The wire was cut!
The surrounding was dead quiet.
The countdown on the bomb had stopped.
Huff!
They let out a sigh of relief simultaneously.
Tang Yuanchu carefully removed the bomb tied on to Xie Wanwan’s body.
It was only then that he realized his whole body looked as if it was soaked after a rainfall; he was perspiring all over, and his legs felt wobbly. Every step he took felt like he was floating in the air.
“… We’re safe. We’re safe!”
He muttered softly as if he was talking to himself, yet at the same time, he seemed to be consoling Xie Wanwan.
“Put on my jacket first—”
At that moment, Bai Muchuan and Salimu had already turned around. Their backs were facing them.
In the face of danger, there was no time to bother about gender differences.
However, now that the danger was gone, basic respect and taboo between men and women had to be observed once again. For Bai Muchuan, it was not convenient. As for Salimu, he totally did not dare to look at Xie Wanwan… Thus, they left the task of facing Xie Wanwan to Tang Yuanchu.
The taboo between man and woman at that moment had been thrown out of his head. All he wanted was to help cover her up.
To preserve the remaining pride she had.
At that moment, that was all he was concerned about.
Right now, that was what he should do.
Xie Wanwan was still in the same exact position earlier, looking at him.
His earlier hug, the perspiration from his body, she was very clear what he done for her.
However, she did not say a word to him.
She could not say a word.
“Don’t be afraid… no one will know and nobody will say anything about this…”
Tang Yuanchu felt uncomfortable from her gaze.
He did not know what was inside Xie Wanwan’s head. Her eyes under the dim sky were glowing faintly… And, he was the focal point in her gaze. She was looking at him, only at him.
“… Don’t just stand there. Quick, put on the jacket… or you’ll catch a cold!”
Tang Yuanchu was at a loss. He was trying to console her based on his instincts… that she could regain her dignity, and retain her usual self when she treated them hot and spicy crayfish and cracked jokes with them.
“You couldn’t give me what I want.”
Xie Wanwan said out of the blue.
Tang Yuanchu stopped breathing for an instant.
She added, “I couldn’t give you anything as well.”
Although her words were sudden, she said it all for Tang Yuanchu to hear.
His feelings for her, if she had not noticed it previously, at the moment of life and death, and as a sensitive female actress, she could totally feel his feelings for her.
However, she knew she couldn’t reciprocate his love.
How would she do that when she felt that she barely had the courage to continue living?
“I’ll return the money I owe you,” Xie Wanwan said softly, “I’m very sorry… for the things I did to you. That day I was too drunk, and I guess I got out of hand… As you already know, I’m not a good woman, never a good woman.”
Tang Yuanchu’s face flushed red from embarrassment when he heard that. He felt like he was given a few slaps on his face.
She obviously heard all those words he said earlier.
“I know… I was just joking when I said those things earlier…”
Tang Yuanchu took a deep breath. He wanted to let her know that he didn’t want anything from her. There was no need for her to pay back anything. Those things he had done were merely because he couldn’t bear to see all those b*stards bullying a woman so shamelessly. She was only a woman who had never done any harm to anyone. He couldn’t stand how fate had been so cruel and unfair to her…
If he had to stick a label to his current emotion… Tang Yuanchu felt that at this moment… He sympathized with her more than he loved her.
Before he could say more, he caught something that shocked him.
The counter on the bomb which was removed from Xie Wanwan had suddenly started ticking again!
Five seconds!
There are only five seconds!
Four seconds!
Tang Yuanchu’s mind went blank for a split second.
There was no time for him to think, no time for him to assess the situation.
“All of you get out of here! The bomb is going to explode!”
He carried the bomb and ran towards the lake—
Three seconds!
Two seconds!
Bai Muchuan turned around and shouted. “Get down!”
Tang Yuanchu ran as fast as he could, like an arrow that just left the bow. With all his might, he threw the bomb towards the lake—
However, the moment the bomb left his hand, it suddenly detonated.
