Chapter 46: Should we gamble with his life?

In the book, Mu Nan Zhao met danger in the deep mountains on the day of Beginning of Autumn, suffered poison-induced coma, and lost body heat.

Fortunately, Gu Qingye never left his side, holding him to keep warm, and the two spent the whole night in the mountains.

Only the next morning did Gu Xixi bring people to search for them.

Gu Xixi saw the two embracing and flew into a rage; she not only slapped Gu Qingye, but also, regardless of the occasion, cried and made a scene, grabbing the just-awakened Mu Nan Zhao and demanding he explain clearly.

Having gone through last night, Mu Nan Zhao and Gu Qingye could be said to have shared hardship, and naturally they planted the seeds of affection for each other.

After that, Mu Nan Zhao felt not only dislike but also an added hatred toward Gu Xixi.

Because Gu Xixi's reckless uproar damaged the reputation of Gu Qingye, who was still unmarried.

To Mu Nan Zhao, the person he loved suffered such injustice in order to save him.

How could he not despise her, how could he not hate her?

"Gu Xixi."

"Sister Xixi?"

A male and a female voice calling out pulled Gu Xixi's thoughts back to reality.

She tried to stay calm, "Oh, what's wrong?"

Gu Qingye said, "I just asked you, do you want to go down the mountain now?"

Gu Xixi forced a smile, "Going down the mountain? In such a hurry?"

She glanced ahead, hesitating whether to lead the two forward.

If we don't continue, might we miss the crucial moment when the male and female leads fall in love?

But if real danger lies ahead, can Mu Nan Zhao truly be saved this time?

Gu Xixi just wants to live well.

To that end, is it really okay to gamble with Mu Nan Zhao's life?

Gu Xixi's heart was like a tangled skein of hemp, twisting and turning.

"Gu Xixi." Mu Nan Zhao stared at her eyes, intensifying his tone.

His expression was displeased, yet his eyes hid worry: "What on earth is wrong with you?"

Just now, as we walked here, she seemed off, as if she had lost her soul.

Gu Xixi drew a silent deep breath, and images of Mu Nan Zhao saving her twice flashed through her mind.

As her emotions settled, she had already made her choice.

Gu Xixi lifted her head, showing Mu Nan Zhao and Gu Qingye her usual smile.

"I'm tired too; let's head down the mountain now."

Mu Nan Zhao felt his heart ease, "Let's go."

Although we don't know what Gu Xixi's inner world just went through.

but her appearance seems to have recovered.

The three turned direction, having walked less than a hundred meters, Gu Xixi caught sight of a thicket in the distance out of the corner of her eye, and her steps stopped.

"Wait!"

Mu Nan Zhao and Gu Qingye looked at Gu Xixi blankly as she stared at the thicket and muttered to herself:

"The leaves are definitely from the Camellia family, growing in low-lying, waterlogged areas where it can survive! That's it!"

Her eyes lit up with excitement, and she sprang off like a starving wolf lunging for food.

Mu Nan Zhao initially frowned at her, but as his gaze shifted upward, his expression suddenly tightened.

"Gu Xixi! Stop!"

As he spoke, his body had already lunged forward, but he was still a step too late.

The instant Mu Nan Zhao's fingertip touched Gu Xixi's collar, her foot stepped on something.

The ground, originally intact and covered with dry leaves, suddenly revealed a large hole.

Gu Xixi hadn't even realized what had happened when her whole body began to fall downward.

Mu Nan Zhao's expression changed slightly.

He gritted his teeth, still gave up retreating, reached out to embrace Gu Xixi's shoulders, and fell together with her.

The hole was about five meters deep; fortunately the bottom soil was loose, and Mu Nan Zhao also kicked hard against the wall midway, reducing some of the falling force.

As the two reached the pit bottom, they fortunately weren't injured.

But immediately after, a huge wooden rack fell from the sky; Mu Nan Zhao threw Gu Xixi aside and launched himself forward with a flying kick.

