Sha Yi woke up in pain.
Every inch of her body ached, as if all her bones had been crushed. Not only was her entire frame sore, but even her internal organs throbbed with agony, making her feel nauseous and weak.
With great effort, she managed to open her eyes, but she lacked the strength to get up.
Squinting at the glaring sun, Sha Yi felt the uneven ground beneath her pressing uncomfortably against her body.
She had no idea what she was lying on, but her waist and hips were elevated far higher than her head and feet, making the position unbearably awkward.
Despite summoning all her willpower, the pain was too overwhelming. In the end, she could only lie there helplessly, waiting for her strength to return.
She had no idea where she was. The area was surrounded by plants that resembled bamboo, though their color was much lighter. The sky, as she had glimpsed earlier, was clear and bright.
As for the ground beneath her, her sense of touch suggested it was some kind of sandy terrain—dry, warm, and composed of fine, soft particles, unlike the solid compactness of soil. Meanwhile, her arm, resting at her side, seemed to have come into contact with a faint dampness.
Moisture?
A storm? A flood? A raft? A waterfall? Xi Yi!
Her heart pounded violently, and she bolted upright in an instant. Just then, a pained groan came from beneath her.
Startled, Sha Yi reflexively looked down and saw a dark-skinned, muscular man lying on his back beneath her.
—It was Jialuo!
Sha Yi felt a vein throb at her temple as fury surged within her.
Truly, enemies were bound to meet. Once a feud was formed, they’d cross paths everywhere!
She reached for her pocket but found no trace of the fruit knife she had hoped for.
It seemed both knives had been swept away when she fell down the waterfall. Frustrated, she withdrew her hand, only to spot a sharpened stick lodged in the sand not far away. Summoning her strength, she forced herself to stand.
But she had barely taken two steps when a low, choking cough came from behind her.
Instinctively turning, she saw Jialuo coughing up water with a pained frown. Sha Yi narrowed her eyes.
He was about to wake up.
Ignoring her own pain, she yanked the sharpened stick from the sand and rushed back to where the man lay. Just as she raised the stick to strike, his eyes snapped open.
A fleeting hesitation.
But it couldn’t outweigh the hatred in her heart. Sha Yi steeled herself and thrust the stick downward.
At the last moment, Jialuo grabbed her wrist, halting the strike. Between coughs, he rasped, “You… you deceitful woman… damn liar…”
Sha Yi had no patience for words. She had intended to kill him in one strike, but his strength was too much for her. In her rage, she noticed a bleeding wound on his chest and stomped on it without hesitation.
As expected, the man howled in agony, and the grip on her wrist weakened instantly.
Seizing the opportunity, Sha Yi mustered all her strength and drove the sharpened stick downward again.
But Jialuo reacted quickly, twisting his head aside at the last second. The stick grazed his neck, drawing blood, but it was far from a fatal wound—her effort had been wasted.
Just as she planned to twist the stick and strike again, Jialuo, gritting through the pain, rolled violently, pinning her beneath him. He snatched the stick from her hand and flung it away.
Sha Yi seethed, but Jialuo was no less furious. “What are you glaring at? You’re the one trying to kill me! You’ve got some nerve, damn liar!”
Seeing that Jialuo was about to launch into another tirade, Sha Yi grew impatient. She swiftly reached up and pressed hard against the wound on his chest.
Jialuo howled again, and Sha Yi took the chance to shove him off, scrambling to her feet. She lunged for the discarded stick, but she was too late.
At the same moment, she felt a tight grip around her calf—Jialuo had seized her leg and was yanking her backward with all his might.
Furious, Sha Yi kicked wildly. Though she landed a few solid blows, he soon had both her legs locked in his arms.
Just then, a short figure burst onto the scene. Both of them froze in shock. After a stunned pause, Jialuo blurted out in disbelief, “Old man Tuge? You’re alive? Weren’t you captured and killed?”
“You’re the one who’s dead!” Tuge, the elderly man, nearly jumped in anger. He pointed at the two of them, fuming. “What are you two doing? Since when did you get so close?”
“When will your blindness ever get better?!” Jialuo nearly spat blood. “This damn liar was trying to kill me!”
“Then… then you must’ve done something wrong!” Tuge’s bias was clear—he hadn’t even listened to Jialuo’s explanation. “Both of you… come here!”
“What for?” Jialuo glared at Tuge, his face dark with displeasure.
Tuge jabbed a finger toward the cave. “There’s a man inside. If you want to save him, follow me!”
“What’s that got to do with—”
Before he could finish, a foot slammed into his face. Jialuo’s expression twisted in pain and fury, but the woman he called a “damn liar” had already shoved past him, rushing after Tuge into the cave.
