The medicinal herbs were now out of reach. Su Yu could only hurry back. That desperate sprint for her life had drained all her strength. Now that she had calmed down a little, her legs felt weak and shaky. After only a few steps, she would stagger unsteadily.
Although the rain had gradually eased, the mountain path was still difficult to traverse. If she fell again, she feared she would not even have the strength to get back up. Now, she needed a place to rest and collect herself.
More importantly… Su Yu lowered her head and glanced at herself. Her soaked clothes clung tightly to her body, revealing the outlines of her figure in full. If she went down the mountain like this, those sticky, lingering stares would surely grow even braver. At the very least, she would have to wait until her clothes dried a little before returning.
This was already the mountain closest to the village. She remembered a shallow cave not far ahead, barely enough to shelter someone from the wind and rain.
Having made up her mind, Su Yu pushed aside her disappointment at failing to gather Wufeng Grass and her lingering fear after escaping the snake’s jaws. She continued onward, stumbling through the muddy terrain toward the cave.
After a mountain rainstorm, the paths became muddy and slippery. Experienced herbal gatherers would avoid entering the mountains at such a time.
The torrential rain had long since driven all the other villagers away. At this moment, the entire mountain was deserted, with only Su Yu remaining. After struggling through the mud for a while longer, she finally arrived at the cave. But before stepping inside, she spotted a figure within.
A young man with an unfamiliar face was leaning against the rock wall. His head was slightly lowered, his eyes closed, and he remained completely motionless. His black robe was half-soaked and clung to his body, as though he too had been caught in the storm.
Instinctively, Su Yu stepped back half a step. In her current state, she really was not fit to meet anyone. She could only look for another place to shelter from the rain.
Just as she thought this and started to turn around, the dark-clad figure in her field of vision suddenly swayed. Then his body tilted to one side, and he collapsed limply onto the ground.
Su Yu was startled by the sudden movement and froze for a moment.
Seeing that the man lay motionless, as if unconscious, she could no longer worry about propriety between men and women. Tentatively, she called into the cave, “Young master, are you alright?”
Her soft voice echoed gently through the cavern, but after a moment, the man remained completely still.
Most people who came and went on this mountain were villagers from Lingyin Village. Although the young man looked unfamiliar, he might still be a villager’s relative.
A life was at stake. She could not afford to hesitate any longer, so she walked over carefully. Only when she drew close did she realize the young man had an exceptionally handsome, refined face. He also carried an air of nobility that seemed utterly out of place in such a crude mountain cave.
Su Yu was certain she had never seen him in the village before. She glanced once more through the hazy curtain of rain outside, but the forest was silent, with no sign of anyone else nearby.
After a moment of hesitation, her respect for human life overcame her fear of a strange man. She helped him sit against the rock wall, loosened his collar a little, and pinched the pressure point beneath his nose to try to wake him. The skin beneath her fingertips was somewhat cool and damp with rainwater. The moment she touched it, her fingers trembled inexplicably. The skin she had glimpsed between the scales of that black python earlier had seemed to have the same cool, wet texture.
At the thought, Su Yu abruptly shook her head, casting aside the inappropriate comparison and focusing on what she was doing.
But after trying for quite some time, the young man still showed no signs of waking. Anxiety began to rise in her heart. He was so young. If he died here, what would she do?
Fearing he might have been injured elsewhere, Su Yu examined him from head to toe several times. However, his black robe was soaked through with rain. Whether he was wounded or stained with blood was impossible to tell.
With nothing else to worry about, Su Yu murmured an apology and deftly untied his dark outer robe, revealing the plain white inner garment beneath. The inner garment was soaked through, too. The thin fabric clung tightly to his body, outlining broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and the clear contours of firm muscles across his abdomen.
Su Yu did not dare look for long. She dutifully focused on checking his body for bloodstains or wounds. There were no traces of blood on his waist, abdomen, chest, shoulders, or back. She let out a small sigh of relief. Then her gaze traveled down along his arm.
The slight easing of her brow immediately vanished. On the section of the inner sleeve covering his forearm were two spots of blood, blurred by the rain. She rolled up the young man’s sleeve, and her expression froze. The wound looked as though it had been caused by a snake bite.
Su Yu’s father had been bitten to death by a venomous snake. Back then, Spirit Snake Mountain was still called South Mountain, and there were no rumors of a giant black python. Her father had ventured into the mountain for the sake of her mother, who had just given birth and lay weak and unconscious, in search of life-saving herbs. In the end, he did find the herbs. But he also lost his life.
As Su Yu gradually grew up, her grandmother began taking her into the mountains to teach her how to identify medicinal plants. She also taught her many survival methods for dealing with wilderness dangers, including what to do after a snakebite.
A bite from a nonvenomous snake was generally not serious. But if the snake was venomous, removing the poisoned blood immediately and restricting blood flow above the wound offered at least a slim chance of survival.