The wooden rack snapped with a sound, splitting into two halves.

Everything happened in an instant; Gu Xixi lay on the ground, still shaken, feeling a chill run down her spine.

The wooden rack was bound with a row of sharpened sticks; at the speed the rack had just fallen, it would surely pierce through two people.

Gu Xixi blamed herself endlessly: "It's all my fault; I only looked ahead and forgot to watch my feet."

"And I've dragged you into being trapped here with me."

Mu Nan Zhao glanced at her and said, "If I hadn't come down, would you still be alive to say these things?"

Gu Xixi lowered her head guiltily, "Sorry."

"All right," Mu Nan Zhao said, looking up and assessing the area above, breathing slightly, "It's not your fault."

"This is an animal trap, extremely well concealed, and it also has a simple linked mechanism."

"Someone without experience, like you, would hardly notice it even if they looked carefully at the path."

Gu Xixi felt a bit relieved, and also knew that now was not the time for self-pity; she should immediately self-rescue.

She stood up and shouted toward the opening, "Qingye! Are you there?"

Gu Qingye witnessed the entire process and was already frightened stiff as a wooden chicken.

Hearing Gu Xixi's shout, she finally reacted, "Sister Xixi? I'm here!"

Just now, seeing the wooden raft smash down, she thought the two below were surely dead.

Gu Qingye approached the trap cautiously, making sure her footing was solid before daring to lie at the mouth of the hole and look down.

"Brother Chen, I'm so glad you're alright!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her partiality had been too obvious in her excitement, and hastily turned her concern to Gu Xixi:

"Sister Xixi, are you hurt? Did the fall hurt?"

"That doesn't matter!" Gu Xixi shouted, "Did you bring the hemp rope?"

Gu Qingye shook her head. "No."

Gu Xixi stared at the smooth walls of the pit, with nothing to push against all the way up and down—how could she climb out?

She turned her head to look at Mu Nan Zhao.

Mu Nan Zhao actually sat down cross-legged on the spot, "Don't look at me, I can't do anything either."

"Now we can only wait for someone else to come rescue us."

Gu Xixi could only raise her head again and shout, "Qingye, go down the mountain now, take a message to my home for Zhang Shen, and have her send people to rescue us."

Gu Qingye nodded in agreement.

As she left, she gave Mu Nan Zhao a deep look, "Brother Chen, wait for me to come back."

Time passed bit by bit.

The afterglow of the setting sun slowly shifted across the bottom of the cave.

Although the sky above had not yet turned completely dark, the inside of the cave was already dim enough that nothing could be seen clearly.

The sound of birds flapping their wings as they returned to their nests, and the rustling of unknown animals running through the grass.

Gu Xixi felt a little frightened and unconsciously leaned toward Mu Nan Zhao.

"The sky is completely dark, why hasn't anyone come yet?"

Mu Nan Zhao scoffed, "Is that really surprising? You and your cousin aren't actually that close."

Gu Xixi retorted, "Even if she doesn't want to save me, she wouldn't bear to see you die here."

Mu Nan Zhao's tone turned grim, "Gu Xixi, you still claim you never thought of abandoning me to your cousin?"

Gu Xixi changed the subject, "I forgot to have Gu Qingye leave the flatbread behind."

The temperature in the mountains drops extremely fast at night.

Gu Xixi felt cold, reached out to pull her sleeve, and unintentionally touched Mu Nan Zhao's hand.

It was icy cold, unlike a living person, and slightly trembling.

Gu Xixi sensed something was wrong, turned to Mu Nan Zhao, and said, "Hey, you wouldn't... again..."

After a moment, Mu Nan Zhao finally spoke, "Rest assured, I took medicine earlier today, so I won't suffer a poison outbreak."

His voice weak, with a hint of mockery, he added, "Also, don't call me 'hey'; remember, my surname is Mu, I'm Mu Nan Zhao."

Gu Xixi was about to speak when she felt the person beside her suddenly go limp and collapse onto her.