Ming Jing held Konan and burrowed into the cave. The centipede furiously slammed against the stone walls, as if it had made up its mind to eat Ming Jing and Konan.
Ming Jing had no time to think. Holding Konan, he desperately crawled forward. The farther from the giant centipede, the better. At last, the vibrations from behind gradually weakened, and Ming Jing finally sighed in relief. Only then did he realize how miserable he looked. His clothes were torn, his hair was caked with dirt and fragments of meat from some unknown species caught in the centipede's mouthparts. His face was bruised all over, and even the slightest touch made him grimace in pain. Worst of all, the moment he stopped, one of his arms began aching unbearably, completely devoid of strength.
Ming Jing collapsed in the cave, but his other arm still held Konan tightly.
Right, Konan!
Ming Jing hurriedly looked at Konan and found that the girl's face had already turned slightly purple. He quickly patted her face and called, "Hey, hey, Konan, can you hear me? Give me some kind of response!"
Konan slowly opened her eyes. She bit her lip, glared at Ming Jing, and only then said weakly, "I... I'm fine."
"Who are you trying to fool? You still dare say you're fine in this state?" Ming Jing glared right back. This woman was really something else.
"None... of your business." Konan closed her eyes and took a long while to force out those three words.
Ming Jing froze, then sighed inwardly. Konan really had been poisoned! How could Konan possibly speak in such a sickly sweet tone? He searched through his limited store of knowledge. Methods of detoxification included forcing out poison with internal energy, sucking it out with one's mouth, fighting poison with poison...
Damn it!
What kind of garbage methods were these?!
Still, after looking through them all, sucking out the poison with his mouth seemed the most reliable!
Ming Jing lowered his head to look at Konan, then patted her pretty face again. "Konan, where's your wound?"
Konan was already somewhat delirious. Hearing his question, she merely shrugged unconsciously. Ming Jing paused, then thought back carefully. Earlier, the centipede's tail had indeed struck Konan on the shoulder!
So Ming Jing painstakingly adjusted their positions, making Konan lie face down while he lay on top of her... Uh... all right! Ming Jing was genuinely embarrassed this time. No matter how he looked at it, this position was far too suggestive! Luckily, Konan was delirious right now. Otherwise, she would definitely have killed him with a backhand strike.
"Ah, a healer's heart is like a parent's. I'm innocent!" Ming Jing comforted himself. Just as he was about to pull Konan's robe down a little, Konan woke up. She actually woke up at this exact moment!
Ming Jing: "..."
Konan: "..."
"I'm saying I was planning to suck the poison out for you. Do you believe me?" After a while, Ming Jing cautiously spoke.
Konan stared at Ming Jing with a dark expression. After a long silence, she said, "You haven't even grown all your hair yet..."
Ming Jing: "..."
This body was indeed only around ten years old. No matter how much Ming Jing paid attention to diet and exercise, he would not look particularly mature. But hearing Konan say that, Ming Jing felt he ought to do something to defend his dignity as a man... Forget it. Since she was still injured, he would let it go.
"How long are you planning to lie on top of me?" After a while, Konan spoke again. Her voice remained as cool and detached as ever, without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"Sorry. Is the poison in your body under control?" Ming Jing awkwardly backed away and climbed off Konan.
Konan sat up, her complexion somewhat better than before. She shook her head. "I've only temporarily suppressed it. I can't use Chakra right now, so I can't help you. If you think I'm a burden, you can leave me here and go out by yourself first."
"Don't be ridiculous." Ming Jing edged a little closer. "I was the one who asked you to help. How could I possibly leave you here and go out alone?"
"What about the disaster victims outside? You're not going to care about them?" Konan asked.
"With Yamashita Taiji and Tamamachi Seiyo's abilities, they won't need me to handle anything for at least ten days." At this point, Ming Jing looked seriously at Konan. "So, theoretically, we have ten days."
"It should be five days," Konan said slowly. "An ordinary person will die after three days without food or water. We're ninjas, so Chakra can sustain us, but in my current state, I can last at most five days."
"Then we need to hurry. I forgot to mention that the giant centipede seems to have it out for us." Feeling that he had recovered a little, Ming Jing moved his arm. "Anyway, let's first figure out how to get back to the surface!"
"In that case, we can only keep going forward." Konan nodded and crawled forward with Ming Jing, though it was difficult. Before long, Konan was panting from exhaustion and had no choice but to stop.
Seeing Konan like this, Ming Jing knew it would not do. He asked, "Can you use Chakra to force the poison into one spot?"
"Since when can Chakra be used like that in your family?" Konan teased him for once.
Ming Jing could only smile awkwardly. Chakra really could not be compared to internal energy!
But seeing Konan in this state, Ming Jing felt he should do something. He came to her side and said with a serious expression, "I'll help you suck the poison out!"
"Suck it out? With what?" Konan frowned.
Ming Jing pointed at his mouth. "I read it in a novel. You can suck poison out with your mouth."
"Are you sure it'll work?" Konan suddenly felt her body become extremely sensitive. Even though she was merely leaning there, she could not stop goosebumps from rising on her skin. She hated this feeling intensely, so if it could remove the poison, she was willing to try.
"I don't know, but it's better than you stubbornly enduring it like this, right?" Ming Jing decisively shook his head. He truly did not know whether it would work. He could only hope Old Master Jin Yong had tested it before writing about it.
"O-okay..." Konan did not hesitate for long. With her back to Ming Jing, she unfastened several buttons of her Akatsuki black-and-red cloud uniform, then pulled it down herself a little. Around the spine of her shoulder blade was a patch of purple bruising. It seemed the poison had entered Konan's body through that spot.
What a beautiful shoulder!
Ming Jing reached out and touched it, but the instant he did, Konan could not help letting out a soft moan. Ming Jing immediately pulled his hand back and stared blankly at Konan.
This time, Konan's pretty face finally turned red. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Y-you, hurry up."
"Okay, okay!" Ming Jing quickly nodded. He concentrated Chakra at his fingertips, turning his finger into a sword as he sliced across Konan's shoulder and cut a small wound. At once, discolored blood flowed out. Ming Jing untied his outer robe and tore off a relatively clean strip of cloth from his undershirt to wipe away the tainted blood.
Though his movements were already gentle, Konan still endured it with great difficulty. Once the tainted blood had finally drained away, Ming Jing slowly moved closer. The breath from his exhalation brushed against Konan's neck, nearly making her cry out.
"Mm~ W-what are you doing?!" A soft, tingling sensation suddenly came from her shoulder. Konan could not hold it in this time and cried out, questioning him in anger and embarrassment.
"Uh... I've seen animals lick their wounds before treating them. Maybe saliva has anti-inflammatory effects? I figured humans are animals too, so maybe saliva can disinfect wounds as well?" Yes, just then, Ming Jing had licked Konan's fragrant shoulder. Honestly, it had been incredibly stimulating, and Ming Jing felt like he was turning bad. Still, this excuse was truly excellent. For a moment, even Konan did not know what to say.
"Don't, don't do any unnecessary things, or else... I'll kill you." Konan struggled to speak, desperately suppressing the weakness spreading through her body.
"Got it, got it!" Ming Jing hurriedly nodded. It was not as though he truly feared Konan killing him. He was worried that if this dragged on any longer, Konan herself would die first. He really could not bear to see her die!
This time, Ming Jing seriously helped Konan suck out the poison. Konan kept biting her lip tightly to keep herself from crying out again, biting her beautiful lips until they bled. As Ming Jing sucked out the poison mouthful by mouthful, she could feel her strength beginning to return. More importantly, that humiliating sensitivity was gradually easing as well.
At last, Konan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Before you continue