Su Yu’s gaze settled on the man’s face. Young. Alive.
She had no idea how long ago he had been bitten. She did not know whether he could still be saved. But if she did nothing, this man would end up just like her father all those years ago. Without a doubt, he would die.
Su Yu’s thoughts became a tangled mess. After a moment, she leaned down and pressed her soft lips to the two bloodied puncture marks.
Ji Xuanyue opened his eyes. The mortal who had fled from the tip of his tail in terror not long ago was now kneeling beside him. Supporting his arm, she lowered her head, her warm lips enclosing the wound as she carefully and earnestly sucked at it again and again.
Ji Xuanyue caught the scent that pleased him once more. It seeped from the mortal before him, drifting out thread by thread. The fragrance was clearer now than it had been in the rain. It emanated not only from her blood, but also from the warmth of her lips and breath as they touched his skin. It was richer and more lingering than the scent born of her fear earlier, and it suppressed the dull ache in his demon core even more effectively. His gaze quietly settled on the slender neck only inches away. Each time she sucked at the wound with force, the tendons at her throat would stand out ever so slightly. Delicate, fair, and fragile. He could almost imagine how much blood would gush forth if he sank his fangs into it.
Suddenly, Ji Xuanyue felt thirsty. For an instant, the amber eyes he wore as a disguise lost control and transformed into golden, slit-pupiled eyes.
Another weak, foolish mortal. Moments ago, she had been trembling atop his serpent tail. Yet now she knelt with her head lowered, tending to his wound, completely unaware of what it was she was placing her lips upon.
Ji Xuanyue did not like mortals. Yet this particular mortal’s fluids and scent gave him a long-forgotten sense of ease and pleasure. His gaze fell upon her lips, slightly reddened from repeatedly tending to the wound.
He stared at them for a long while. Then he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his golden slit pupils had faded.
Su Yu had already sucked at the wound more than a dozen times, leaving the skin around it flushed red. As she bent to continue, the forearm in her hands suddenly twitched. Startled, she turned her head and met a pair of slowly opening eyes.
In the faint daylight, a gentle warmth flowed within those amber-colored eyes. His gaze lingered on her lips for a moment before slowly shifting back to the forearm she had sucked red.
Even with his eyes closed earlier, Su Yu had known this young master was handsome. Now that his eyes were open, his entire face seemed to come alive.
His features were deep and striking, yet his current sickly appearance softened them. Combined with his pale complexion, he gave off an elegant, refined air that naturally put others at ease.
“Miss, was it you who saved me?” The gentle-looking man slowly spoke, meeting her eyes.
Only then did Su Yu realize she was still holding his forearm. She hurriedly let go, jumped to her feet, and retreated several steps in panic, all the way to the cave entrance before stopping.
Her drenched clothes still clung to her body, outlining a young woman’s curves. She hunched her shoulders and wrapped her arms tightly across her chest, not daring to look at him again as she quickly explained, “You were bitten by a snake, sir. I merely helped suck out the poisoned blood. I couldn’t remove it all. After you get down the mountain, you should find a doctor as soon as possible and have yourself examined.” Having said that, she turned to leave without waiting for a response.
But just as she took a step away, a weak voice came from behind her.
“Miss… please wait… cough, cough…” The coughing came in broken fits, sounding so frail that it tugged at the heart.
Su Yu’s footsteps halted. In the end, she remained standing at the mouth of the cave.
“May I ask for your name, miss?” The man’s voice sounded again, weak. “You saved my life. When I come to thank you properly another day, at least I will know where to find you.”
A gust of wind swept through, and Su Yu, standing at the cave entrance, shivered. “There is no need for thanks, young master. It was only a small matter. I should be going now…”
As soon as the words left her lips, Su Yu rushed into the diminishing rain. Like someone fleeing, she disappeared down the forest path, vanishing behind layers of trees in the blink of an eye.
Once the petite figure was completely gone, Ji Xuanyue’s expression darkened, and all traces of the weak, gentle demeanor he had shown moments before vanished. His soaked outer robe still hung loosely from his shoulders. His left forearm remained exposed to the damp mountain air, chilled by the wind.
He raised his left wrist. The two puncture marks on the inside had been sucked until the surrounding skin flushed red, making them stand out even more against his pale skin.
At first, he had only intended to engineer a chance encounter and use it to approach her. As for the two bloody marks, they were nothing more than the result of a harmless young snake biting him while he was transforming into human form earlier.
Who could have guessed that, seeing him feign unconsciousness, the mortal girl would take it upon herself to suck at the wound? Even more unexpectedly, he discovered it wasn’t only her blood. Even her saliva could soothe both his body and mind.
Ji Xuanyue stared at the reddened patch of skin for a long moment. Then, expressionless, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against it.
As expected. So sweet.