Chapter 002: Hero, Jianghu to the Rescue

"Where is she?!" Lady Ding couldn't help but shout out.

Ji Dong looked at Lady Ding somewhat doubtfully, "What do you mean?"

Lady Ding stiffened, her face changed, and she said, "I'm asking where on earth Ji Xinhe went."

It would be more accurate to say that her words were directed at Pork Three, who was curled up on the ground in unbearable pain, rather than at Ji Dong.

But Pork Three had no time to listen to what Lady Ding was saying right now. While his other injuries were not so serious, it was his groin that had been kicked, causing him so much pain that he broke out into a cold sweat. After shivering for a while, he couldn't bear the pain any longer, and fainted dead away.

The villagers who rushed in after seeing the chaotic room and Pork Three lying on the floor like a dead pig were all taken aback, "Why was Pork Three locked up here? What on earth happened?"

"Who knows? Maybe he was kidnapped! The Pork Three's family has some money."

"Did our village attract a thief? That would be a big deal. We should hurry and find Li Zheng. I wonder if Xin He was abducted by the thief too."

The crowd started to chatter, and several men carried Pork Three away to find a doctor while others went to find Li Zheng. The place was chaotic.

Lady Ding was also flustered and saw that the small, inconspicuous window in the room had been smashed open. She suddenly felt furious that the shameless girl had escaped!

-

Before the villagers could break in, Ji Xinhe had managed to smash the window and climbed out, hiding behind the trees at the back of the house.

The small cabin was at the foot of the mountain. Her clothes were disheveled, and she had been drugged. There were villagers everywhere around her. If she stepped out now, she would definitely be thrown into the pig-dipping cage.

She didn't know whether to feel fortunate that she had not been killed by the bomb or to curse her luck for waking up in such a frustrating situation.

She had never been so frustrated in this lifetime!

Ji Xinhe had no choice but to run up the mountain.

All she could do now was pray that she would find a mountain spring up there, hoping that she could soak in it and see if the poison could be neutralized.

Although she had the memories of Ji Xinhe now, the spring poison had already begun to attack her. She felt weak all over, her head was muddled, she could barely see the road clearly, and her footsteps were shaky. Not to mention trying to find the memory of the mountain spring in this new, unfamiliar body.

There should be a small stream around here.

Ji Xinhe wiped off her sweat and continued to stagger forward. Her vision became increasingly blurred, and her breathing became more and more rapid. With a pale, waxy face turning red, Ji Xinhe tightly grabbed her own clothes, not knowing whether she wanted to tear them open or tighten them. Her body felt like it was being crawled over by millions of ants, unable to stop shivering.

How come she still hadn't arrived?

Ji Xinhe gasped for air, struggling to walk. At this point, she barely had the strength to tell which direction she was going.

But she couldn't stop now - the mountain wasn't a safe place either. Lady Ding would soon realize that she had escaped through the window and might think of her fleeing into the mountains. If she found her now, she would inevitably jump into the Yellow River and never be able to clear her name.

Ji Xinhe gritted her teeth and pinched her wrist hard, leaving a blue bruise.

Finally, she gained a little more strength. Although her vision was blurred and her consciousness unclear, she couldn't stop or fall. God gave her a second chance at life, not to be thrown into a pig-dipping cage.

But just as Ji Xinhe had taken a staggering step forward, she seemed to trip over something under her feet, and stumbled down with a "plop."

"Damn it!" Ji Xinhe cursed, mentally preparing herself for a painful fall but, contrary to her expectations, the thing she fell on was soft and yielding.

Unable to resist, Ji Xinhe stretched out her hand to touch the object. It was cold and somewhat cooler than her body.

With the poison attacking her heart, Ji Xinhe was desperate, grasping the object as if it was a life-saving straw, and began to touch it recklessly.

Until she suddenly heard a low, hoarse voice filled with anger, "Get off!"

Ji Xinhe was startled and finally had a chance to look at what was beneath her.

With the shock she experienced, her consciousness cleared up a little and she could see more clearly. Looking up, she saw a pale yet handsome face, so pale that it was almost translucent. A pair of long, narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes was slightly squinted, making them look even more captivating. A touch of blood stained the corner of his lips, adding a hint of charm to his white, thin lips.

What a feast for the eyes - a beautiful man.

Ji Xinhe stared wide-eyed at the man she had pinned down, swallowing her thirst and licking her increasingly dry lips with her tiny, little tongue, like a starving wolf, her eyes filled with a gloomy wolfish gleam.

The man's handsome eyebrows furrowed deeply, and his beautiful eyes seemed to emit a dangerous and cold light.

His blood-stained hand, which had been weakly hanging by his side, suddenly reached for Ji Xinhe's throat. Even though he was seriously injured, killing this ignorant village girl would still be easy for him.

Ji Xinhe regained her senses from his forceful and sharp gaze, saw his move in time, and dodged it at the very last moment. That was a close call - the man may look weak, but he acted swiftly and ruthlessly. If he had dealt with a bystander, they would have had their throat sealed in a single move.

However, his second attack was much weaker. Ji Xinhe looked at his pale face and felt somewhat relieved. She quickly counterattacked, grabbing his hand and pinning it to the ground. Just as she was considering whether to guard against his other hand, she noticed that his other sleeve was soaked in blood and his hand was holding a sword, but he couldn't move it. It seemed that his hand was injured and his tendons were affected.

Ji Xinhe smirked triumphantly, "Such a pity, you're severely injured."

The man's eyes became even colder and fell on Ji Xinhe, almost making her want to shiver.

"Who sent you?"

Although his voice was weak, it carried an indescribable aura of authority.

He had just witnessed Ji Xinhe's skill, which certainly wasn't that of an ordinary village girl.

Ji Xinhe felt another wave of unbearable heat surge through her body, and she looked at him intensely, "Hero, jianghu emergency."

The man snorted, glaring at Ji Xinhe. Who was the one in need of help now?

Ji Xinhe couldn't endure any longer. She hadn't found the mountain spring yet, and if she continued to delay, she would die sooner or later. With that thought in mind, she ignored the man's cold gaze and grabbed his clothes with both hands.