The gorilla splits in half and falls to the ground with a loud explosion as I try to catch my breath. I lean away from the man to thank him but when my eyes land on a familiar necklace, my heart skips a beat.
My eyes shoot up to find Guozhi's handsome face looking me over with worry. My hand shoots out to grab the necklace but he's faster as he grabs my hand with a smirk. "What are the chances, Bunny? How are you here in the Beast Realm being chased by a Golden King Gorilla?"
I step back and try to pull my hand away but he refuses to let go. I look over to the Golden King thing and deflate. My legs collapse on me as my strength gives out. Guozhi's smile quickly fades as he reaches out and quickly catches me. He slowly lowers me down to the ground as I struggle to breathe.
He looks me over with concern but when his eyes land on my shoulder, his face darkens with anger and worry. After a catch my breath, I look at the dead gorilla before saying "I can't believe I'm gonna say this but I'm suddenly really happy to see you."
Guozhi crouches next to me with a small smile and says "Judging by the path of destruction, you did a good job lasting that long. Any longer and this guy would have killed you. I thought I smelt something familiar so I followed the sound of the fight and saw you running for your life."
I give him a tired smile as I look around the dark woods. "This is the Beast Realm?" I ask in confusion causing Guozhi to frown at me. He cocks his head to the side and asks "Do you not know where you are?" I look back to him with a weary smile.
He watches me with dark eyes as I sigh and say "It seems you aren't the only one who likes to kidnap women against their will." Guozhi's eyes darken as he begins looking around the dark woods. He looks back to me and says "We need to leave. These woods are too dangerous for you. I'm surprised you haven't been killed yet..."
I snort at him and say "This is the first spirit beast I've run into." He frowns at me and looks to my left arm with confusion. I nod at my arm and say "I did this escaping my latest kidnapper." His eyes darken with anger as he says "We need to go. Now. You need a doctor."
I think about trying to run away but quickly dismiss the idea. Guozhi is strong and will be able to ensure our safety as we make it out. I really am burnt out... the little bit of power I was able to gain is now completely exhausted as my arm continues to bleed.
I seemed to have reopened it when I was fighting the damn gorilla... Guozhi helps me up and leads us through the woods but after an hour or so, I feel my head swim with a dizzy spell. Guozhi reaches out and helps me sit before looking at my arm with worry.
"Can you help me retie it?" I ask pulling at the cloth around my arm. Guozhi's dark eyes look to me in surprise before quickly nodding and gently pushing my hand away. I bite my lip and lean my head back as he unties the cloth.
When I hear cloth being ripped, I quickly look back to find him ripping his own shirt to tie up my arm. I frown at him and say "I have plenty of dress left..." He snorts at me and says "Not anymore. Between you and the gorilla, you're barely covered."
I look down at my bare legs with a frown. I keep forgetting how conservative people are here... It wasn't that bad. As he tightens the cloth, I suck in and hiss at the pain but I know that it'll stop the blood much better than the time I tied it.
Guozhi clenches his teeth and mumbles "Sorry." I wave him off and say "It'll stop the bleeding. Thanks... for saving my life and helping me." I say leaning my head back against the tree. Guozhi looks at me in shock before a soft look crosses his dark eyes.
After a few minutes, Guozhi helps me up then crouches in front of me with his back to me while saying "Get on. I'll carry you for a while." I shake my head and say "I can walk myself." Guozhi sighs and says "You are only slowing us down. Get on or I'll throw you over my shoulder."
This time I sigh as I collapse onto his back. I'm honestly too tired to fight at this point. He reaches back to grab my thighs but when his hands touch bare skin, he flinches. I chuckle at him and say "It's not too late for me to walk.."
Guozhi grits his teeth and grabs my thighs as he stands up. I drape my good arm over his strong shoulder as I tuck my bad arm to me. I try to keep my eyes open as he quickly moves through the woods. I really was slowing us down!
I turn and look to my side when I suddenly feel tiny paws against my cheek. Little Bun looks at me with tear-filled eyes so I give him a small smile and say "It's okay." He leans over and licks the blood on my shoulder before rubbing his fluffy little head on my chin.
My eyes grow heavier as I feel the warmth from Guozhi's back. It was relaxing all my sore muscles but I was really able to relax because I knew he would get us out of here safely. Once I'm better, I can worry about running away again. That or maybe Bai Lei will be able to find me again...
At the thought of Bai Lei, my eyes finally close as I slip into a deep sleep.