Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 203

"What's that?" Yun Shang heard someone talking above them. She was startled. When Yun Shang and Prince Jing heard someone talking, they panicked and dove into the water. They didn't have the time to put away the rope. If the rope was seen by those people, they would know that someone must have climbed up the mountain.

"Come on. Let's go and take a look." Yun Shang frowned at the conversation. Even though Yun Shang and Prince Jing were hiding in the water, they could still be easily spotted if those people came closer and looked into the water. Fortunately, it was the upstream of the waterfall, so the water was deep. Yun Shang and Prince Jing could submerge themselves deeper before those people checked the water.

Yun Shang turned to look at Prince Jing. She found that he was frowning. His eyes were tightly closed and he looked pale. Yun Shang was shocked. 'Prince Jing doesn't know how to hold his breath under water!'

Then Yun Shang smiled bitterly at her thought. Maybe it was because Prince Jing had been so efficient and resourceful in his daily life that Yun Shang had never thought there were things that he couldn't do. The fact that Prince Jing couldn't hold his breath would be fatal to him and disastrous to their mission.

Just as Yun Shang was contemplating their options, she heard the faint sound of footsteps. She knew those people were coming closer to the river's edge. Yun Shang didn't have the time to think. She quickly swam to Prince Jing and placed her hand under his arm. With the Prince securely in her grasp, she pulled him as she swam deeper.

When Yun Shang had swum deep enough to avoid being seen by the people ashore, she stopped to check on Prince Jing. She became flustered when she found that he looked worse. Prince Jing's face had turned blue due to lack of oxygen. 'Crap!' Yun Shang thought to herself. She was afraid that Prince Jing couldn't stay in the water for too much longer.

Just then, she heard someone talking from the shore. Yun Shang listened attentively.

"Look. What's this?" Someone asked.

"It's a rope.. Someone must have climbed up the

mountain. And there must be more than one person." Another man answered. Yun Shang sighed. She wished that they hadn't found the rope. But those people did spot it hanging from the tree. Yun Shang was worried about Prince Jing. She felt anxious. 'Why don't they leave?'

When she felt that Prince Jing going limp, Yun Shang knew that the Prince couldn't hold his breath any longer.

Yun Shang bit her lip as she thought over her options. Once decided, she swam closer to Prince Jing and gently placed her lips on his. Then she released short puffs of breath into his mouth. After a few seconds, she noticed that Prince Jing's face looked better.

"Take the rope. We need to report to the general." Then Yun Shang heard footsteps. To her, it sounded like the people were headed away from the river. 'General? So these people could have been soldiers from the hidden army that we discovered!'

Yun Shang felt relieved with the long silence that ensued. But she didn't swim up immediately. She waited for a while longer to be sure that those people wouldn't return. As she waited, she puffed more breaths into Prince Jing's mouth to keep him alive.

After a while, there was no sound from above the water at all. Yun Shang was so worried about Prince Jing that she decided to surface. She dragged Prince Jing as she swam up. After Yun Shang reached the surface, she looked around to ensure no one was standing guard. Then she dragged Prince Jing toward the water weeds.

After they hid in the water weeds, Yun Shang thumped Prince Jing's back. Prince Jing spat out some water before closing his eyes again. It took him some time to gather the strength to talk.

"It won't be long before they come back and search here. They've already found the rope. Now they must know that someone who fears the miasma must have tried to climb up the cliff. If they search along the river, they will find us." Prince Jing kept his eyes closed as he spoke in a soft and weak voice.

Yun Shang still felt awkward about what she had done under the water. Seeing that Prince Jing didn't mention what had happened, Yun Shang laughed at herself for overthinking. But somehow, she also felt disappointed.

Yun Shang stopped thinking about it and searched her clothes. She frowned as she took out a small white jade bottle from around her waist. She smiled bitterly as she spoke, "Before we came here, I brought antidotal pills with me. They should protect us against the poison in the miasma. But one pill only works for two hours. Since I only have ten pills, you and I have ten hours to find the curing herb for the poison."

Prince Jing opened his eyes and looked at Yun Shang. His mouth curved into a smile. "I told you that you have skills which no one else has. If you hadn't come with me, I might have died here."

Then Prince Jing used what was left of his energy to pull Yun Shang from the water. As they walked toward the thicket, Yun Shang thought the miasma made the forest look gloomy and frightening.