Chapter 142

Every part of Shen Lantang, body and soul, was screaming. A little snake suddenly poked its head out of the grass to her upper left and stared at her, its tongue flicking. She stopped short, then bolted to the right. But in the next instant, the dead branches beneath her feet gave way. She and Xie Jin dropped and tumbled helplessly downhill.

It was a slope.

The searing pain made it impossible for Shen Lantang to stay conscious. She took one last look at Xie Jin, lying unconscious not far away, then her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

Sunlight flickered across Xie Jin's eyes. He slowly opened them. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying on a bed—a very hard bed.

"Xie Jin, you're awake!"

The familiar voice reached him before his vision came into focus.

"Lantang..."

Shen Lantang pressed her palms together and said with heartfelt sincerity:

"I'm sorry. You'd only just been injured, and then you got bitten by a snake."

"How could that be your fault?" Xie Jin protested at once. He glanced around. "Where are we?"

As far as he could see, it was a small room with low walls and sparse furnishings. The place was practically bare. This was certainly not what rescue under normal circumstances would have looked like.

"Some villagers from the mountain rescued us..."

As she spoke, a voice came from outside.

"Miss, is your husband awake yet?"

"He is, he is!" Shen Lantang immediately stood, her face full of gratitude.

"He's awake, all thanks to you and your husband. If you hadn't saved us, neither of us would be here."

A plain-looking middle-aged woman entered the room with a smile. "It's nothing. In a mountain this big, it's lucky we happened upon you. Otherwise,