After coming out of the space, Shen Baizhi discovered that the man was still lying where he had been, unmoving. She thought for a moment, then went into the cave and found a chipped porcelain bowl—one she had left here before.
She took the broken bowl back into the space, only to find that there was so little water at the bottom of the pool that she couldn’t scoop it up with the bowl at all. In the end, she had to rake the bottom with her hands for a long time before finally cupping out half a bowl of water.
Holding that half bowl of water she had obtained with great difficulty, Shen Baizhi began tending to the man’s wounds, carefully rinsing them with the water.
When it came time to treat the wound on his thigh, she frowned and thought for a moment, then simply reached out and pulled his trousers down. They were soaked anyway—she might as well take them off and dry them by the fire.
After a long stretch of busy work, she finally finished treating all his wounds.
Since this spirit spring was supposed to be so effective, he shouldn’t get an infection or a fever… right?
Only after dealing with all of his injuries did Shen Baizhi turn her attention to herself. She was still wearing that completely soaked thermal top underneath; even her sweater was probably drenched through by now.
She glanced at the man on the ground, then entered the space again. This time, inside the space, she took off all her clothes, put the pink coat directly on her bare body, and then came out holding the wet clothes she had changed out of.
She set the wet clothes on a rack by the fire to dry, then sat not far from the man, watching the flames and occasionally tossing in another piece of firewood.
Actually, given that she was essentially naked under the coat right now, she wanted to hide in the space. Even though the man was unconscious, it still made her feel embarrassed.
In her previous life, Lin Cheng had married her to use her as a shield and a housekeeper. On top of that, Lin Ranran kept a tight watch on them. Shen Baizhi and Lin Cheng had never consummated the marriage—she had died without ever having an intimate relationship with a man.
So now, being alone like this with a man she had practically stripped half naked made her extremely uncomfortable.
But she was also afraid that if she really hid inside the space, she might miss something happening outside and the man might run into trouble. So she could only stay there, awkwardly keeping watch.
Facts soon proved that her concern was justified.
After about an hour, the man who had been lying quietly on the ground suddenly began to twist restlessly.
She hurried over to check on him. His face was flushed red, his expression twisted in pain, and faint, uncomfortable groans escaped his lips.
She reached out and placed her hand on his forehead. It was burning hot.
He had a fever?
Was the spirit spring water useless?
Just as Shen Baizhi was about to go back into the space to get more spirit spring water to see if it might bring the fever down, the man suddenly bent one leg unconsciously, drawing her attention to his lower body.
Where her eyes fell, the pure black boxer briefs were noticeably raised in the middle.
Shen Baizhi hurriedly turned her gaze away, her face flushing bright red.
In her previous life, although she hadn’t “eaten pork,” in such an information-rich era she had certainly “seen pigs run.” Naturally, she knew exactly what that scene meant.
But hadn’t Shen Baiwei said he wasn’t capable?
How could this be “not capable”? It was clearly even more… than what she’d seen in those action movies… ahem…
Could it be that Shen Baiwei had lied to her?
That didn’t make sense either. If this man truly wasn’t capable, given Shen Baiwei’s obsession with him, she would definitely have clung to him shamelessly and insisted on marrying him.
So what was going on now?
And this man too—he was injured, unconscious, burning with fever, and yet he could still have a reaction like this?
Wait. No—could this be one of those common novel tropes? Had he been drugged?
Damn! Then what should she do now?
After hesitating for a long time, Shen Baizhi decided to give him more spirit spring water and see if it could counteract the effects of the drug.
Once again she scraped together a small half bowl of spirit spring water from the space. She lifted the man’s head and carefully brought the bowl to his lips.
Seeming to sense it, the man instinctively opened his mouth and drank all the water in the bowl. As soon as she finished feeding him, Shen Baizhi quickly let go and retreated to the side to observe.
Half an hour passed, and the man only grew more restless. His skin was visibly flushed red, and without even touching him, Shen Baizhi could imagine how scorching hot he must be.
It seemed that the spirit spring water was ineffective against this kind of drug.
Well, that made sense—the description of the spirit spring water had never said it could detoxify or neutralize this sort of thing.
Could it be that in her previous life, Shen Baiwei had simply watched helplessly as this man was ruined?
That didn’t seem reasonable either. Shen Baiwei had said she fell in love with him at first sight. If she had encountered a situation like this, she would have offered herself without hesitation—there would have been no need for decades of regret afterward over not choosing to marry him.
A more plausible guess was that when Shen Baiwei had saved him, she had accidentally gotten injured and awakened this miraculous space. She had become so carried away inside it that she never noticed the changes in the man’s body, causing her to miss the critical moment to help him.
So now—should Shen Baizhi save him?
Offering herself was out of the question. She only wanted the protection that came from saving his life for a few years; she had no desire to truly marry him. A prestigious family like his was not something a rural girl like her could aspire to—especially since she had already been married once.
If she didn’t offer herself, though, it wasn’t as if there were no other options. She had watched some action movies…
Shen Baizhi unconsciously fidgeted with her fingers, her heart in turmoil, as two little figures began fighting in her mind.
The little figure in black said:
“Forget it. Don’t get involved. Didn’t Shen Baiwei let him be ruined in her last life and still get the life-saving favor and the family’s support all the same?”
The little figure in white replied:
“You should save him. Such a good-looking man becoming someone who’s all looks and no use would be such a waste.”
Black said:
“Ruined is ruined. It has nothing to do with you anyway—you won’t be using him. If he doesn’t marry, no one will stop him from helping you. That’s what’s most beneficial to you.”
White said:
“That’s not right. If you can save him but choose not to, can your conscience really handle it?”
Black said:
“What’s there not to handle? Weren’t you kind enough in your last life? And what did you get in the end?”
White said:
“You can’t put it that way. In the end, didn’t you still feel warmth from many strangers who showed you kindness?”
…
As the two argued farther and farther off topic, a little figure in yellow suddenly popped up, looking smug and composed as it spoke:
“In your last life, you only ever saw pigs through a screen. Don’t you want to see one up close in this life?”
“This man’s body and looks are top-tier, and judging by appearances, he’s exceptionally gifted there as well.”
“Someone like this might be forever out of your reach in the future. Miss this chance, and it’s gone. Are you really not tempted…?”
“And think about your last life—you stalked him for half a year and couldn’t even get within twenty meters of him. Don’t you want to see what he’s like when he’s completely under your control?”
“And he’s the white moonlight Shen Baiwei obsessed over for an entire lifetime!”
“And then there’s Lin Cheng—he put a dark green hat on you. You can at least return him a light green one first…”
As soon as Xiao Huang finished speaking, Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai immediately united, nodding furiously.
Shen Baizhi suddenly opened her eyes. Though the tips of her ears were burning red, her gaze was firm with resolve.
Since she had already made her decision, she didn’t hesitate any longer. She slowly moved toward the man…
She reached out with one finger and hooked it into the waistband of his trousers. Before she could make her next move, her wrist was suddenly seized by a scorching-hot, powerful hand.
Startled and guilty, she turned her head. The man had somehow woken up at some point. The calm, silent eyes she had seen in her previous life were now bloodshot and fixed on her without blinking.
There was warning in his gaze— and also an unmistakable, barely restrained desire.