The scent of blood had provoked the beast. Its neck suddenly grew in length faster than ever and its fangs had opened wide!
Before Wei WuXian could think of what to do next, his body tilted as somebody shoved him to the side.
Lan WangJi had pushed him out of the way.
With this opportunity, the jaws of the beast had closed, biting down on his leg.
Wei WuXian’s right leg hurt from simply watching the scene. Lan WangJi’s face was still expressionless. He had only frowned slightly. Afterward, he was immediately dragged away!
Judging from the size and the bite strength of the beast, it could easily be able to sever a person from the waist into two pieces. Fortunately, it seemed that it didn’t like to eat broken ones. After it had bitten someone, it would shrink into its shell, no matter if the person was dead or alive, so that it could savor it slowly. Or else, if its jaw had just used some strength, Lan WangJi’s leg would’ve been broken already. Its shell was extremely hard, impenetrable by any blade. If it dragged Lan WangJi inside, then he’d most likely never come out again!
Wei WuXian broke into a sprint. Just as the head was about to shrink inside, he threw himself over, clinging to one of the teeth on its upper jaw.
His strength could never have been able to compete with such a monster’s. Yet, under the life-or-death situation, superhuman strength had exploded within him. His feet were propped up against the shell of the beast while his hands clung onto the fang no matter what. Like a prick of some kind, he used his body to block its path, preventing it from shrinking inside, from getting the chance to enjoy the delicacy.
Lan WangJi didn’t expect that he could catch up even under such circumstances. He was utterly shocked.
Wei WuXian was afraid that the beast might break out, either eating them alive or biting off Lan WangJi’s leg. His right hand continued to grab onto the upper fang while his left hand clenched onto a lower fang. His hands pushing in opposite directions at the same time, he forced strength into his arms as though his life depended on it, the vein at his forehead protruding so much that it seemed to be on the verge of bursting. His face was blood-red.
The two rows of fangs were already deep into Lan WangJi’s blood and bones. Yet, its jaws really were being slowly forced open!
Its jaws ceased to be able to clench its prey. Lan WangJi fell into the pool. Seeing that he was safe now, the almost deity-like strength of Wei WuXian disappeared at once. Unable to hold the beast’s jaws in place any longer, he suddenly let go. The jutting fangs from both rows bit down on each other, creating an echo as loud as the fissure of a boulder!
Wei WuXian had fallen into the water as well, landing beside Lan WangJi. With just a flip, he had positioned himself and, holding Lan WangJi in one hand, he swam with the other. In an instance, he had travelled a few feet forward, creating a long, sweeping wave within the pool. Rolling onto the shore, he threw Lan WangJi onto his back and began to run at once.
Lan WangJi blurted out, “You?”
Wei WuXian, “It’s me! You’re pleasantly surprised?”
Hovering on his back, Lan WangJi’s voice possessed the rare emotional fluctuation, “How could this be pleasant?! Let me down!”
Wei WuXian’s mouth refused to rest even as he was running for his life, “If I let you down just because you say so, doesn’t that really make me lose face?”
The roar of the beast that had come from behind them vibrated within their ears and their chests. Both felt blood rush up their throats. Wei WuXian hurried to shut his mouth so that he could focus on running away. In prevention of the beast catching up with fury, he purposely chose to duck into thin holes that the turtle shell couldn’t pass through. Without having any rest, he didn’t even know how long he had run. He had finally slowed, after unable to hear anymore sounds.
His guard lowering, as soon as his speed decreased, Wei WuXian could smell the scent of blood. Feeling behind him backhandedly, his right hand was covered in a wet crimson.
Wei WuXian, Oh no, Lan Zhan’s injury will worsen again.
Translator’s Notes
Heart: In China, it is often assumed that the heart is seven inches down a snake’s neck. Here, the Chinese noun “seven inches” is used to refer to the heart of the beast.
Tiangou: The tiangou is a hound that is passed down through Chinese folklore, supposedly causing the moon to wax and wane by eating it and then throwing it up.
Chapter 54 Courage—Part Four
Feeling that they were probably far enough away for their location to be safe, Wei Wuxian spun around and laid Lan WangJi gently onto the ground.
His leg injury wasn’t completely healed to begin with, and now that it had been bitten by the beast’s fangs and soaked in water. Lan WangJi’s white clothes were dyed red by smears of blood everywhere. It could be seen with the physical eye, the rows and rows of punctures from the fangs. He couldn’t stand at all, falling to the ground as soon as he was let go of.
Wei WuXian bent down for a moment to inspect the wounds. Standing up again, he circled the cave a few times. A couple of shrubs could be found growing underground. Having finally found a few thicker, straighter branches, he rubbed the grime off the surface using a corner of his clothes and squatted before Lan WangJi, “You have a rope or a ribbon? Hey, your forehead ribbon might do the trick. Come on, take it off.”
Before Lan WangJi could respond, Wei WuXian quickly reached out and took off his forehead ribbon. With a flick of his wrist, he used the forehead ribbon as a bandage, straightened up Lan WangJi’s leg, and fixed it firmly onto the branch.
Suddenly robbed of his forehead ribbon, Lan WangJi opened his eyes wide, “You…!”
With nimble hands, Wei WuXian had already finished tying the knot. Patting his shoulder, he consoled, “What do you mean ‘me’? Let’s not worry about it, given our current situation. No matter how much you like the forehead ribbon, it can’t be more important than your leg, can it?”
Lan WangJi leaned back, either too tired to sit up or simply angered speechless by his words. Suddenly, Wei WuXian caught a faint, herbal scent. Reaching into his lapel, he fished out a small sachet of perfume.
The wet sachet hung from its tassels, delicate yet somewhat pitiful. Recalling how MianMian said that it was filled with medicinal plants, he opened it up at once and found that there were indeed herbs, along with a few small flowers, half-dried and quite chopped up. He urged, “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, stop sleeping. Sit up for one second. There’s a perfume sachet here. See if there are any herbs that we can use.”
Dragging and tugging and refusing to give up, he eventually made Lan WangJi sit up, however exhausted he was. After looking through the herbs, they really did find a few that could stop blood or remove poison.
Wei WuXian spoke as he picked them out, “I can’t believe that the girl’s perfume sachet ended up so useful. I’ll have to thank her properly when we go back.”
Lan WangJi responded coldly, “Are you sure you do not mean to harass her properly?”
Wei WuXian, “What are you talking about? It doesn’t count as harassing if I’m the one doing it. It only counts if the one doing it looks as greasy as Wen Chao. Go on, strip.”
Lan WangJi frowned slightly, “What?”
Wei WuXian, “What do you think? Strip your clothes!”