Chapter 213 - 91: Battle in the Wild (3)

Chapter 213: Chapter 91: Battle in the Wild (3)

Zhang Shutong wisely shut his mouth.

...

However, the girl who just minutes ago had said, "We’re not that close," was now draped over his back.

Zhang Shutong carried Lu Qinglian on his back, cautiously making his way down the mountain path.

Her sprained ankle was worse than he’d imagined. The most she could manage was to walk slowly on level ground, but the area was covered in icy rocks. There was no flat path for her to walk on.

Resting wasn’t an option either. It was hard to find a place to sit down, and even if they did, it was too cold. As soon as they stopped moving, their body temperature would plummet. This, at least, confirmed one thing for him: Lu Qinglian had to be human.

He watched her skin turn increasingly pale from the cold. Most people’s skin would turn red, but Lu Qinglian was the opposite. Her skin was like porcelain, emitting a flawless, cold sheen as the color drained from it. That’s when Zhang Shutong had offered to carry her down the mountain.

Now, this porcelain-skinned girl was on his back. Of course, he wasn’t having any romantic thoughts. He was dead tired. Every deep breath tugged at the wound in his chest, and as the adrenaline faded, he realized it wasn’t just his chest that hurt—both of his arms were aching too.

"Move your hands down a little," a cold voice warned from behind him. "Don’t touch my thighs."

"Sorry about that." He hitched her higher up on his back, making sure his hands were under the bend of her knees. "First time carrying a girl. I’m not very experienced."

"It’s my first time being carried by a boy, too." Lu Qinglian, of course, didn’t wrap her arms around his neck, instead resting her hands lightly on his shoulders. "So you’d better be careful, Zhang Shutong."

They both decided it was best to drop the subject.

He’d already called his mom, and his face grew warm just thinking about it. He had promised he wouldn’t disturb her beauty sleep.

But his mom was already on her way. As for where they’d go next, Zhang Shutong honestly hadn’t thought that far ahead. They just had to get to the foot of the mountain first.

"How much of your strength do you have left?" Zhang Shutong asked.

"Enough to deal with you."

"I mean, what if the killer is a tough fighter? Are you confident you could take them?"

"I’m not sure."

He felt a tickle on the back of his neck and knew Lu Qinglian was shaking her head, her hair brushing against his skin.

Normally, something like this would get his mind racing, but all Zhang Shutong felt was regret.

’It’s like... I just went and... weakened my hard-won combat strength.’

"Sorry."

"You should be." He couldn’t see her face, but he imagined it was expressionless.

"But it was hard not to let my imagination run wild after what you said in the car."

He tried to explain.

"Like when you said, ’The snakes will start moving again once they warm up. Be careful not to get bitten...’"

"That was a warning, so you wouldn’t get any funny ideas about those snakes. What were *you* thinking of?"

Zhang Shutong fell silent for a moment before asking,

"What about that amused, cold little laugh? That was pretty creepy, you know."

"Did you see that bird?" Lu Qinglian asked unexpectedly. "On top of the second tree."

But as soon as Zhang Shutong turned his head, the bird flapped its wings and flew off.

"A skittish bird?"

"Something like that. Remember the experiment from our seventh-grade biology textbook?" As expected of the top student in their year, she had an example for everything. "Investigating the effects of light on woodlice."

"What do you mean?"

"The first time I heard the name ’woodlouse,’ I thought it sounded interesting to observe them. I probably laughed a little then, too. Do you know what that makes me think now?"

"What?"

"It’s a good thing woodlice can’t dig traps."

"So you’re saying it wasn’t a cold laugh, but the kind of laugh you have when you’re observing some interesting creature?" Zhang Shutong got it now. The woman was insulting him indirectly.

"You can interpret it that way for now," Lu Qinglian said coolly. "On one hand, you’re far too suspicious. On the other, there are indeed some things about you that I find interesting and worth studying. But don’t get the wrong idea. The ’interest’ I’m referring to is likely very different from what you’re thinking."

Zhang Shutong couldn’t imagine what she meant. ’Why does that make me sound like a lab rat?’ He had no choice but to go with that interpretation for the time being.

"I had a cat at the temple when I was a kid. Your reaction to me is a lot like how that cat reacted when it saw a snake," Lu Qinglian added, twisting the knife.

"Okay, that’s enough." His expression darkened. "So why did you change your mind? Weren’t you going to take me to the temple?"

"That was the plan, but you got carried away by the side of the pit and revealed plenty of information. It was enough for me, so there’s no need for me to tell you much in return."

"Can we stop and rest for a bit?"

"Are you trying to stall for time again?" she asked, sounding like she was frowning.

"No, you’re just heavier than I expected..."

"Zhang Shutong, I haven’t mentioned to your friends that you dug a pit to bury me. Are you sure you want them to know why you dug such a deep pit?"

Zhang Shutong thought about how Ruoping and Du Kang would react and shut his mouth again.

’What a troublesome woman.’

They soon reached the foot of the mountain, and Zhang Shutong was finally able to unload his burden. He went into a small snack shop, found a chair, and set Lu Qinglian down.

The woman running the shop gave the two of them a strange look.

Zhang Shutong bought two bottles of water and handed one to Lu Qinglian.

"Thank you," Lu Qinglian said, accepting it politely.

He stepped outside to call his mom again. She asked if they were having a good time.

Zhang Shutong didn’t know how to answer.

’She’s going to be dumbfounded when she gets here:’

’The two of them were perfectly fine when they left. How did one come back with a sprained ankle, and the other having been kicked?’

’Just what were you two doing on that mountain?’

Zhang Shutong’s head throbbed just imagining the questions. Fortunately, Lu Qinglian wasn’t the type of girl to go tattling.

Soon, his family’s black SUV pulled up. He called out to Lu Qinglian, and they both got in. Because Lu Qinglian deliberately walked slowly, his mom didn’t notice her injured foot.

The first thing she noticed was the empty plastic bag in the girl’s hands:

"So you two really did eat the apples! Good thing I thought ahead, huh?"

Then his mom turned to him with a grin.

"Well, well, well. And who was it this morning being so stubborn, saying it wasn’t a picnic and that I shouldn’t be disturbed?"

Zhang Shutong’s eye twitched.

’True enough.’

’It was more than a picnic. It was a wild...’

At that thought, he couldn’t resist glancing at Lu Qinglian in the rearview mirror. Her expression was placid.

It was as if the whole thing—the probing in the snow, the chase, the ambush and counter-ambush, the world of white, the flurrying snowflakes—had all been an illusion.

But the pain in his chest reminded him it had all happened just moments ago.

’So it wasn’t just a picnic. It was a full-blown battle in the wild.’

Zhang Shutong thought, settling on a fitting description.

’Yeah, that’s it.’