HLLY Chapter 20

“Don’t—!” Yao Wuque’s hoarse scream echoed through the dark forest. Suddenly, his hands were freed. He immediately used all his strength to tear off the vines binding his body, even as they scraped his skin, ignoring the burn scars all over him. He tightly embraced Jiang Tong and turned to press him beneath his body.

“Mm…” Shen Shanwu was suddenly hit by a burly man, nearly having the air squeezed out of his lungs. Yao Wuque protected his head with one hand while holding onto his back with the other, burying his head deeply and tensing his entire body to the utmost.

Shen Shanwu saw Yao Wuque’s back, torn and bleeding, and quickly pulled out the protective suit that had been left inside the green vine cocoon, draping it over him. Yao Wuque being able to move meant that the green vine was dead. It seemed that Jiang Huan had finally finished the battle and found and destroyed the root of the mutated climbing tiger. Shen Shanwu sighed in relief; it was finally over…

Several footsteps approached rapidly. Shen Shanwu heard Xiaowen’s panicked calls, along with the familiar panting of a man.

The first to appear was Jiang Huan, but he hesitated for a moment upon seeing the scene before him, allowing Zhong Yin, who was right behind him, to reach the front. She quickly knelt beside Yao Wuque, pushing aside the still-twitching vines, carefully attempting to turn him over and support him.

The exposed skin outside the protective suit was slowly covered with signs of corrosion; at a glance, there wasn’t a single good piece of flesh. For a moment, Zhong Yin didn’t even know how to proceed.

Shen Shanwu could clearly see that this usually serious and aloof girl was trembling uncontrollably. She took off her coat twice before finally succeeding, but her movements as she covered Yao Wuque were incredibly gentle. Even her voice was airy and shaky as she said, “Wuque… Wuque, it’s okay now. Are you alright…?”

Yao Wuque still didn’t let go of the person in his arms. He lowered his head, wrapping his arms around Shen Shanwu like two iron bands, refusing to loosen his grip no matter how much Zhong Yin tried to comfort him.

“Yao Wuque.” Jiang Huan finally spoke, “The mutated ivy has been confirmed dead. You are safe now.”

At that moment, as Jiang Huan spoke, Yao Wuque suddenly trembled all over, his hand that was protecting Shen Shanwu’s head tightening fiercely.

“…I’m sorry.” After a long pause, he finally spoke through gritted teeth, his voice clearly filled with tears. “I’m sorry, Captain. I didn’t complete the mission.”

Seeing that Yao Wuque was still able to speak, Zhong Yin felt a sense of relief, but Shen Shanwu faintly sensed a wetness on his shoulder.

Yao Wuque still buried his head, seemingly unable to face anyone anymore. “You entrusted Jiang Tong to me, but… but… he protected me…”

Hearing this, Shen Shanwu finally couldn’t help but move his legs. “I’m still alive.”

“…”

Yao Wuque’s voice of remorse paused abruptly as he lifted his head. He saw the boy in his arms wide awake, his eyes filled with helplessness. Yao Wuque quickly sat up and looked around. Jiang Tong was completely intact from head to toe, not even his undershirt or long pants were seriously damaged.

“How come you…” Yao Wuque stared with wide eyes, momentarily speechless. As he began to process what was happening, he turned to look at the location of the yellow flower, where only the wilted flower stem hung limply. Just two meters away, a knife embedded in a parasol was firmly pinning the flower’s petals to the tree trunk, and beneath the trunk—thick as a human waist—was a terrifying blackened hole, still emitting wisps of black smoke.

The scene became quite awkward.

Jiang Huan finally managed to pull Shen Shanwu out of Yao Wuque’s embrace. He unfastened his cloak and wrapped Shen Shanwu up tightly, leaving only his masked face exposed. Then, with one hand, he lifted him up.

