Chapter 362 - 324: You Go Lead Them Away
Chapter 362: Chapter 324: You Go Lead Them Away
Philinos stood at the door, staring blankly at the play of light and shadow before him.
The small female was bathed in the firelight, her back bent as she wiped down her half-naked body. Her waist-length hair was splayed messily across her back, sliding off her shoulder with her movements.
It wasn’t until Gu Ning turned to look at him and called out "Bird Team" in a hoarse voice that he snapped out of his daze.
Seeing him return, Gu Ning instinctively pulled at the clothes she had pushed down to her waist. But when she noticed the Silver Armor covering her chest like a tube top, she decided there was nothing to hide, released the fabric, and went back to wiping herself down.
She forcefully wrung the water from the towel and warmed it over the fire before she dared to press it against her skin.
Philinos strode over and took the towel from Gu Ning’s hand. "Let me."
Gu Ning said, "It’s fine. I’m done."
It was too cold; even by the fire, she was shivering. She had just given herself a quick wipe with the wet towel to get rid of the uncomfortable stickiness of her sweat.
Philinos watched Gu Ning pull her clothes back up, then stood there with the towel in his hand, momentarily unsure of what to do.
Gu Ning asked, "Bird Team, where’s the snow?"
Philinos snapped back to reality and handed her the bundle of snow. "I tried rubbing the bloodstains off with more snow, but I couldn’t get it clean. I’ll look for another container later."
Gu Ning didn’t really understand him. She took the snow pack, lay back down, and placed it under her armpits and on her forehead like ice packs to bring her fever down.
The icy sensation made her shiver.
Seeing this, Philinos immediately understood her intention. ’So she’s using the snow packs to lower her temperature.’
He had learned some basic medical knowledge at school and from Teacher Windsor, but her constitution was very different from what he knew, so he couldn’t really compare her to a normal Beastman.
After spending so much time with Gu Ning, he still had many questions about her physiology.
’Even if she is... a female from Sky Watch Point, who are known to be weaker and more slender than the females of the Beast Alliance, her normal body temperature shouldn’t be so low. Unless, as that stupid dog Leo had wildly guessed, she possesses genes from a snake or some other cold-blooded creature, like the Sea Clan.’
’But her body temperature is higher than that of the Sea Clan. Right now, her surface temperature already exceeds a normal Beastman’s, but that’s because she’s sick.’
Philinos reached out, wanting to feel Gu Ning’s temperature. Seeing that she was awake, he stopped his hand just above her face. "I’m going to check your condition. Is that okay?"
Gu Ning turned her head to look at him. "What?"
Philinos met her gaze for a moment, his eyes flicking to her ear. Only then did he remember her translation earpiece was gone.
"I. Check. Your body. Understand. Sickness," Philinos said, breaking the words down. "Okay?"
Gu Ning hummed softly in agreement.
’Aside from his occasional sharp tongue, Philinos is actually a very polite and discreet little bird.’
’Of course, most of the time he’s just silent, quietly doing things, quietly keeping his distance from me. He doesn’t like getting too close to others, either. When there’s nothing going on, he stays far away from them.’
’That personality, for some reason, made her feel inexplicably at ease.’
With Gu Ning’s consent, Philinos touched the back of his hand to her face and neck. "Your temperature has dropped a little. You’re not as hot as before."
"Is that right? That’s good." Seeing he wasn’t making any other moves, Gu Ning gave a small smile.
CLANG! A noise from the doorway drew both of their gazes.
Wanai was back, carrying a pot. He shut the rusty iron door with a bit too much force and strode to the fire.
"Don’t make so much noise," Philinos said, frowning.
"You didn’t seem to think it was noisy a moment ago."
Wanai glanced at Philinos’s hand on the small female’s neck, then slammed the pot onto the stove. It was filled too full, and some of the water slopped out.
"Are you thirsty?" Philinos asked Gu Ning softly, ignoring him.
Gu Ning nodded.
She was very thirsty, her throat dry and itchy.
"Cough, cough..."
Hearing the small female’s cough, a sense of foreboding passed through both Wanai and Philinos.
Philinos picked up the ladle in the pot, but Wanai grabbed his hand to stop him. "The water isn’t warm yet."
Gu Ning said, "Cold water is fine."
Wanai and Philinos stared each other down for a few seconds before Wanai let go and started breaking up a wooden board to add to the fire.
Philinos helped Gu Ning sit up partway and fed her water, one spoonful at a time.
The water no longer had a fishy smell, and after a few spoonfuls, Gu Ning’s throat finally felt a little better.
When he was sure she didn’t want any more, Philinos gently laid her back down and covered her with the overcoat. "Are you hungry?"
Gu Ning shook her head and closed her eyes.
She had no appetite right now. Her head felt heavy and groggy, and all she wanted to do was sleep.
Seeing how weak she still was, Philinos’s heart sank. He lowered his gaze in thought for a moment, then looked at Wanai, who was still breaking up the wooden board. "What’s the range of your Shielding Device?"
Wanai poked the fire, only speaking after a long pause. "Go beyond the spot where I got the water, and they’ll immediately pick up your trail."
Philinos said, "You have a way to avoid being tracked by them."
His tone was certain.
The container they were in was less than a hundred meters from the housing unit where he got the water. There wasn’t so much as a small pond within a one-kilometer radius of this area, yet this Leopard had managed to catch fresh fish. That meant he could evade the eyes of the Heavenly Beast Clan.
"I do," Wanai said, glancing at the sleeping female. "What? You want me to get help for you? Or get medicine?"
Philinos thought for a moment, then said, "I need you to draw them away."
"..."
Wanai asked, "And then?"
Philinos replied, "That’s none of your concern."
A long silence fell.
Only the sound of the small female’s heavy breathing lingered in their ears.
Wanai finally suppressed his irritation with the bird, his face slightly tense. "And why should I help you?"
Philinos stroked the long blade at his side. "You wouldn’t be helping me."
Wanai retorted, "Then why should I help her?"
"You wouldn’t be helping her, either," Philinos said, his tone as cold as his gaze. "You’d be helping yourself."
Wanai’s gaze fell to Philinos’s blade. He said slowly, "You don’t think you can threaten me, do you?"
"Or is this how everyone in the Military Department asks for favors?"
Philinos took his blade and sat down, leaning against the wall by Gu Ning’s head. He closed his eyes and said, "My team members are near the edge of your Shielding Device’s range, no more than five hundred meters away. This is both a warning and a choice for you."
Wanai’s expression faltered. "How can you be so sure?"
He hadn’t even smelled their scent.
Philinos didn’t answer his question. "They know she’s with me. They’re spending this time figuring out how to draw our pursuers away."
Wanai lifted his wrist and activated his terminal. "How long do you need?"
Philinos answered, "By tomorrow morning at the latest."
Wanai glanced at the small female out of the corner of his eye and deftly snapped another piece of wood. "Then we’ll deal with it when they get here. I’m curious to see who’s more capable."
"..."
"You can also name your price," Philinos said, opening his eyes and fixing Wanai with a gaze as sharp as a blade. "Mercenary."
His identity exposed, Wanai didn’t react much. He replied mockingly, "I’d ask for a price on your life, and that’s a price you can’t afford to pay."