The night mist, thick as heavy ink, shrouded the woods on the outskirts of the city, carrying a faint, fishy sweetness—the harbinger of approaching danger. Carrying the unconscious Gu Jinghong on her back, Shen Mingyue felt a freezing, crushing weight with every step as mud seeped through the gaps of her straw sandals, as though countless invisible hands were dragging her down. Her hair, soaked with sweat, clung messily to her face, and her ragged breathing sounded exceptionally loud in the quiet night, like a race against the Grim Reaper.
The lights of the Second Prince's Estate faded into the distance behind her, but she dared not relax for a moment; her intuition told her the danger was far from over. A cold wind carrying dead leaves whistled through the forest, rustling the foliage and twisting the branches into the shape of countless grasping, clawing hands that sent a chill down her spine. "Hold on a little longer.
We'll be safe once we go a bit further," Shen Mingyue murmured softly—less to comfort the man in her arms than to steady her own nerves. She could feel Gu Jinghong's burning fever through their clothes, a heat scorching her heart like a flame about to be extinguished at any moment. The memory of how he had recklessly charged into the residence to save her made her vision blur with tears once more.
Chapter 56