BOOM! Tang Yuanchu’s body flung into the air from the shock waves of the explosion—
Splash! He landed heavily into the lake.
The sound of the explosion resonated in the entire lake!
The explosion caused the water to blast a few meters up to the skies.
There were also some blood-colored droplets amongst the splashed water.
Boom! There were a few more explosions before the sounds of water drowned it.
Some water splashed over them due to the shockwave from the explosion even though they were a good distance from the lake.
When they raised their heads, all that they could see was some dark smoke lingering on the water surface for a long time…
“Tang Yuanchu!” Bai Muchuan dashed forward.
“Tang Yuanchu! Tang Yuanchu!” Salimu threw his precious luggage and dashed towards the spot of the explosion.
Xie Wanwan stood there with her eyes wide open.
Both of her eyes were watery, her face was wet. No one could tell if it was the lake water or her own tears…
“Tang Yuanchu!”
It was a good five seconds before she wiped away the water dripping from her face and ran towards the lake.
Her voice was cracked and hoarse. She did not even realize her own predicament… her body was only covered by an article of tattered clothing that looked more like a rag. It could barely cover her naked body, but she was not bothered at all…
In the face of death, there was no gender differentiation. Only life and death.
At that moment, all she could think of was Tang Yuanchu’s look earlier…
The reserved smile on his face, and him running off with the bomb in his arms…
Then his body flung into the air… like a fish leaping out of the water, then fell right into the water.
All these scenes clouded her eyes, it suffocated her so much that she had difficulty breathing.
“Tang Yuanchu!”
That seemed like the holiest moment in life.
Everything just paled in comparison in the face of death.
Bai Muchuan dived into the water and swam towards the direction of Tang Yuanchu.
Salimu’s anxiety had already reached its peak. He paused for a moment before removing his jacket and threw it towards Xie Wanwan and jumped right into the water together with Bai Muchuan…
The lake was very deep.
Much deeper than what they had expected.
The water in the lake was very cold.
Much colder than what they had expected too.
In the chilling water, the level of visibility was too poor to see much.
Bai Muchuan took a few dives into the water, but there was just no sight of Tang Yuanchu.
They had no tools to assist them in the search. In such a deep lake, their rescue work turned into an impossible mission.
“Captain Bai… Captain Bai!”
Salimu was not a good swimmer.
After taking a few quick dives and did not manage to see Bai Muchuan or Tang Yuanchu, he started to panic a little.
He flapped his arms in the water vigorously. The sound of the water splashing could be heard from a distance…
“Ah… Help!”
In the end, his sinking body was pulled up by Xie Wanwan who also jumped into the water.
“…”
“Quick! Captain Quan! They are over there!”
Quan Shaoteng had rushed over when he heard the explosion. He quickly organized a search team.
Both Xie Wanwan and Salimu were pulled out of the water safely.
After knowing that Bai Muchuan and Tang Yuanchu were still in the lake, Quan Shaoteng jumped into the water and joined the search.
In no time, he surfaced and shook his head. “D*rn! The water is too deep. This won’t do!”
To safeguard the safety of his small team, he arranged those who were good swimmers to continue the search while those who were not, would chop the branches down from nearby trees to act a rod. In this way, if any teammate ran out of stamina, they could use the rod to grab and pull the teammate out of the water…
“Captain Quan, there’s no one in sight!”
“Spread out and expand the area of search!”
“Quick! Go, go, go!”
Time was life!
For Tang Yuanchu to fall into the water when the bomb exploded was a life-threatening incident itself.
With each second passing, the chance of survival would get slimmer…
As for Bai Muchuan, ever since Quan Shaoteng arrived here, he had not surfaced from the water.
He definitely had faith in Bai Muchuan’s diving skills. By right, Quan Shaoteng wouldn’t totally worry about Bai Muchuan drowning…
However, it was different this round for he had a gunshot wound on his arm.
“Come on brothers! You can do it!”
