The winter forest was desolate. The bone-chilling wind blew through the gaps in the forest, as if trying to take away the last bit of warmth from her body. The crows at the top of the trees cawed mournfully from time to time, sending chills down her spine.

This place was already close to the northern border, so resources were already scarce. Now that it was winter, food was even harder to find.

Although she had some wilderness survival experience and knowledge, she had never encountered such a harsh environment.

Chu Lian looked at the desolate forest and smiled bitterly. She really didn't want to die. If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have tried so hard.

However, since she was already out, she had to try. Perhaps if she was lucky, she would be able to find some hard pine cones.

As it turned out, she didn't have many good times, especially when she was with He Sanlang.

He Changdi was still worried, so he followed the tracks Chu Lian had left behind. Before he could see her, he heard a familiar scream.

He Changdi's eyes narrowed. Ignoring the discomfort in his body, he sprinted in the direction of the scream.

When He Sanlang discovered that the troublemaking woman was helplessly lying on a pile of withered leaves, He Sanlang's taut heartstrings slowly relaxed.

However, when he saw Chu Lian's face, he didn't know why, but an unknown anger rose in He Sanlang's heart.

He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. Only then did he manage to suppress it. However, his face became exceptionally cold and gloomy.

He walked quickly to Chu Lian's side and asked in a cold voice, "What's wrong?"

Chu Lian heard the footsteps behind her and came back to her senses. When she saw that it was the bearded man who had saved her, she was so shocked that she forgot about her pain. She stuttered, "You … Why are you here?"

He Sanlang didn't want to answer her question. He lowered his gaze and looked at the right leg she was holding.

Chu Lian felt a little guilty. Not only did he not reply, but his expression became even more unsightly. She followed his gaze and immediately realized what he was looking at. Chu Lian immediately tugged at her skirt in embarrassment.

She then tried to explain, "It's nothing, I just accidentally sprained it."

After she finished speaking, she still couldn't hear the bearded man's voice. Chu Lian couldn't help but raise her head to glance at him. This glance was intimidated by his cold eyes. She was instantly stunned, and the hand that was holding the hem of her skirt also subconsciously loosened.

He Sanlang looked down from above. His sharp eyes instantly saw a glaring red mark on the leg of the trousers that were covered by the light green skirt.

He Changdi's eyes immediately narrowed, and he quickly squatted down, pushing aside Chu Lian's hands that were gently covering the hem of her skirt. When the hem of her skirt was lifted, he saw her slender right foot that was still caught in the metal trap. His long and deep eyes almost spat out fire.

"This is what you meant by sprained your ankle? You're really amazing!"

Although his voice was magnetic and pleasant to listen to, it was like ice, making people want to shiver uncontrollably.

Chu Lian didn't expect him to move so quickly. He even disregarded the etiquette between men and women and directly lifted her skirt!

How could this bearded man be so despicable!?

Originally, Chu Lian was filled with anger and humiliation. It was as if she was about to transform into a kitten with all her fur standing on end. Even the tips of her ears had unknowingly turned red. However, after hearing his mocking reprimand, she didn't know why she didn't have the courage to resist.

That … it wasn't like she wanted to step into this trap. It wasn't actually her fault … okay …

Chu Lian despondently defended herself in her heart.

However, in reality, her behavior was the complete opposite of what she thought it was.

She lowered her head and slightly lowered her eyelashes that were like two small fans. She trembled pitifully, as if she was afraid that someone would reprimand her again.

He Sanlang's originally harsher reprimand and attitude didn't lessen because of the guilt and self-blame she displayed.

He snorted coldly in his heart. This vicious woman, she's really good at pretending.

Chu Lian subconsciously snatched the skirt from his hands and covered her legs.

"You … how can you be like this!"

He Changdi's expression wasn't good at all, and his voice was even colder. He didn't care about Chu Lian's resistance at all and warned, "Take your hands off me!"

At this time, Chu Lian was also slightly angered by his cold but unyielding attitude. She puffed out her cheeks and bravely looked straight into his deep eyes. "Big Brother, men and women shouldn't touch each other. I can do it myself."

After saying this, Chu Lian tightly held onto her skirt and raised her head to stare at the bearded man in front of her. Her eyes were stubborn.

He Sanlang was really angry.

Ha!

What a good 'men and women shouldn't touch each other'!

She was even saying that he, her husband, shouldn't touch each other!

Fine!

Today, he wanted to see just how capable this vicious woman was!

After Chu Lian finished speaking, the man next to her let go of her ankles. He stood up and walked to the side. As if this wasn't enough, he even turned around slightly.

Without the bearded man staring at her, Chu Lian's entire body relaxed quite a bit. She didn't feel that uncomfortable feeling of nervousness anymore. She sneaked a glance in the bearded man's direction and saw that his slender body was standing ramrod straight. He really wasn't looking in her direction anymore. Only then did she reach out and gently lift up her skirt to reveal her ankle that was caught in the animal trap.

Her body moved slightly and Chu Lian sucked in a breath of cold air in pain.

Her attention had been diverted by the bearded man just now, so now that she saw the wound, she felt that it was several times more painful than before.

Chu Lian gently shifted into a more comfortable position and stretched out her hands to forcefully pry open the animal trap.

However, she quickly discovered that this animal trap wasn't as easy to get rid of as it looked. Her ankle was already caught, so it wasn't easy to exert force. In addition, the animal trap was tightly clamped. She tried a few times, but the animal trap didn't budge at all.

On the contrary, her body was aching and tired.

She sucked in a breath of air in pain. Her gaze hesitantly fell on the bearded man not far away. She opened her mouth to ask for help, but when she thought about how she had sternly refused his help, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Chu Lian cursed herself in annoyance.

Although He Sanlang stood to the side as if he didn't care, his gaze had always been on Chu Lian.

He saw the petite but stubborn figure grit her teeth and endure the pain as she tried to pry open the animal trap. Her long and thick eyelashes were wet with moisture.

He saw her two frozen red hands gripping the animal trap. Her knuckles had turned white from the force she was exerting, but the animal trap didn't budge at all, as if it was a part of her leg. In the end, she didn't have the strength to let go. Not only was her leg unable to be removed from the animal trap, but more blood seeped out of her wound.

He Changdi's heart tightened. He couldn't stand still anymore. He was annoyed that he had ignored his principles and compromised so easily.

He didn't care about the vile woman's resistance anymore. He used one of his strong arms to grab Chu Lian's hands and pressed himself against her. They could almost hear each other's breaths. In a slightly hoarse voice, he warned, "Don't move, or else I'll break your leg!"