Because of the cold poison in his body, his face had always been as pale as cold jade. Now, washed by the heavy rain, his smile appeared exceptionally clean.

Qiao Zhao nodded gently: “Alright.”

With Shao Mingyuan in front and Qiao Zhao behind, the two entered the cave together.

The cave was dry inside. The further they went, the more spacious it became. By the deepest part, there was no need to bend over or duck their heads.

Shao Mingyuan sat down, leaning against the cave wall. Since he was soaked through completely, water dripped from his hair and clothes, quickly forming a small puddle where he sat.

The light inside the cave was dim. The two could only vaguely see each other’s silhouettes.

“General Shao, you need to take off your wet clothes.” Qiao Zhao could sense that Shao Mingyuan could no longer hold on.

Shao Mingyuan sat with his eyes closed, not speaking. After a long while, he barely opened them and said softly: “No need. Miss Li, extend your hand.”

Qiao Zhao didn’t understand his meaning, but did as he asked.

Shao Mingyuan directly grasped Qiao Zhao’s hand.

“General Shao?” Qiao Zhao was startled.

In the darkness, Shao Mingyuan gripped Qiao Zhao’s hand tightly. Qiao Zhao couldn’t see his expression clearly, only hearing the man’s voice softly say, “Miss Li, I need to sleep for a while.”

Qiao Zhao lowered her eyes.

Did he need to hold someone’s hand to sleep?

“It’s raining outside. Don’t go out.”

After that, Shao Mingyuan said nothing more. Though the two were so close and the cave was so quiet, Qiao Zhao couldn’t even hear his breathing.

Only then did she understand his meaning.

Was he afraid she would venture out in the rain to gather herbs while he slept?

She indeed had this intention, because if she couldn’t find suitable herbs soon, this man before her would be beyond saving!

This fool…

Qiao Zhao gently tried to withdraw her hand, but the previously silent person suddenly gripped her hand tightly.

“General Shao—”

The other party didn’t respond, but his hand never loosened, as if by instinct.

That hand was burning hot like a branding iron. Qiao Zhao’s heart skipped a beat as she raised her other hand to touch his cheek.

Uh, too dark—she touched the wrong place.

She moved her hand up to touch his forehead. The shocking heat made her hand tremble.

“General Shao, General Shao, wake up.”

Silence from the other side.

Qiao Zhao’s heart sank as she tried to pull away the hand Shao Mingyuan was gripping, but that hand was held even tightly.

In that instant, Qiao Zhao suddenly felt her heart being gently touched.

How strong was this person’s willpower? Even while unconscious, he still remembered to hold onto her hand.

“Shao Mingyuan, let go. I promise I won’t go out.” Qiao Zhao said softly.

The cave grew darker and darker. She could no longer see his appearance at all.

The hand he held still didn’t loosen. The man gently shook his head, his cheek brushing against the back of Qiao Zhao’s hand.

“Cold—”

In the darkness, this soft word “cold” was like a small feather falling on Qiao Zhao’s heart.

She sighed, steeled herself, and forcefully pulled her hand free, reaching out to unfasten his clothes.

With the cold poison attacking and still wearing wet clothes, he would truly lose his life.

Perhaps because his physical condition had deteriorated to the extreme, this time Shao Mingyuan made no reaction at all.

Qiao Zhao fumbled to remove his upper garment. Her hand moved down to his waist, hesitated for a moment, then her expression became resolute.

After considerable effort, she finally removed the wet clothes. Based on what she had vaguely seen when they first entered, Qiao Zhao felt her way in the dark toward one direction, testing the ground with her feet, kicking gently back and forth until she finally kicked something that made a soft sound in the darkness.

It was the pile of straw she had dimly seen when there was still a trace of light in the cave.

Qiao Zhao bent down and groped to gather the straw, breathing a slight sigh of relief.

The straw was very dry. This would help keep him warm.

Qiao Zhao carefully carried the straw back. When her foot touched his body, she crouched down and covered him with the straw.

The contact between her fingertips and the man’s body made her face somewhat hot, but she still methodically completed these tasks, then walked out of the cave without looking back.

Rain was still falling. The mountain wind was cold and damp. Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but shiver as she stepped into the curtain of rain.

The valley floor was lush with vegetation, including no shortage of medicinal herbs. But because it had already grown dark and was raining, they were difficult to distinguish. Qiao Zhao searched with her head down for a long time and finally found what she needed.

She held a handful of herbs with red stems shaped like bamboo tubes, showing a joyful smile. She wiped the rainwater from her face and quickly walked toward the cave. Just as she was about to reach the entrance, her foot slipped, and piercing pain immediately shot through her.

Qiao Zhao immediately broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. She bent over in agony, and only after a long while was she able to stand up again, limping as she walked inside.

The cave remained pitch black and frighteningly quiet.

Qiao Zhao lightly stamped her feet to shake off the rainwater, enduring the severe pain from her ankle as she walked deeper inside.

“Shao Mingyuan—” She crouched down and groped to grasp Shao Mingyuan’s hand.

His hand was large and rough, the fingertips even more uneven from injury. It was hotter than when she had left.

Heat in the flesh, cold in the bone marrow—this meant the cold poison was no longer under control.

As if sensing the temperature of Qiao Zhao’s fingers, that large hand unconsciously moved, but no longer had the strength to grip hers in return.

Qiao Zhao suddenly felt a wave of heartache. She moved back a bit to prevent her soaked clothes from wetting the straw, then gently broke the bamboo-tube-shaped herb at the joint. Crystal-clear sap immediately seeped out.

Qiao Zhao couldn’t see, so she could only test it with her fingertips, then brought that section of herb to Shao Mingyuan’s lips: “Shao Mingyuan, it’s time to take medicine.”

No one responded.

The herb’s sap poured out but flowed out from the corner of his mouth, covering Qiao Zhao’s hand.

Qiao Zhao was stunned. She threw away this half section of herb, poured the sap from the other half into her mouth, then resolutely pressed her lips to his.

She refused to believe she couldn’t get it down!

Unlike the burning heat of his entire body, his lips were ice-cold and couldn’t even be called soft.

After a long while, Qiao Zhao raised her head and gently wiped the corner of her mouth. She felt around in the dark to find Shao Mingyuan’s discarded clothes, limped to the other side to wring them out and spread them, then began removing her wet clothes.

Although she knew the man was unconscious, and that even if he were awake, he wouldn’t be able to see anything in this environment, a woman’s natural modesty still made her fingers tremble continuously.

Shao Mingyuan was right—staying alive was most important.

Qiao Zhao slowly walked back and sat down next to Shao Mingyuan, extending her hand from time to time to check his condition.

Night had already fallen. Although it was midsummer, with the rain outside and being in such a place, Qiao Zhao, without clothing to cover her body, still felt the cold and dampness. The stone wall against her back was even colder and harder.

She had no choice but to curl her entire body up and sigh.

Night had just begun. Whether Shao Mingyuan could survive was still unknown, and because of her foot injury, she couldn’t go out to gather more herbs. Everything could only depend on fate.

How difficult this night would be to endure!

“Shao Mingyuan, don’t let the cold poison defeat you. Otherwise, we two will truly die here together.” Qiao Zhao murmured.