Everybody could sense the anxiousness in his voice.
Xiang Wan felt that as well.
She had followed along and had come to the lake as well.
Though her leg was injured, she could still walk. Earlier when Bai Muchuan was around, he pampered her by carrying her on his back. She could feel the pain in her leg again…
At this time, no one cared about her, her whole leg felt numb. Pain? It was non-existent.
By the lake, They could hear communication between the teammates about the rescue operation.
Otherwise, the atmosphere was dead silent.
Xiang Wan noticed Xie Wanwan, who was now wearing a man’s jacket.
She sat in a curled up manner at the side of the lake. Her two slim legs were exposed in the open.
The weather was very cold, but from Xie Wanwan’s reaction, she did not seem to feel that as she just stayed there, not moving an inch.
She stared at the lake. Xiang Wan could not decipher the emotion on her face. Xie Wanwan’s eyes under the dim sky felt like an empty hollow.
Xiang Wan was limping with one leg as she walked slowly towards Xie Wanwan. She just looked at her wet hair without saying a word.
“Are you here to ridicule me?”
Xie Wanwan suddenly raised her head; her face was pale like the snow.
Xiang Wan narrowed her eyes and looked at her quietly.
Xie Wanwan was the one who insisted to come to Vulture’s Mouth to save Bai Muchuan, but she ended up in the wolf’s den and had to be rescued by others to the extent that others could be paying with their lives just to save hers…
Xiang Wan was angry at her.
However, she could not hate Xie Wanwan.
Xie Wanwan was indeed different.
If it was Cheng Xin, Xiang Wan believed that she could come up with thousands of words to ridicule her.
She knew exactly what Cheng Xin’s weak spots were and would spare no sympathy.
However, Xie Wanwan…
Her life had been filled with cruelty and violence.
Her life was basically a tragedy.
Just not too long ago, she had just gone through the most inhumane and brutal treatment a woman could experience.
Xiang Wan puffed a sigh. “I just want to ask if you’re cold?”
…
The wire was cut!
The surrounding was dead quiet.
The countdown on the bomb had stopped.
Huff!
They let out a sigh of relief simultaneously.
Tang Yuanchu carefully removed the bomb tied on to Xie Wanwan’s body.
It was only then that he realized his whole body looked as if it was soaked after a rainfall; he was perspiring all over, and his legs felt wobbly. Every step he took felt like he was floating in the air.
“… We’re safe. We’re safe!”
He muttered softly as if he was talking to himself, yet at the same time, he seemed to be consoling Xie Wanwan.
“Put on my jacket first—”
At that moment, Bai Muchuan and Salimu had already turned around. Their backs were facing them.
In the face of danger, there was no time to bother about gender differences.
However, now that the danger was gone, basic respect and taboo between men and women had to be observed once again. For Bai Muchuan, it was not convenient. As for Salimu, he totally did not dare to look at Xie Wanwan… Thus, they left the task of facing Xie Wanwan to Tang Yuanchu.
The taboo between man and woman at that moment had been thrown out of his head. All he wanted was to help cover her up.
To preserve the remaining pride she had.
At that moment, that was all he was concerned about.
Right now, that was what he should do.
Xie Wanwan was still in the same exact position earlier, looking at him.
His earlier hug, the perspiration from his body, she was very clear what he done for her.
However, she did not say a word to him.
She could not say a word.
“Don’t be afraid… no one will know and nobody will say anything about this…”
Tang Yuanchu felt uncomfortable from her gaze.
He did not know what was inside Xie Wanwan’s head. Her eyes under the dim sky were glowing faintly… And, he was the focal point in her gaze. She was looking at him, only at him.
“… Don’t just stand there. Quick, put on the jacket… or you’ll catch a cold!”
Tang Yuanchu was at a loss. He was trying to console her based on his instincts… that she could regain her dignity, and retain her usual self when she treated them hot and spicy crayfish and cracked jokes with them.
“You couldn’t give me what I want.”
