Chapter Forty-Two: Desperate Hiding

The usually composed Dahua broke out in a cold sweat at once. Hearing that roar, she knew that if they didn’t get out soon, they might not make it out of there alive.

“Sister-in-law, we can’t stay here any longer. It’s about to catch up with us, and the smell of this wild boar’s blood is just too strong.”

Sweat dripped from Gu Xiaoyao’s forehead into her eyes, but she paid no attention. At their current speed, even if they left the wild boar behind, they likely couldn’t outrun a wild beast.

“Follow me.”

Gu Xiaoyao had prepared a plan before venturing deep into the mountains. If a wild beast really came, their first priority was to save their own lives.

With Dahua in tow, she quickly identified a certain type of grass. To humans, it didn’t smell particularly bad, but animals absolutely hated it.

Pulling up a handful of the grass, Gu Xiaoyao told Dahua to stay put, then ran over to the wild boar and tossed the grass onto its body.

“Let’s hurry and hide.”

Nearby was a patch of dense grass, all of it the same foul-smelling kind. The sound of the approaching beast grew closer.

Gu Xiaoyao dragged Dahua into the stinking grass, and the two of them crouched there, the pungent odor stinging their noses and their hearts pounding in their chests.

A hoarse, guttural roar echoed through the air.

A striped beast suddenly leapt out. It swished its tail calmly, its lifeless eyes scanning the area.

Even with the stinking grass masking it, the scent of blood still lingered. The tiger sauntered over, sniffing the air. The smell of the grass was so overpowering that it couldn’t help but sneeze several times in a row. Wanting to get closer, it was nonetheless repelled by the stench, and circled the wild boar several times in frustration.

Hidden in the patch of foul grass, Dahua clamped her nose tightly. She felt she was about to sneeze herself.

The irritation was overwhelming. It hadn’t been so bad at first, but now, squatting here, the stench was suffocating.

Gu Xiaoyao’s nose was uncomfortable too, but she kept her focus on the tiger, feeling a twinge of regret at the sight of its beautiful fur.

“Sister-in-law, I can’t hold it in much longer...” Dahua tugged at Gu Xiaoyao’s sleeve, mouthing the words, her eyes brimming with tears.

Seeing how desperate Dahua looked, Gu Xiaoyao glanced at the tiger outside, then reached out to cover Dahua’s mouth more firmly.

“When it sneezes, you can sneeze too. Just hold on for now.”

She whispered softly into Dahua’s ear. Dahua hurriedly nodded, teary-eyed but determined to endure a little longer.

The tiger, eager for meat, edged closer despite the stench, then was forced to sneeze several huge sneezes, scaring the birds from the treetops.

The tiger sneezed several times in a row. Gu Xiaoyao finally released Dahua’s mouth, letting her sneeze as well.

The sneezes of woman and tiger mingled together, making nothing seem out of place in the moment.

Silently, the two prayed that the tiger would soon be driven away by the smell and leave them in peace.

A sudden odd noise caught the tiger’s attention. Crouched in the grass, Dahua was nearly in tears—she simply couldn’t control her body!

Gu Xiaoyao quickly reacted, picking up a stone and flicking it into a distant clump of grass.

Noticing the commotion, the tiger immediately pounced toward the sound. If not for the overwhelming stench of the grass, the two women would surely have been discovered.

Fortunately, the tiger managed to catch a plump rabbit in the grass. Watching it with the rabbit clamped in its jaws, both women felt a chill run down their spines.