Guanshan Muyu

chapter 28

Even though the wound on Qi Yan’s shoulder was tightly bandaged, it was still bleeding, and the strip of cloth torn from Xia Xun’s sleeve was quickly soaked in blood, turning dark red.

If Xia Xun left him behind, he would pass out due to excessive blood loss.

If the chasers arrived at that time, he would undoubtedly die.

But what if Xia Xun took him with him?

The chasers caught up with them and they would still die.

No matter what he thought, Xia Xun had to leave him behind and go to the village ahead alone to seek the help of the authorities.

This way, at least he could survive.

Xia Xun obviously planned to do so.

When he regained his senses, he had already pulled Qi Yan up from the ground and carried him on his back.

He had grown taller. Qi Yan was only half a head taller than him, but he was larger than him and he was unconscious. His whole body was very heavy, pressed on his shoulders like a dead weight.

The country road was wet and soft, very difficult to tread.

Xia Xun carried him on his back, and with every step he took, he left a deep footprint in the mud.

He walked very slowly.

He wanted to be faster. He clearly tried his best to move his feet quicker, but his speed did not increase.

After a few steps, Qi Yan on his back slowly began to slide down, and he had to stop, raise him a little higher and then move forward again.

Being tossed like this several times, Qi Yan actually came round.

He was wounded and bleeding, but he still was in the mood to make fun of Xia Xun:

“The way you carry… you can awaken the dead…”

Xia Xun was putting all his strength into moving forward, his teeth clenched so tightly that his jaws were sore.

“…cut the crap! If you have the ability, come down and walk by yourself!”

Qi Yan chuckled into his ear; his breath made Xia Xun so itchy that he almost threw him down:

“You—?! ”

Before he could get angry, Qi Yan fainted again.

Xia Xun raised his head, looked at the shady canopy above his head, took a breath and continued to walk forward. He stared at the ground, struggling to move step by step, relying entirely on instinct.

Sometimes a bird called out in the woods; the wind blew across his face every now and then, and beads of sweat slipped from his forehead and fell to the ground.

Xia Xun couldn’t perceive anything, the only thing he could hear was his heavy breathing.

He was very tired.

His health was not as good as it used to be. At the age of sixteen, he would probably be able to dance with Qi Yan on his back. But now, he could only move forward, keeping his waist stiff, enduring the burning feeling that spread from his lower back.

Xia Xun had been walking for a long, long time but hadn’t walked out of the forest yet. In a daze, he wondered if he was lost and was walking in circles.

He doubted that he was really walking forward until a small stream appeared in front of him.

At some point Qi Yan woke up again. He raised his trembling hand and rubbed Xia Xun’s forehead with the back of his hand that was covered with sweat.