Chapter 102
Veronica let out a chuckle. “No, not really. Helping those in need is one of us Destorians‘ traditional virtues, no?” she replied with a smile.
The two walked down the mountain for a while. As they walked on a very steep path, the masked man slipped and fell to the ground with a cry of pain. “Ouch!”
“Watch out!” Veronica saw the masked man lying on the ground with the steep mountain slope behind him. If he fell down the slope, he wouldn‘t die, but he would definitely be seriously injured. Immediately, she rushed to him and grabbed his foot in a tight grasp. “Don‘t worry! I‘ve got you.”
She yanked the masked man toward herself with all her strength, only to realize that the man was very heavy despite his lanky figure. However, she didn‘t think much about it at the dangerous moment. After dragging him a few steps back, she sat down beside him and reached for his neck to support him. “Come on, get up.” Since the man had difficulty walking, it was difficult for him to pick himself up after the fall. Having no alternative, she could only prop up his upper body to help him to his feet.
“Uh, thanks.” The masked man took the opportunity to wrap his arm around Veronica‘s neck.
Veronica helped him up with all her strength. “You‘re quite heavy despite your skinny build, eh?”
As she was preoccupied with helping the masked man up, she didn‘t notice the flicker in the man‘s deep eyes behind his mask. At this very moment, a sharp dagger suddenly appeared in the hand he was wrapping around her neck, and it gleamed coldly under the setting sun. The dagger was aimed right at Veronica‘s neck, and a stab would be all it took to kill her.
However, before the man could strike, Veronica suddenly cried out, “Watch out!” Then, she shoved him away at once.
At the critical moment, the masked man swiftly put his dagger away at lightning speed and fell onto the slope, whereas Veronica gasped in pain. “Hiss...”
Lying on the ground, the masked man watched Veronica gasp as she clamped a hand over her wrist, which now had two bleeding holes.
“You…” The masked man fell silent without finishing his sentence. If Veronica hadn‘t shoved him away just now, he would‘ve been the one who got bitten.
Oh no! Its a smakebite! Sh*t! Don‘t tell me I‘m gonna f*cking dic here!” Terrified, Veronica look oil her headband at once, wrapping it again and again around her wrist unul she could no longer stretch it before letting go. Everything had happened so suddenly that she dared not relax even the slightest bit. Immediately, she sucked on the wound, drawing out the venom and spitting it out to the ground. However, after sucking on the wound several times consecutively, she didn‘t manage to draw much venom out of it. She looked back at the masked man, saying, “I‘ve got to go down the mountain first. Otherwise, I might die if I can‘t find a knife to treat the wound.” Then, without waiting for the man‘s answer, she quickly headed down the mountain
The masked man‘s hands clenched into fists by his sides as he watched Veronica from behind. After hesitating for a few seconds, he asked, “You need a knife? I‘ve got one.”
Veronica paused. “You have a knife?”
“Yeah. Wild animals often roam in the mountains, so it‘s safer to bring a knife with you,” he said while handing the dagger in his hand to Veronica.
Veronica took the gleaming dagger from him. “Thanks! What a nice coincidence.” Without saying another word, she made a cross–shaped cut in the wound on her wrist right away.
The dagger was razor–sharp, so it easily made a cut when she gently slid it across her wrist. However, the cut was so painful that she clenched her teeth hard, her hands trembling. Luckily, it was the outer side of her wrist that got wounded. If it were the inner side of her wrist—which was close to the artery—that got wounded, she would probably be beyond help.
Since Veronica got bitten by a venomous snake, she made a deep cross–shaped cut, which hurt so much that she slumped down to the ground right away. In an instant, blood gushed from the cut and trickled slowly down the back of her hand before dripping to the ground. Before long, the ground around her was stained red with blood.
Seeing how Veronica had treated the snakebite, the masked man instantly felt that she wasn‘t as simple as she seemed. “How did you learn to treat your wound in such a way?”
“I‘ve seen somebody treating a snakebite in such a way after getting bitten,” Veronica said to the masked man while struggling to endure the pain. Then, she returned the dagger to him. “Good thing you brought a knife with you. Otherwise, I might die here today.”
Veronic wounded right hand kept bleeding, and as it trembled unstoppally, her Corsousness gradually slipped away as well. After a liule while, she blacked out and collapsed.
Seeing her lying beside him, the masked man clutched the dagger in his hand for a long time without making any move.
The slightly cool evening breeze blew away the smell of blood before him.
The last rays of the setting sun spilled onto the earth, tinting it with a shade of orange as‘smoke spiraled upward from the chimneys of the houses at the foot of the mountain. Everything looked as picturesque as an oil painting until the sun went down in the west and darkness fell.
Matthew and Melissa went down the mountain after they didn‘t get to meet Veronica at the mountain top.
Matthew looked as miserable as sin after being tricked. After going down the mountain, he returned home right away without looking for Veronica. However, after he finished having dinner, Melissa turned up, saying, “M–Matthew… Veronica seems to have gone missing.”
Upon hearing her words, Matthew, who was standing at the door to enjoy the evening breeze, felt a tightness in his chest. He asked, “When did that happen?”
“I–I don‘t know about that.” Melissa dared not tell Matthew the truth. She could only reply, “She‘d gone up the mountain before we did, but she hasn‘t come back even now. C–Could something have happened to her?” At this moment, she was panicking and at a loss for what to do. If something really had happened to Veronica, she would be guilt–ridden for the rest of her life.
Matthew had thought Veronica was pranking him at the time, and he was even somewhat peeved because of that. Right now, however, he sensed that something was wrong. Immediately, he grabbed the flashlight and went up the mountain with the few people in his house to search for Veronica.
The mountain opposite the village wasn‘t large, but it wasn‘t small either. The men didn‘t manage to find Veronica after searching for two full hours. In the end, the villagers were alerted, and about 30 villagers immediately volunteered to join the search. Only then did they find Veronica in the grass.
When Veronica was found, she was lying unconscious on the ground. The wound on her wrist had stopped bleeding, but there was a broken headband and a pool of blood beside her.
Sciag Veronica‘s pale face and blue lips, Matthew immediately pui out his hand to. Cumine her wound. “Damn it! How did she get poisoned? Quincy, go find the village chief and tell him to find a doctor!”
Quincy, who came with Veronica to Almeida County back then, was also shocked when he saw how pale she looked. He immediately nodded, saying, “O–Okay, I‘ll go find him at once.” He went down the mountain first, whereas Matthew carried Veronica on his back and scurried down the mountain with steady steps.
After reaching the foot of the mountain, Matthew carried Veronica to her bedroom.
Melissa turned pale with fright when she saw Veronica unconscious with her face as pale as death. “W–W–What happened to her?” Terror–stricken, she clapped her hand to her mouth.
One of the villagers muttered, “She probably got bitten by a snake. Oh, dear. This is quite scary.”
“Bitten by a snake, you say?” Feelings of guilt instantly welled up in Melissa‘s heart as she felt very sorry toward Veronica. If she hadn‘t badgered Veronica to help her ask Matthew out on a date, Veronica wouldn‘t have had such a thing happen to her.
