything at all and could only powerlessly draw closer to him.
Cheng Muyun carried on kissing her continuously while making a gesture, indicating to Meng Liangchuan that he should apply the medical ointment to Wen Han's wound and bandage it. Meng Lengchuan's expression was pondering as he skillfully took care of this follow-up work. He saw that Wen Han had already blacked out from the pain, and beside them, the look in w.a.n.g Wenhao's eyes showed that he truly wanted to kill.
Meng Liangchuan lifted a brow.<>You should read this at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com
Even yesterday, he had already sniffed out that this girl must be very interesting.
Hmm. Very unusual, indeed. Meng Liangchuan gave a couple of coughs.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.
After this incident, those several lake-stationed soldiers gathered round in the campsite, rambling incessantly as they expressed their grat.i.tude to Cheng Muyun. They believed that tonight had been an act of revenge by poachers. Cheng Muyun and Meng Liangchuan exchanged a look, then also glanced at their "employer." That "university professor," w.a.n.g Wenhao, was very placidly wiping his gla.s.ses, and not speaking a word, he simply patted the soldiers on their shoulders.
Arrangements were made for Wen Han to rest in the largest tent, and a very simple bed was set up in there for her.
One of the male vacationers who had also been injured was staying inside this same large tent as well, but a curtain-like cloth separated them. When Wen Han regained consciousness again, Agnesa was by her side taking care of her. In a quiet voice, she explained to Wen Han that everyone was temporarily remaining here to rest, and only the guide who had suffered wounds had, after treating his injuries, already gone back in order to hire some locals to protect the travellers and escort them back to a safe place.
Because many people were injured, the guide also needed to find a doctor and purchase the rabies vaccine. As a result, there was a chance that they might have to wait through this night, too.
Wen Han's throat and tongue were parched, and her fever ran high and would not break. Yet, she would still think of Cheng Muyun.
She coughed a couple of times, wanting to open her mouth to speak, but Agnesa had already turned the conversation topic onto her. "Wen Han, why would that guy kiss you? It was so scary at that moment, and even now, I still haven't figured it out. He's showing a lot of interest in you. w.a.n.g Wenhao is really ticked off. I don't even know how you're going to be with him when we go back…" As Agnesa spoke, she was still immersed in residual fear. "How come there were so many ferocious animals? This place is just too scary. We need to hurry and just go back."
Agnesa carried on talking.<>This is an UNAUTHORIZED copy, taken from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com
With great difficulty, Wen Han s.h.i.+fted her hips and legs, feeling as if her entire body was broken and falling apart.
When evening came, she took only a few bites and then was unable to eat any more. Agnesa brought some anti-inflammatory drugs and anesthetics and rather awkwardly helped her use them. In the end, though, when it was time to apply them onto the wound, she did not dare do it herself, and hastily das.h.i.+ng outside, she called for Meng Liangchuan to come.
With his fist against his lips, Meng Liangchuan gave a light cough. "I have only applied medication on men before. My hands aren't gentle. Miss Wen Han, please don't mind."
Wen Han was fevering, and feeling as if her head was splitting, she barely managed a slight shake of her head as she obligingly sat up.
Meng Liangchuan had absolutely not been trying to appear humble. After only just removing her gauze dressing, it already hurt so much that Wen Han could not hold back a cry of pain. All she could do was think of other things to try to divert her focus. "That friend of yours, did he encounter any crocodiles when he fell into the water yesterday?"
Meng Liangchuan gave a chuckle. "Cheng Muyun? He nearly died in those waters yesterday."
This person's tone sure was light and unconcerned.
She, however, felt her heart quiver in alarm when she heard this. Yet, she also realized it was not her place at all to worry. Cheng Muyun—it was only now that she learned his real name from the mouth of someone else.
Meng Liangchuan continued his account. "We should fish up that crocodile that Cheng Muyun left half-dead and sell it to smugglers." After a moment, though, he said, "No, that's no good. Since the start of the new government, Nepal has been extremely strict on trafficking." He rambled away, and the way he treated her wound was not something to be spoken highly of either.
When he left, the male vacationer who was also in the tent was already fast asleep and snoring heavily.
Wen Han swallowed the anti-inflammatory medication with some water.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.
Outside the tent, there were the sounds of voices the entire time. The vacationers, who had endured great shock during the previous day, were all unable to sleep, and so they now simply gathered around the campfire, singing loudly and drinking, using this way to combat the fear of the arrival of another night.
Selecting a rock that was furthest from the campfire, Cheng Muyun sat on it, one leg bent and his arm resting languidly on its knee.
In the darkness, he was doing something unhurriedly with a knife.
Someone drew near from behind him. "I think I should personally remind you that I am paying you to guarantee the safe delivery of the goods, as well as my personal safety."
Turning his head, Cheng Muyun glanced w.a.n.g Wenhao over. Then, with a lift of his arm, a b.l.o.o.d.y object went flying toward the face of w.a.n.g Wenhao, who fl.u.s.teredly blocked it with a hand.
Thunk. The object dropped onto the gra.s.s.
"White-lipped pit viper. It tastes quite good." Cheng Muyun's voice was husky, and there was a thick, enigmatic smile in his eyes. "Do not miss out on it."<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.
Completed:
1 of 1 Prologue
8 of 50 Chapter segments
0 of 1 Epilogue