Xie Wanwan said out of the blue.
Tang Yuanchu stopped breathing for an instant.
She added, “I couldn’t give you anything as well.”
Although her words were sudden, she said it all for Tang Yuanchu to hear.
His feelings for her, if she had not noticed it previously, at the moment of life and death, and as a sensitive female actress, she could totally feel his feelings for her.
However, she knew she couldn’t reciprocate his love.
How would she do that when she felt that she barely had the courage to continue living?
“I’ll return the money I owe you,” Xie Wanwan said softly, “I’m very sorry… for the things I did to you. That day I was too drunk, and I guess I got out of hand… As you already know, I’m not a good woman, never a good woman.”
Tang Yuanchu’s face flushed red from embarrassment when he heard that. He felt like he was given a few slaps on his face.
She obviously heard all those words he said earlier.
“I know… I was just joking when I said those things earlier…”
Tang Yuanchu took a deep breath. He wanted to let her know that he didn’t want anything from her. There was no need for her to pay back anything. Those things he had done were merely because he couldn’t bear to see all those b*stards bullying a woman so shamelessly. She was only a woman who had never done any harm to anyone. He couldn’t stand how fate had been so cruel and unfair to her…
If he had to stick a label to his current emotion… Tang Yuanchu felt that at this moment… He sympathized with her more than he loved her.
Before he could say more, he caught something that shocked him.
The counter on the bomb which was removed from Xie Wanwan had suddenly started ticking again!
Five seconds!
There are only five seconds!
Four seconds!
Tang Yuanchu’s mind went blank for a split second.
There was no time for him to think, no time for him to assess the situation.
“All of you get out of here! The bomb is going to explode!”
He carried the bomb and ran towards the lake—
Three seconds!
Two seconds!
Bai Muchuan turned around and shouted. “Get down!”
Tang Yuanchu ran as fast as he could, like an arrow that just left the bow. With all his might, he threw the bomb towards the lake—
However, the moment the bomb left his hand, it suddenly detonated.
BOOM! Tang Yuanchu’s body flung into the air from the shock waves of the explosion—
Splash! He landed heavily into the lake.
The sound of the explosion resonated in the entire lake!
The explosion caused the water to blast a few meters up to the skies.
There were also some blood-colored droplets amongst the splashed water.
Boom! There were a few more explosions before the sounds of water drowned it.
Some water splashed over them due to the shockwave from the explosion even though they were a good distance from the lake.
When they raised their heads, all that they could see was some dark smoke lingering on the water surface for a long time…
“Tang Yuanchu!” Bai Muchuan dashed forward.
“Tang Yuanchu! Tang Yuanchu!” Salimu threw his precious luggage and dashed towards the spot of the explosion.
Xie Wanwan stood there with her eyes wide open.
Both of her eyes were watery, her face was wet. No one could tell if it was the lake water or her own tears…
“Tang Yuanchu!”
It was a good five seconds before she wiped away the water dripping from her face and ran towards the lake.
Her voice was cracked and hoarse. She did not even realize her own predicament… her body was only covered by an article of tattered clothing that looked more like a rag. It could barely cover her naked body, but she was not bothered at all…
In the face of death, there was no gender differentiation. Only life and death.
At that moment, all she could think of was Tang Yuanchu’s look earlier…
The reserved smile on his face, and him running off with the bomb in his arms…
Then his body flung into the air… like a fish leaping out of the water, then fell right into the water.
All these scenes clouded her eyes, it suffocated her so much that she had difficulty breathing.
“Tang Yuanchu!”
That seemed like the holiest moment in life.
Everything just paled in comparison in the face of death.
Bai Muchuan dived into the water and swam towards the direction of Tang Yuanchu.
Salimu’s anxiety had already reached its peak. He paused for a moment before removing his jacket and threw it towards Xie Wanwan and jumped right into the water together with Bai Muchuan…
The lake was very deep.
Much deeper than what they had expected.
The water in the lake was very cold.
