Chapter 138: There’s Something Wrong with the Arm
"That’s right, teacher. Anyway, we’re idle, so we’ll head back to check, and if not, we’ll go up the summit," said Zhao Lei.
Shen Yan was finally convinced by their back-and-forth conversation.
As Yang Fan and Zhao Lei were leaving, they nodded to Wu Mengting, assuring her not to worry. Wu Mengting also nodded back, indicating she understood.
Thus, the two started heading downhill...
In a place unknown to anyone at the mountainside, the sun set in the west, and night descended. The temperature in the mountains kept dropping.
"Achoo!"
Lin Wushuang couldn’t help but sneeze, then wrapped her arms around her body, feeling a bit of a shiver.
Chen Tianlong surveyed the surroundings for a while but couldn’t find any path to return to, making it seem impossible to go back. The gorilla over there was already furious; returning was akin to courting death.
Seeing this, Chen Tianlong thought that they couldn’t wait indefinitely; the temperature in the mountain stream was quite low, and the young lady’s luggage hadn’t been brought here. They assumed there would be hotels or something at the summit, so sleep wouldn’t be a concern.
Thinking of this, Chen Tianlong grabbed Lin Wushuang’s hand and headed toward a cave ahead.
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a cave but more like an overhang.
It was a long section extending from the mountain wall, able to shelter from the wind and rain. The other caves were too small, only acting as corridors, and were quite damp with no place to sit.
Not long after, the two arrived under the overhang. Chen Tianlong cleared the debris from the ground, fiddled with his hands and feet, and then knelt down to blow away the dust for a while.
Finally, he laughed and said, "Miss, please sit; it should be clean now."
"Oh!"
Lin Wushuang felt somewhat flattered, as Chen Tianlong suddenly became so attentive, even taking care of her, which gave her a subtle feeling in her heart.
After doing all this, Chen Tianlong quickly moved forward, and Lin Wushuang paused, thinking he might abandon her and run off. She hurriedly shouted, "Hey, Chen Tianlong, where are you going?"
"Oh, picking up some firewood, to make a fire, or else you’ll freeze to death tonight!"
Chen Tianlong said casually, turned around, and continued searching for dry wood.
About ten minutes later, Chen Tianlong lit a pile of firewood and some dry grass, and a blazing fire appeared in front of them.
"So warm!"
Lin Wushuang placed her hands in front of the fire, feeling warm and comfortable. But soon, her stomach started growling.
Chen Tianlong smiled wryly and left again. This time Lin Wushuang didn’t ask; Chen Tianlong probably wouldn’t abandon her.
Sure enough, after fifteen minutes, Chen Tianlong came back carrying a wild rabbit, already cleaned of its innards, with two sticks prepared.
"Here, Wushuang, hold one. Let’s roast it over the fire and eat,"
Chen Tianlong said with a smile, and the rabbit was indeed large. Even without salt, having such a delicacy in this situation was already quite good.
"Wow!"
Seeing there was food, Lin Wushuang didn’t hesitate and grabbed a stick, and the two began roasting.
The joy at this moment surpassed all previous camping adventures, making it seem like the whole world belonged to the two of them.
After filling their stomachs, Chen Tianlong added more firewood to ensure the fire wouldn’t go out at night. This way, even if wild beasts came, they wouldn’t dare approach easily.
Chen Tianlong watched as Lin Wushuang slowly fell asleep, smiling slightly, feeling at ease.
Indeed, everything that happened today was a great test for Lin Wushuang, but for Chen Tianlong, it was just another routine.
Before he was ten years old, Chen Tianlong had already started participating in wilderness survival, experiencing many solitary journeys, nurturing a strong heart that knew no fear.
At this moment, Chen Tianlong suddenly felt sharp pain in the wound on his right arm.
He took a deep breath, tearing his clothes apart slowly, discovering that the wound was slowly healing, which puzzled him. Logically, if the wound was healing, it indicated improvement, so why was there such intense pain?
While Chen Tianlong was perplexed, a scorching and even more intense pain struck, causing even someone as resilient as Chen Tianlong to groan in pain.
"Ah!"
Although this sound wasn’t loud, Lin Wushuang, who wasn’t quite asleep, immediately reacted and opened her eyes.
Now, she was dumbfounded.
In front of her, Chen Tianlong was clutching his wound, lying on the ground, groaning in agony. What was going on?
Even when shot, Chen Tianlong would not cry out in pain, yet was in such distress now.
"Chen Tianlong, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me!"
Lin Wushuang was startled, almost to the point of tears. As a girl, she had never encountered such a situation and was at a loss.
However, Chen Tianlong seemed oblivious to her voice, continuing in his agony.
At this moment, he felt as if his arm was no longer his.
What was happening?
The arm had only superficial injuries and no muscle or bone damage, yet the pain was unbearable.
Chen Tianlong was greatly startled, genuinely clueless about what was happening.
In any case, he only had one thought: to quickly cut off his arm, or else the pain would be unendurable.
Wait!
Chen Tianlong suddenly thought of something. Wasn’t it that blood from the gorilla had gotten on his arm earlier? Could there be poison in the gorilla blood?
Thinking of this, Chen Tianlong stood up suddenly and walked toward his pouch nearby, intending to take out a knife to cut off his hand.
Lin Wushuang was stunned.
What was wrong with Chen Tianlong? She yelled at him earlier, but he didn’t respond; now he suddenly stood up and started moving around.
"Chen Tianlong, what’s the matter? Don’t scare me!"
Lin Wushuang ran over, hugging Chen Tianlong from behind because she realized Chen Tianlong was trying to get the knife—was he going to commit suicide?
No wonder Chen Tianlong’s actions were indeed bizarre, frightening Lin Wushuang.
If Chen Tianlong really died, leaving her alone in this dark, creepy valley would be terrifying.
Chen Tianlong was about to cut his right hand when he suddenly felt a warmth behind him, paused, and looked back.
He saw Lin Wushuang holding onto him tightly, her whole body trembling with overwhelming panic.
Chen Tianlong took a deep breath, enduring the excruciating pain in his arm, and put the knife back.
Yes, if he truly cut off his arm and then fainted, what would happen to Lin Wushuang? Wouldn’t she feel lonely and terrified?
Thinking of this, Chen Tianlong removed Lin Wushuang’s hands, turned around, and hugged Lin Wushuang tightly. Sure enough, Lin Wushuang felt reassuring with Chen Tianlong’s actions.
At least Chen Tianlong had regained his sanity and wouldn’t commit suicide!