Chapter 14
Chapter 14
In the imperial palace of the Yong Kingdom, a stunning, aloof beauty shot to her feet.
“What did you say?”
After the roar left her lips, disbelief froze her face. She stared into space and muttered dazedly, “Your Majesty fell from the cliff with that vile woman. They’re alone together… I won’t allow it. I refuse…”
The palace attendant delivering the report pursed his lips.
Should he remind her that, compared with His Majesty being alone with an unfamiliar woman, the fact that His Majesty had fallen off a cliff seemed rather more urgent?
***
Everywhere Shengsheng Zhou looked, towering trees rose in dense layers of green. Birds called from the canopy, insects chirred in the undergrowth, and not a single sign of human interference disturbed the primeval wilderness.
If she had known this would happen, she would have read more wilderness survival books before she died. Then she might have had some idea which way to go.
Her present lack of direction was especially disastrous because she was saddled with a man who weighed about as much as a corpse.
Siran Ming’s face was ghostly pale, his sharp brows knotted even in unconsciousness. All traces of his usual arrogance had vanished. For once, he looked almost frail.
Afraid he would bleed to death, Shengsheng had reluctantly tended his wounds.
Naturally, every strip of cloth used for the bandages had been torn from Siran’s own clothes.
At first, Shengsheng had planned to search the surrounding area for the heroine or simply remain where she was and wait for rescue.
Then a series of roars–disturbingly similar to the sounds of large carnivores–came from somewhere nearby.
She decided against waiting.
She had felt nothing during the fall, but when she looked up and could not see the top through the veils of mist, she finally understood that the cliff was far higher than she had imagined.
There was no chance she could carry Siran alone. Fortunately, sturdy vines grew in abundance. She used them to bind him to her back, taking care to avoid his worst injuries. That way, even if her strength failed and she could no longer support him, he would not fall.
The forest had never been tamed by human hands. Waist-high grass and twisted, interlocking roots made every step a battle.
She did not know how long she walked.
By the time the sun sank halfway behind the mountains, her shoulders were shaking beyond her control and her legs would not stop trembling. Just as she considered abandoning Siran for the ninety-ninth time, a thin wisp of cooking smoke rose above the trees ahead.
It was faint enough to vanish with the breeze, but to Shengsheng it was the smoke of hope.
She fixed her eyes on it and somehow found a fresh reserve of strength. Her steps quickened as she headed in that direction.
She hardly dared hope that someone actually lived in this place. Still, even encountering another human being would be a blessing.
Heaven only knew why the compass she had requested from A-Pang refused to work in this accursed forest.
Perhaps the male lead’s halo had finally done something useful. When Shengsheng spotted a little fenced cottage in the distance, she abruptly decided Siran was not quite as loathsome as usual.
“Is anyone there?” she called.
The rasp that emerged startled even her. Only then did she realize how painfully dry her throat had become.
She shouted several more times. As she approached the cottage, the door finally opened.
A man stepped out holding a hoe, suspicion plain in his eyes. Shengsheng immediately raised one hand to show she meant no harm.
The man froze when he saw her filthy, battered state. He had clearly not expected the intruder to be a young girl carrying an unconscious man on her back.
“Husband, who is it?”
When he remained silent, a woman hiding inside finally poked her head around the door.
“Good heavens…” she breathed.
***
“Young lady, you really are blessed with extraordinary luck,” the woman marveled after hearing Shengsheng’s story. “To fall from such a height and come away almost entirely unhurt!”
Through their introductions, Shengsheng Zhou learned that the middle-aged woman was named Ai Liu and her husband was Daniu.
Years ago, a plague had swept through their hometown. They had fled the disaster and, during their journey, discovered this secluded valley–a hidden paradise where they could live entirely from what the land provided. They had settled there and never left.
According to Ai, Shengsheng and Siran Ming were the first outsiders she had seen in years.
“Then do you know the way out?” Shengsheng asked.
Ai patted her hand reassuringly.
“Don’t worry, Miss Shengsheng. Once your husband recovers, I’ll ask Daniu to guide you out. This place may be vast, but we know it well.”
Realizing that Ai had misunderstood, Shengsheng fell silent for a moment before making one final attempt.
“No, you’ve got the wrong idea. He and I aren’t… like that.”
Ai gave her a look that said there was no need to explain; she understood everything.
Shengsheng had claimed that they were traveling with a merchant caravan to the Yong Kingdom when bandits attacked, causing them to fall from the cliff. But the unconscious man’s clothes, though filthy and torn, were unmistakably luxurious.
Clearly, the young couple had pledged themselves to one another in secret. Their families had objected because of the difference in status, so they had eloped, only to be pursued by killers.
Ah, young love.
Shengsheng had no idea what melodrama Ai had invented. Judging from the woman’s expression, it was probably an unbearably clichéd tale. Better not to ask.
Daniu cleared out a storeroom that the couple rarely used, giving Shengsheng and Siran a simple place to stay.
Shengsheng remained worried about the missing heroine and could not help sighing repeatedly.
Ai assumed she was fretting over her husband’s injuries.
She had just opened her mouth to offer comfort when a tremendous fit of coughing erupted from the hut farthest to the left.
Ai’s expression changed. Without a word of explanation, she hurried away.
Shengsheng considered the sound.
That had seemed like a child coughing.
These people had taken her in. She ought to repay their kindness somehow.
Aside from the hairpin Fusheng Duan had given her, she possessed almost nothing of value. All her luggage and money remained in the carriage.
Her gaze drifted toward Siran, who lay pale and motionless on the bed.
She was about to search him for something useful when a woman’s muffled sob reached her from outside.
Shengsheng immediately opened the door.
Ai and Daniu’s home consisted of three thatched huts. The one on the far left appeared to have been built only recently, which made it seem oddly separate from the others.
As Shengsheng approached, the weeping inside grew clearer.
It was Ai.
She knocked twice.
The crying stopped abruptly, as though the woman inside had forcibly swallowed her grief.
“Miss Shengsheng, is something wrong?”
When Ai opened the door, her eyes were red. The pain in them had not yet faded.
“Auntie, what happened?” Shengsheng asked gently. “Perhaps I can help.”
Ai shook her head.
There was no hope. None at all. If even the old physician at the foot of the mountain had been helpless, what could a young girl like Shengsheng possibly do?
Although she expected no miracle, Ai still stepped aside and allowed her to enter.
Inside, the broad, powerfully built Daniu sat slumped beside a bed, as though the weight of despair had broken his spine.
A boy of no more than ten lay upon the mattress. His face was pallid and his body skeletal. In stark contrast to his wasted frame, both legs were grotesquely swollen and dark reddish-purple. Hard, inflamed pustules rose across the skin like grains, an appalling sight.
Afraid Shengsheng might panic, Ai began to assure her that the illness was not contagious.
Before she could speak, Shengsheng turned around. Her clear, dark eyes rested steadily on Ai’s face.
“I can cure this,” she said softly.