Much colder than what they had expected too.
In the chilling water, the level of visibility was too poor to see much.
Bai Muchuan took a few dives into the water, but there was just no sight of Tang Yuanchu.
They had no tools to assist them in the search. In such a deep lake, their rescue work turned into an impossible mission.
“Captain Bai… Captain Bai!”
Salimu was not a good swimmer.
After taking a few quick dives and did not manage to see Bai Muchuan or Tang Yuanchu, he started to panic a little.
He flapped his arms in the water vigorously. The sound of the water splashing could be heard from a distance…
“Ah… Help!”
In the end, his sinking body was pulled up by Xie Wanwan who also jumped into the water.
“…”
“Quick! Captain Quan! They are over there!”
Quan Shaoteng had rushed over when he heard the explosion. He quickly organized a search team.
Both Xie Wanwan and Salimu were pulled out of the water safely.
After knowing that Bai Muchuan and Tang Yuanchu were still in the lake, Quan Shaoteng jumped into the water and joined the search.
In no time, he surfaced and shook his head. “D*rn! The water is too deep. This won’t do!”
To safeguard the safety of his small team, he arranged those who were good swimmers to continue the search while those who were not, would chop the branches down from nearby trees to act a rod. In this way, if any teammate ran out of stamina, they could use the rod to grab and pull the teammate out of the water…
“Captain Quan, there’s no one in sight!”
“Spread out and expand the area of search!”
“Quick! Go, go, go!”
Time was life!
For Tang Yuanchu to fall into the water when the bomb exploded was a life-threatening incident itself.
With each second passing, the chance of survival would get slimmer…
As for Bai Muchuan, ever since Quan Shaoteng arrived here, he had not surfaced from the water.
He definitely had faith in Bai Muchuan’s diving skills. By right, Quan Shaoteng wouldn’t totally worry about Bai Muchuan drowning…
However, it was different this round for he had a gunshot wound on his arm.
“Come on brothers! You can do it!”
Everybody could sense the anxiousness in his voice.
Xiang Wan felt that as well.
She had followed along and had come to the lake as well.
Though her leg was injured, she could still walk. Earlier when Bai Muchuan was around, he pampered her by carrying her on his back. She could feel the pain in her leg again…
At this time, no one cared about her, her whole leg felt numb. Pain? It was non-existent.
By the lake, They could hear communication between the teammates about the rescue operation.
Otherwise, the atmosphere was dead silent.
Xiang Wan noticed Xie Wanwan, who was now wearing a man’s jacket.
She sat in a curled up manner at the side of the lake. Her two slim legs were exposed in the open.
The weather was very cold, but from Xie Wanwan’s reaction, she did not seem to feel that as she just stayed there, not moving an inch.
She stared at the lake. Xiang Wan could not decipher the emotion on her face. Xie Wanwan’s eyes under the dim sky felt like an empty hollow.
Xiang Wan was limping with one leg as she walked slowly towards Xie Wanwan. She just looked at her wet hair without saying a word.
“Are you here to ridicule me?”
Xie Wanwan suddenly raised her head; her face was pale like the snow.
Xiang Wan narrowed her eyes and looked at her quietly.
Xie Wanwan was the one who insisted to come to Vulture’s Mouth to save Bai Muchuan, but she ended up in the wolf’s den and had to be rescued by others to the extent that others could be paying with their lives just to save hers…
Xiang Wan was angry at her.
However, she could not hate Xie Wanwan.
Xie Wanwan was indeed different.
If it was Cheng Xin, Xiang Wan believed that she could come up with thousands of words to ridicule her.
She knew exactly what Cheng Xin’s weak spots were and would spare no sympathy.
However, Xie Wanwan…
Her life had been filled with cruelty and violence.
Her life was basically a tragedy.
Just not too long ago, she had just gone through the most inhumane and brutal treatment a woman could experience.
Xiang Wan puffed a sigh. “I just want to ask if you’re cold?”
…
