Guide Her to Nowhere (NPH) - Chapter 28: Shen Qi
Chapter 28: Shen Qi
Shen Qi had a pair of pale gray eyes, the irises so light they were nearly white, paler even than his hair color.
Shen Qi had pure white hair.
It was strange, his appearance should have made a strong impression on Qu Tang, she should have noticed and paid attention to him even in a crowd. But the opposite was true – when Shen Qi appeared with Shi Xi, Qu Tang’s attention was entirely focused on Shi Xi.
As for Shen Qi, his presence was very low in her line of sight, and almost nonexistent outside of it. If he hadn’t been mentioned or actively shown up, Qu Tang would have easily forgotten about him.
“Get out of the car,” Shen Qi’s tone was also rather flat.
Qu Tang nodded and reached for her bag, but a sharp pain shot through her hand. She realized her entire hand and left forearm were swollen, the skin stretched taut and shiny.
Shi Xi was venomous.
The first reflex when bitten by a poisonous snake is to bleed out the poison.
Qu Tang drew a hidden dagger from her waist and was about to cut an X on the wrist that Shi Xi had bitten, but the dagger was easily taken from her by Shen Qi before it even touched her skin.
“It’s been too long, the venom has spread. Even if you chopped off your whole arm, it wouldn’t help. Do you want to bleed out even more?”
Qu Tang’s spirit deflated. After a moment, she looked up at Shen Qi and asked, “What kind of poison is it? Is it fatal?”
“It will be fatal if you delay any longer.” Shen Qi stepped back. “Get out of the car.”
Qu Tang didn’t dare hesitate. She tried to get out using her right hand to hold the bag, but her legs were too weak to support her, and she ended up falling face-first out of the vehicle before she could jump.
Shen Qi simply stepped aside.
Qu Tang fell face-first to the ground in an undignified manner.
“Keep up.” Shen Qi, able to avoid her, didn’t bother helping. He turned and walked a few steps, hearing no sound from behind, so he looked back to see Qu Tang still lying in the same fallen position, unmoving.
She had apparently passed out from the fall.
Shen Qi paused for a moment before going back to pick Qu Tang up, carrying her in a princess carry. The unconscious Qu Tang’s neck was bent back, her head hanging down, and her hood had fallen, exposing the bleeding scrape on her forehead.
The scent of fresh bl00d permeated everywhere, causing Shen Qi’s pale gray pupils to narrow and then dilate. He looked at the tiny beads of bl00d, his adam’s apple bobbing uncontrollably.
He averted his gaze.
The first thing Qu Tang did when she woke up was feel for the necklace around her neck – it was still there. Her backpack was also still there, at the foot of the bed.
She couldn’t lose the necklace, and the backpack couldn’t be lost either, as it contained her remaining suppression drugs.
Her hand seemed to have been treated, not only was the swelling gone, but her palm and wrist were also wrapped in bandages. She breathed a sigh of relief, at least she wouldn’t die from the poison.
After confirming her belongings were safe and she wasn’t in mortal danger, Qu Tang finally looked around.
This was a tent.
It was a domed tent, about 20 square meters in size, with a single bed she was lying on, a single sofa, and a coffee table – the basic furnishings of a typical single-person dormitory.
Qu Tang was the only one in the tent. She got up and lifted the tent flap, the sight before her making her unconsciously step back.
The tent was situated on a hilltop, and from here she could see the entire slope and the lands below – a vast expanse of cultivated fields, with people of all ages working in the fields.
Qu Tang now understood what Shi Xi had meant by “donkeys only good for plowing” – in this post-apocalyptic world where plants had mutated into dangerous aberrants, growing crops was extremely risky, so the farm workers were essentially expendable.
It was not much different from harvesting the biomass of the aberrants for rations.