Shen Shanwu’s head rested on Jiang Huan’s shoulder, and one of Jiang Huan’s hands supported the back of his head, gently stroking it. He heard Jiang Huan softly repeating by his ear, “It’s okay… Jiang Tong, it’s okay…”

After the danger had been averted, the invincible mutant Shen Shanwu finally realized—albeit belatedly—that he had been too calm, which was completely at odds with his current appearance as a ten-year-old child.

On the other side, Yao Wuque confirmed that Jiang Tong was in good health and saw that his own limbs were intact. Although all the team members had suffered some minor injuries, they were all out of danger. Finally, he let his guard down and fainted in Zhong Yin’s arms.

Shen Shanwu felt he was of no value for imitation; he couldn’t faint and couldn’t cry either, but it was still very easy to put on a pitiful act.

So he gently rubbed his cheek against Jiang Huan’s shoulder and said, “…Captain.”

“Hmm?”

“Just now… I was so scared.” Scared that the wretched flower would spit and pierce through his stomach, yet here he was, still alive and kicking. How was he supposed to explain that to anyone?

“…” Jiang Huan fell silent, resting his chin on the top of Jiang Tong’s head, letting out a deep sigh.

“I was scared too.”

I was afraid you would get hurt, afraid you would die, afraid that your face would never open its eyes again, conjuring up the most terrifying nightmares in my heart.

Shen Shanwu nuzzled against him again, playfully saying, “My gloves were all corroded by that strange plant. The skin on my palms is torn and bleeding. It hurts so much.”

“I’ll put medicine on it when we get back.”

“I want to drink that orange juice from before.”

“Okay.”

“I also want…”

“Whatever you want.”

Shen Shanwu silently bit his lip under the mask. Damn, Jiang Huan was being way too indulgent; he was starting to get spoiled… An hour later, he was indeed drinking Jiang Huan’s exclusive orange sparkling water with a sense of entitlement.

After the rain stopped, the water on the ground quickly receded, allowing everyone to return to the off-road vehicle to rest. The severely injured tended to their wounds, while the less injured team members worked hard to salvage everyone’s belongings from the ruins of the broken temple.

To facilitate the care of the two injured members, Yao Wuque—whose body had no good flesh left—was also moved to Vehicle 1. Zhang Xiaowen, wearing plastic gloves, skillfully treated his wounds and bandaged him, while Zhong Yin stayed by his side, repeatedly bringing him blood and water.

Meanwhile, Shen Shanwu was spreading his hands out on the table. Across from him, Jiang Huan was seriously applying iodine to his wounds, his expression solemn, worried that he might apply too much pressure in the wrong spot and hurt Jiang Tong.

After a long delay, Shen Shanwu grew impatient. “Captain, hurry up, it doesn’t hurt.”

Jiang Huan lowered his head and ignored him, carefully lifting the tweezers to pick out a small piece of leaf debris stuck to his palm that was covered in dirt.

After finally finishing the treatment, it was Shen Shanwu who ended up exhausted. In the back seat of the vehicle, Yao Wuque was wrapped up like a mummy, nearly losing his voice as he looked up at the ceiling, panting pitifully.

“Make a cup of vitamin drink for Jiang Tong,” Jiang Huan said to Xiaowen, then lowered his gaze and added, “Also, open a can for Yao Wuque.”

The bright sun rose, and Xiaowen smiled brightly in the sunlight. “Got it, Captain.” She took the order cheerfully, happily putting on her mask. Just before getting out of the vehicle, she couldn’t resist teasing Yao Wuque, saying, “Wuque, did you hear? The Captain is going to open a can for you.”

“Captain!” Yao Wuque was clearly excited, but when he saw Jiang Tong sitting obediently in his seat, swinging his legs, he suddenly lost his smile. “…Captain, let’s reward the can to Jiang Tong. If it weren’t for him, I would have been completely digested by that mutated plant.”