Jialuo was left dumbfounded. With no other choice—and his chest wound still bleeding—he could only collapse back onto the sand.
Inside the cave.
From a distance, Sha Yi spotted a man lying face-down on a flat boulder. His face was partially obscured by wavy hair, but his build and posture looked hauntingly familiar.
Her heart pounded with dread. She could barely bring herself to step forward until Tuge grumbled impatiently, “He’s not dead! What are you afraid of?”
Only then did Sha Yi rush over.
It was Xi Yi!
He was alive!
He hadn’t been killed by the bone spear, nor had he drowned. This was the best news she could have hoped for!
Overwhelming joy crashed over her. Tears welled in her eyes, torn between laughter and sobs. Her entire body trembled, startling Tuge.
However, Xi Yi’s injuries were still severe.
He had been stabbed in the back. She didn’t know if his organs had been damaged, but the wound was deep. Even though it was packed with chewed plant stems, she could still see the severity. And she had witnessed Jialuo thrusting that bone spear into him.
The force had been immense—driven by the dive of a giant-toothed eagle and the brute strength of a man of equal stature.
The only consolation was that the spear hadn’t struck near his spine. It had landed between his lung and lower organs. Though terrifying to look at, it likely wasn’t fatal. Moreover, Xi Yi was powerfully built—his muscular back had absorbed much of the impact.
For now, though unconscious, his face was pale but peaceful, showing no signs of extreme suffering.
Sha Yi slowly calmed down.
But then Tuge suddenly leaned in. “The bone spear was poisoned. The wound is tainted.”
Just as she had steadied herself, this new shock nearly made her jump. She stared at Tuge in disbelief, but the old man repeated firmly, “As soon as I identified the poison, I knew who caused this wound. The bleeding’s stopped, but the poison remains. We don’t have the antidote herb here.”
Sha Yi grabbed Tuge’s arm in desperation. “Where can I find it?”
“Ask the one who stabbed him. Jialuo always carries that herb—it’s for repelling snakes, but it also counteracts this poison.” Tuge pointed outside and lowered his voice. “You’d better hurry. It’s been two days since I found this man. Any longer, and it might be too late. Also… I’m starving. Two days…”
She had expected his “also” to be something urgent, but instead, it was about his hunger. Annoyance flared, but she swallowed it—Xi Yi’s life depended on Tuge now. Without another word, she rushed out of the cave.
Jialuo was still sprawled on the ground. Seeing her, he immediately sat up, adopting a defensive stance and scowling. “Your man’s not dead yet?”
“Your Tuge isn’t dead either!” Sha Yi shot back sharply.
“So?”
“Call it even!”
Jialuo’s face twisted with skepticism. “Just like that?”
“Give me the herb you use to repel snakes.” Sha Yi gritted her teeth. “Then it’ll be that simple.”
“Deceitful woman, trying to trick me again.” Clutching his chest wound, Jialuo scrambled to his feet. “You want to heal him so you can finish off both me and Tuge, don’t you? Do I look that stupid?”
“You’ll give it to me whether you want to or not.” Sha Yi’s voice was icy as she jerked her chin toward the cave. “Hand it over now, or I’ll deal with Tuge first!”
Jialuo laughed. “Kill Tuge, and your man dies too. Go ahead—I won’t stop you!”
Another scheming bastard!
Sha Yi suppressed the curse in her mind and feigned indifference. “Fine. If Xi Yi can’t be saved, we’ll all die together. You brought this on yourself!”
With that, she turned away.
To her surprise, the move shattered Jialuo’s bravado. The moment she turned, he lunged and grabbed her arm. “Hey, hey—no need for that! Tuge’s gonna die sooner or later anyway, no point speeding it up…”
Die sooner or later…
Sha Yi was speechless at his callousness. She could only glare at him in exasperation.
Unnerved by her stare, Jialuo scowled. “Keep glaring, and you won’t get that herb!”
“I haven’t even settled the score for you stabbing Xi Yi!” Sha Yi shook off his grip, disgusted. “And now you’re threatening me?”
“You just said we’d call it even!” Jialuo bristled like an angry cat, then hunched over in pain. But even then, he couldn’t resist adding, “Damn liar!”
Sha Yi frowned at the man clutching his chest and whining. She realized that every encounter with Jialuo left her seething—something that rarely happened before. Except in emergencies or crises, she had always kept her cool. But ever since Jialuo appeared, she constantly fantasized about stabbing him to death.
The man was mercurial—ruthlessly cunning one moment, bafflingly stupid the next. Honestly, she was reaching her limit.
