Sheng Yunqi came to ask for a formal status in front of Dugu Luanyue. He firmly believed that the affection he had shared with her over the years was something Huo Wei could never match.
Just as they were in this tug - of - war, Dugu Luanyue let out a pained scream: "Snake!"
Sheng Yunqi was startled. He quickly pulled Dugu Luanyue behind him, plucked the hairpin from her head and held it tightly in his hand. Nervously, he said,
"Luanyue, don't be afraid."
The bamboo viper also seemed to have been greatly startled. After biting Dugu Luanyue, it turned around and scurried away.
However, this snake was fully grown and venomous. It was summer, the time when its venom was at its most potent.
Sheng Yunqi panicked. He quickly lifted her skirt. The place bitten by the bamboo viper was on the instep, and black blood was oozing from the wound.
He became anxious: "Damn it, this is highly poisonous!"
In the half - mountain pavilion after the rain, there was also a lot of mud and stones washed down from the mountain.
Dugu Luanyue's face had lost all color and was as pale as a sheet of paper. She slumped to the ground, her skirt stained with mud.
She gasped for breath, and her consciousness began to fade: "Yunqi, this is a bamboo viper. We need to get the venom out quickly. Its venom takes effect too fast."
Murong Jue also saw this scene. He knew that the snake was not an ordinary poisonous creature but a bamboo viper.
He gritted his teeth. He thought about pretending not to see and just letting her die. It had nothing to do with him, and it could also make his elder brother give up this infatuation.
He knocked on his head in entanglement, sighed, and rushed down the mountain to find Shen Guilan.
Sheng Yunqi's snow - white robe was not stained with a single speck of mud. He had been extremely fond of cleanliness since childhood and couldn't stand the slightest bit of filth.
He stood in the pavilion, his eyes hesitant: "Luanyue, let me carry you down the mountain. The doctor is in the yamen. It'll be very fast."
Dugu Luanyue's body had already gone stiff. This was how it was for those who had been poisoned by a snake. Their body temperature would drop rapidly, and their whole body's meridians would be paralyzed, making them unable to move.
She moved her lips with difficulty: "Snake venom takes effect by flowing through the whole body's blood vessels. I can't move around. If I do, the snake venom will spread to more parts of my body. Then it will really be hopeless."
Sheng Yunqi became impatient: "Wait a moment. I'll go find the imperial doctor right away and call a few maids over. Wait for me!"
Dugu Luanyue's vision was already blurry, and her arms could no longer move. She moved her lips but found that they had gone numb.
Actually, she wanted to say that she was very afraid of snakes and didn't want to be left alone here. She was scared.
But Sheng Yunqi had already turned around and left. She didn't know how long it would take for him to come back. This was a bamboo viper. Could she hold on until then?
...
On the back mountain of the yamen in the misty drizzle, a gentle breeze blew. Her cold body shivered in the slightly chilly wind.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself sitting slumped under the railing of the pavilion. The light - purple skirt stained with mud was now all bunched up on her knees, revealing two snow - white calves.
She opened her eyes weakly and saw a dark figure kneeling beside her feet.
Dugu Luanyue instinctively drew her jade feet back: "What are you doing?"
Huo Wei's powerful hand firmly grasped her jade feet. There were sparks in his black eyes as he roared: "Don't move!"
He looked at the wound on the instep, and with one hand, he tightly pinched the ankle to prevent the blood from flowing everywhere.
Huo Wei pursed his lips. Without hesitation, his lips moved towards the hideous wound on the instep with the black blood, sucking out the snake venom mouthful by mouthful.
Murong Jue quickly covered his eyes on one side: "Alas... I shouldn't have said anything."
He had indeed gone to find Shen Guilan, but Huo Wei happened to be there.
As soon as Huo Wei heard about it, he rushed over directly. His speed was like a piercing arrow.
Dugu Luanyue's eyebrows were almost knitted into an unsolvable knot. She felt a bit embarrassed:
"Huo Wei, this is a foot... Does Military Advisor Shen have any medicine? Let's use medicine to clear the snake venom."
After all, she was a young woman. When a man grabbed her feet and put his mouth on her instep, she was really embarrassed.
Besides, a foot was different from other parts of the body. Didn't Huo Wei mind at all?
Her whole body tensed up and curled, like a shrimp that had been boiled.
So, her phoenix - like head lowered even more, and her shoulders hunched.
Huo Wei spat out the poisonous blood in his mouth mouthful by mouthful. The blood had completely turned blue - black, looking extremely terrifying.
The ants in the pavilion crawled to the edge of the poisonous blood. After wriggling a few times, they fell into the bloodstain, and a large number of ants died quickly.
"Waiting for Shen Guilan to give you medicine is like preparing a coffin for you. Sucking out the snake venom is the fastest and most effective way to detoxify."
He glared at Dugu Luanyue forcefully, his black eyes full of killing intent.
Huo Wei scolded: "Murong Jue, you pig - brained fool. Go get the medicine quickly. What are you looking at!"
He let down Dugu Luanyue's skirt to cover her shiny white calves and stared fiercely at the bewildered Third Prince.
He picked up a jar of white liquor from beside him, looked up at Dugu Luanyue: "It'll hurt a bit, but you deserve it."
Before Dugu Luanyue could react, the high - concentration white liquor was poured on the wound.
She let out a muffled groan. Fine beads of sweat on her forehead trickled down along with her fringe. Her chest heaved violently. It really hurt.
After sitting for a while, Dugu Luanyue's body began to gradually warm up. She saw that Huo Wei was still holding her foot and looking at it, and then he let it go:
"It should be okay now. All the venom has been sucked out."
Huo Wei was checking if the wound was still festering and if there was any more black blood forming. He only let go after making sure there was none.
Dugu Luanyue looked at him tenderly: "Thank you for detoxifying me like this and saving my life again, Huo Wei."
Huo Wei took a few sips of white liquor to rinse his mouth and spat it on the fresh flowers under the pavilion.
He casually wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said with a half - smile:
"You and your old lover picked a great place for your tryst. You specifically chose a place full of snakes, insects, rats, and ants to hug and kiss. Why didn't you just set up a bed here?"
Dugu Luanyue propped herself up to stand up from under the railing. Her foot went weak, and she sat down again. She whispered in explanation: "I didn't come for a tryst. I had something important to do."
Shen Guilan hadn't even stepped into the pavilion yet. He could already hear Huo Wei's roaring echo from down the mountain.
He hissed and said to Aunt Meijiang apologetically:
"Aunt, don't laugh. The men in the military camp just have louder voices. I'll check the Empress's ears later. I hope her eardrums aren't ruptured."
Huo Wei's roaring voice echoed in the mountains, with the same imposing manner as when training soldiers, full of killing intent.
"You deserve it!"
"If it's something important, why don't you discuss it in the yamen but come to the small woods? This time it was a bamboo viper. Next time it'll be a five - step snake, which would be even better. I'll just prepare a coffin for you and go back to the Northern Yan Palace for the funeral feast."
"Where do you think you're going? Just sit here. In the evening, there will be even more bamboo vipers. One will be responsible for biting you, and the other will be responsible for having a love talk with you."
"Why are you glaring at me? Do you think you're in the right?"
Aunt Meijiang was extremely anxious when she heard Huo Wei scolding her Empress like this.
Dugu Luanyue was not a person without a temper, but this time she was scolded so harshly and didn't say a single word in return.
She quickened her steps and urged in front: "Oh, Military Advisor Shen, hurry up. Hurry up even more!"