Shen Shanwu looked at Yao Wuque in surprise, clearly not expecting this person, who had looked at him with disdain from the very first glance, to say such a thing today. Shen Shanwu’s expression made Yao Wuque feel even more embarrassed. He instinctively wanted to scratch his head, but his scalp had also been corroded by acidic liquid, and half of his hair had been shaved off. Just touching it made him wince in pain.

“…” Jiang Huan turned to Jiang Tong, handing the decision over to him. Shen Shanwu certainly wouldn’t compete with a minor who was fourteen or fifteen years younger than him for a snack, especially since the snack didn’t even taste good.

“No need, thank you, Brother Wuque.” Shen Shanwu deliberately used his pre-voice change tone, sounding crisp and youthful. “The fact that you’re still alive is the best reward for me.”

Seeing Yao Wuque’s eyes redden with emotion, Shen Shanwu secretly lamented that he hadn’t performed well enough. Next time, he should change it to: “The fact that you’re still alive is the best gift for Tong Tong~”

Determined to suffocate everyone with the fragrant aroma of a lotus flower!

The team members who had cleaned up the ruins of the temple gradually returned to the vehicle. The lieutenant came over to distribute the belongings and took a moment to check on Yao Wuque. He returned Jiang Tong’s specially made short parasol knife, saying, “Kid, you’ve got some serious strength. I struggled for half a day to pull this out of the tree trunk.”

“…” Shen Shanwu thought for a few seconds, feeling that the reasoning of “a person can dodge 30 rifle bullets when in extreme anger, so of course, handling a long knife is nothing” wasn’t convincing enough. He decided to feign ignorance, letting the matter slide with his silence.

A can of food was passed around, with no one willing to take it in the end. Jiang Huan made the final decision to give the majority to Yao Wuque, leaving a small portion for Shen Shanwu. Shen Shanwu then quietly passed that little bit to Xiaowen.

Eating it would be a waste; he didn’t even want to eat.

Seeing this, Jiang Huan didn’t stop him. In fact, when Xiaowen repeatedly refused, he spoke up for Shen Shanwu. The experience of eating canned food was akin to a poor child finally getting to eat dumplings during the New Year; Zhang Xiaowen was instantly moved to the brink of tears. If not for the premise that she recognized Jiang Tong as her brother only because she recognized Jiang Huan as her father, she might have declared right there that Jiang Tong was now her half-brother.

After lunch, the team took a brief rest before setting off immediately. The lieutenant suggested whether they should first head to the nearby suburban villa, rest for a night, and then continue their journey. However, after the harrowing experiences of the previous night, Jiang Huan worried that if any mutated creatures emerged from the unknown conditions of the villa, the team would be in serious trouble if they hadn’t rested for a night. Ultimately, they decided to have the drivers alternate and drive straight to the rest stop.

This former air raid shelter, now a rest and supply station, had very simple conditions. The exterior was covered in moss, and the interior was mottled with mold. The cylindrical space was small, but fortunately, there were few people; most of the permanent residents were elderly.

They didn’t have many years left to live and didn’t care much about the radiation levels in the food. They ate whatever was available. Although they didn’t appear emaciated, their bodies were covered in skin diseases caused by radiation—either blisters or sarcomas—making them look like monsters that had escaped from a biochemical laboratory.

One old man even had prominent black moles all over his face, with one or two hairs growing out of them. The few moles on his eyelids made it impossible for him to fully open his eyes; he could only squint to see people.

The water that had pooled overnight had just receded, and the daytime heat had dried up the remaining puddles completely. Tonight, Shanhai Unit went to sleep earlier than usual; everyone was tired, but there still needed to be someone to keep watch, and that person was still Jiang Huan.

Xiaowen needed to take care of the ailing Yao Wuqie, so she didn’t continue to insist that Shen Shanwu sleep with her. Thus, Shen Shanwu naturally burrowed back into Jiang Huan’s sleeping bag.

 

 

 

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The author has something to say: 

Wuque: Double cultivation of tea and lotus, wonderful Brother Shanwu!