The acrid scent of blood was nauseating, and Xiao Jing leaned against the rock, immobile. Suddenly, she felt pain radiating throughout her body and realized that she had just touched his hand and his neck. She had even tasted his blood!
Hm, blood tasted a little sweet.
Damn, was she going to die because of that? Was her body about to erode?
Was this man even f*cking human? Or was he a monster?
After Shen Chengfeng finished off the last wolf, he unhurriedly wiped the blood off his hands and put on his gloves again. As he turned his head over his shoulder, the night wind blew against his clothing and gave him a mesmerizing aura.
Xiao Jing clutched her heart, and when she saw him approach, she quickly shrank her neck into her shoulders.
Shen Chengfeng lifted her head and gazed straight into her pale face. In a dispassionate voice, he said, "I will record this merit for you."
Xiao Jing covered her mouth as she coughed violently and avoided his touch.
Shen Chengfeng glanced at the cliff. With one hand on his back, he said with his usual cool tone, "My back in injured at the moment and can't support the climb up. We'll just have to wait for rescue here."
"I can climb up—" Xiao Jing shut her mouth midsentence when she caught the Commander glaring at her unkindly, and felt very ill at ease.
"I may not exactly be the most reasonable person around, but I will not send my soldier to die in vain either."
"What if no one comes to rescue us?"
Shen Chengfeng threw her a glance before sitting on the ground with his back against the cliff. His thighs were numb, and he closed his eyes to recharge himself.
Xiao Jing felt as if she had asked a foolish question, and proceeded to sit by his side obediently. She hugged her knees to her chest, enduring her hunger and the cold.
Inside the tent, Mu Xichi marched past each of the six participants who had been neutralized and sighed heavily.
Cheng Chen did a headcount and said with a frown, "We're missing one person."
Mu Xichi nodded his head. "Where's Xiao Jing?" he asked.
Lin Qi summoned his courage and looked around. Indeed, the grievously-injured Xiao Jing was nowhere to be seen.
"I think we left a little cat behind," Jiang Xin remarked as he extinguished his cigarette under the sole of his boot before picking up an assault rifle. "I'll look for him," he said.
"Where's the Commander?" Cheng Chen asked suddenly.
Mu Xichi tapped the desk with two fingers. Considering that the Commander was missing as such a time, had he gone in search of that hidden kitten?
"The Commander has probably taken it upon himself to handle him." For some reason, Jiang Xin was silently gloating at Xiao Jing's misfortune. Back when he had first joined the unit, the first person he had encountered had been Shen Chengfeng.
Before that, Jiang Xin had been proud, arrogant, and wild. After that encounter, he had lost all sense of self, purpose, and thought.
"Since the Commander has already gone to search for him, the few of you can take the group back first. I'll wait here for the Commander to return," Mu Xichi lit a cigarette and sat in front of the surveillance monitor to watch for any movement. The satellite seemed to have an error. The images on the screen weren't being updated.
"Can you handle it alone?" Cheng Chen asked. "Will the Commander require any support?"
The moment the question was voiced aloud, several pairs of eyes fell on Cheng Chen. He had obviously asked a stupid question.
Cheng Chen cleared his throat awkwardly. "Fine, let's do it that way. We'll take these back to get their wounds treated. You'll wait for the Commander here."
The moon hung high in the sky, and the cold wind rustled through the jungle.
Xiao Jing clenched her hands tightly around her torn clothing, and her teeth began chattering. While she was trembling from the cold, all she could feel was her head burning up.
The moonlight fell dimly on the two of them, and when the night breeze blew past, the fallen leaves were lifted from the ground.
"Come over here," the man's loud voice rang out under the moonlight.
Xiao Jing didn't want to move at all, but she stood up. Her whole body felt weak, and she tried to take two steps forward before falling straight down.
She landed on the ground with a dull thud.
Xiao Jing clutched her head in her hands as she sat up and glared that the man that was sitting less than two steps away from her. Drama shows frequently took place in such beautiful rural settings, and when the moon was high in the sky, and the lady had fallen, wasn't the man supposed to reach out for her gently?
In contrast, the man in front of her remaining motionless, and simply watched on as she fell face flat and took a mouthful of dirt.
Motherf*cker! She felt like spitting in his face.
"Come over here," Shen Chengfeng called out again.
Xiao Jing supported her dizzy head with her hand, and with much difficulty, made her way over.
Shen Chengfeng stared unyieldingly at Xiao Jing's eyebrows and scrutinized her face in the moonlight.
Xiao Jing's complexion was flushed, she was probably burning up, and her lips were abnormally red. She was likely running a high fever.
Shen Chengfeng lifted his hand and removed his glove. As he sensed her presence near him, he instinctively reached out.
Xiao Jing's legs were numb, and they gave out beneath her, she fell right into his arms without any hesitation.
The wind blew, and the dust on the ground stirred.
Shen Chengfeng froze stiffly. His arms were wrapped around Xiao Jing's waist, and he was about to push her off when he realized that her body was burning up furiously.
"Commander, I'd like to sleep for a while. If there isn't anything important, please don't call me. I just want to sleep for a while," Xiao Jing paid no heed to where she was lying.
Shen Chengfeng lowered his eyes, and his gaze landed on the wound on Xiao Jing's arm, which had reopened. The pungent scent of blood filled the air.
Xiao Jing felt herself being lifted and carried. She cracked an eyelid open weakly, and her vision was blurry. It was as if a layer of fog had covered her eyes. However, she could make out that she was being carried on someone's back.
Shen Chengfeng removed his military coat and used it to tie the semi-conscious Xiao Jing tightly to his waist. He assessed the height of the cliff with his eyes as his body swayed unsteadily. A rush of energy suddenly propelled him, and he climbed up the cliff effortlessly.
His eyes narrowed when he noticed the pool of saliva on his shoulder, but he continued his ascent.
Xiao Jing felt herself bumping around, and when she opened her eyes, she detected a peculiar scent of medication. Her mind was in a daze. It was only after she had focused that she realized she was being carried on someone's back.
Had the scene moments ago been nothing but a dream?
She patted the man on his shoulder gently and whispered, "Lieutenant Colonel Lin, you can put me down. I can walk on my own."
Thud. Xiao Jing was thrown onto the floor immediately without any hesitation.
The soles of Xiao Jing's feet slipped on the ground. In an expression that was between a laugh and a cry, she said, "Although I fell asleep and drooled on your clothing, there was no need for you to throw me on ground."
He looked over at her without a word, and their eyes met.