Right now, just looking at him made her blood boil. His incessant complaints only deepened her irritation.
But Jialuo wasn’t done. He launched into another rant. “You know how I got this wound? Because of you! First you shoot that bird, then you shoot me! And what the hell was that thing you used? How could you throw a sharp stick that far with such force? Last time I saw you, you weren’t this strong…”
“Let me clarify—calling it even depends on you giving me that herb.” Sha Yi raised a hand to silence him, her tone icy. “Hurting you wasn’t the goal—killing you was. Too bad my aim was off and the force wasn’t enough. If I’d had my way, that shot would’ve gone straight through your vitals after hitting the eagle. Don’t ask about the ‘thing’—you wouldn’t understand anyway. Now, hand over the herb. No more nonsense!”
Her words left Jialuo momentarily stunned, his mouth twitching as he stood there dumbly.
Out of patience, Sha Yi stepped around him—only for him to grab her arm again.
She turned, just in time to see him fish out a few leaves from the tattered grass vest at his side and shove them into her hand.
But in that brief exchange, she caught the reluctance on his face—and the simmering anger in his dark eyes.
His resentment reassured her—the leaves were likely genuine.
Clutching them, Sha Yi quickly pulled back to inspect them. Still wary, she warned, “You’d better not have swapped them for poison!”
Jialuo’s eyes lit up with fake realization. “Oh! I could’ve done that? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
But his momentary glee faded into a sigh, as if lamenting a missed opportunity. Then he erupted again. “That’s your trick, isn’t it? You deceitful damn liar!”
“Damn liar” this, “damn liar” that—no one but Jialuo would dare call her that. The man was a scheming, treacherous snake, yet he had the gall to accuse her! Sha Yi doubted there was another person like him in the world.
Still, at least he was easier to manipulate than Saina, who hid his malice behind a harmless facade. The mere thought of Saina made her blood boil.
Truth be told, their current predicament was entirely his fault.
One day, she would make him pay dearly for it.
Lost in her thoughts, Jialuo’s voice abruptly cut in. “Why aren’t you going back in? Didn’t you say it was urgent? Or are you waiting for your man to die before delivering the herbs?”
Snapped back to reality by his taunts, Sha Yi’s face darkened. She shot a glare at the smirking man. “I’m holding you responsible for these herbs. If anything goes wrong, you know what’ll happen.”
“I gave them to you! Whether he lives or dies isn’t my problem!” Jialuo waved a hand dismissively, grinning. “Don’t threaten me—you can’t beat me in a fight.”
“Who said anything about fighting? In my eyes, your stupidity is an incurable flaw.” Sha Yi scoffed.
“What did you say?!” Jialuo roared behind her.
“Your dear Tuge says he’s hungry. Get him some food!”
“Is he blind? There’s nothing out here! All the food we traded was taken away. What am I supposed to feed his picky stomach?”
“He is blind!”
Without looking back, Sha Yi dismissed him. She had no energy to deal with his antics.
Right now, Xi Yi’s life was all that mattered. He had to survive—and recover fully.
Inside the cave, Tuge was still fussing over Xi Yi’s wound, clearly uneasy. But his eyesight was so poor that his face was practically pressed against the injury.
Worried, Sha Yi quickened her pace.
Yet Tuge’s hearing was sharp. Before she reached him, he spoke up. “Got the herbs? That was fast. I’m surprised Jialuo gave them to you.”
“Only because of you. He doesn’t want anything to happen to you, so he had to listen.” Sha Yi handed over the leaves, not bothering to hide the truth. “I told him if he refused, I’d take it out on you.”
“You wouldn’t.” Tuge chuckled, as if she’d told a joke. His gap-toothed grin widened. “I knew you wouldn’t—ever since you stopped Jialuo in that cave before.”
Sha Yi hummed in acknowledgment but didn’t elaborate. As Tuge crushed the herbs into a paste mixed with a greenish liquid, she watched intently.
With his poor vision and slow movements, Tuge took what felt like forever to dress Xi Yi’s wound.
And Sha Yi, gripped by anxiety, stood by his side the entire time.
When he finally finished, Tuge turned and blinked at her in surprise. Then he pointed to another exit in the cave. “When you and Jialuo were washed here, some other things came with you. They might belong to you—they’re in the shallow water over there. I can’t see well, and I’m not strong enough to move them. You’ll have to get them yourself. If it’s too hard, ask Jialuo for help. He’s not a bad person at heart.”
Then he reached into a pile of plant stems and pulled out two knives, handing them to her. “These strange things might be yours too. I’ve never seen anything like them, but they’re sharp—much better than bone knives. They’ve been a big help these past two days.”
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