Although Renee couldn't see who it was, she had to do something.
"Hold on, I'll save you!" She put the torch in her mouth, planning to tear away the vines to see what was going
on.
"Don't move!” Stefan's voice cfrom behind her suddenly.
He held her shoulders, stopping her from moving forward.
Shocked, Renee turned around.
She sighed in relief when she saw Stefan.
"Where did you cfrom?" "I was tricked when | used this path just now." Even in the dark, Stefan looked pale
and weak.
"What...
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What's wrong with you?" Renee asked hesitantly.
"| got curious and tore off those vines, then | got bitten." Stefan sounded weaker as he spoke, and his body
swayed for a while until he leaned against a boulder beside him.
"You got bitten?” Renee looked at the vines in confusion.
"Wasn't someone calling for help? How did you get bitten?" "It wasn't a human but an animal." Stefan coughed
as his breathing grew shallow.
"That animal...
is quite rare.
It's a human- shaped snake that lives in mountains called a narserial.
It comes out at night and imitates human speech to lure people in, then bites them." "Really?" Renee asked
doubtfully.
She knew that birds could imitate human speech, but she had never heard of a snake that could speak.
"It's fine if you don't believe me." Stefan was too weak to explain much.
"Listen to me—just ignore the voices you hear in the mountains.
Those who have been in the mountains know that there are many beasts lurking there, and sare more
cunning than people.
Don't walk in the mountains." Stefan was speaking from experience.
He didn't expect that he would fall for something like this.
"How did you learn about this?" Renee demanded.
Stefan was just a president who always stayed in his office, so how could he know more than her about the
wilderness? "T once lost my way for nearly a month in the mountains, and | barely escaped death." Stefan smiled
bitterly as he spoke.
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"You lost your way for nearly a month in the mountains?" Renee seemed to have found another piece of the
puzzle.
"Was it when...
you went looking for herbs for me?" He had left for more thana month risking hisn life to search for herbs for her.
Now, Renee wondered if Stefan had really betrayed her during that time.
Maybe he hadn't been cozying up to Briar—maybe he had been trapped in the mountains alone.
I'm feeling a little dizzy.
Maybe | got poisoned." Stefan realized he had slipped up and quickly changed the topic
"Just leavebe, and see if Adie's around here.
This is the only path | haven't checked." Renee frowned as she supported Stefan's body.
"How can | leave you alone if you're poisoned? &