Chapter 953: Chapter 953

As the water droplets burst, the five girls woke up from their unconscious state.

Lin Chen felt a bit frustrated. Given the current situation of the girls, even though he saved them, this whole thing wasn't easy to explain.

After thinking it through, Lin Chen decided it was better to leave for a while.

The five girls woke up and found themselves lying on the shore in such a state. Looking at each other, their faces immediately turned bright red with embarrassment.

They hastily put on their clothes but discovered Lin Chen was nowhere to be seen.

"What exactly just happened?" The five girls looked at each other in confusion, their minds completely blank.

"It must be that scoundrel Lin Chen! I can't believe he would take advantage of this situation," Mu Yuqiu said angrily.

Lan Xingyue also frowned, a glint of coldness flashing in her eyes.

However, Zhao Xiaohua said, "We were poisoned earlier. He must have done this to detoxify us."

An Xiaodi also defended Lin Chen, saying, "That's right. Brother Chen would never be that kind of person."

At this moment, Zhao Xiaohua looked toward the jungle and shouted, "Lin Chen, come out! Explain everything to us, and we promise not to beat you up."

Lin Chen jumped out of the bushes with a helpless expression. "Well, can you let me explain?"

The five girls glared at Lin Chen, waiting to hear his explanation.

Lin Chen laughed awkwardly. "Earlier, we came across that sea of flowers. While the flowers were beautiful, their fragrance was quite problematic."

"You mean we were poisoned?" Wang Zixuan asked in confusion.

"Yes, not just poisoned, but with that kind of poison," Lin Chen said awkwardly.

"What kind of poison is that?" Yue'er asked anxiously.

Lin Chen had no choice but to explain, "Didn't you feel hot all over, like your whole body was burning and you desperately wanted to cool down?"

Hearing Lin Chen's words, the five girls' faces flushed red.

Lin Chen continued, "You were affected by a very potent aphrodisiac poison, and there were only two ways to cure it."

"The first method is to, well... with you, to expel the poison from your bodies completely." Lin Chen said.

"What do you mean by that?" Yue'er asked innocently.

The other four girls' faces turned red immediately after hearing this, and Lan Xingyue coughed awkwardly before saying, "What's the other method?"

Lin Chen continued, "The first method is the most effective, but as a gentleman, of course, I wouldn't use it. So I used the second method instead."

"The second method involves massaging your acupoints to force the poison out of your bodies," Lin Chen explained.

Hearing Lin Chen's words, the five girls' faces flushed as red as ripe apples. Even though Lin Chen didn't explicitly say anything, they instantly understood what had happened earlier.

"While I was massaging you, I kept my eyes closed the entire time and didn't see anything!" Lin Chen said earnestly.

The girls who were familiar with Lin Chen all shot him a glare. "Didn't see anything? Yeah, right!"

Someone like Lin Chen, who constantly looked for opportunities to take advantage, could hardly resist such a golden opportunity.

"That's the whole story. I really had no choice. If I hadn't done that, the poison would have stayed in your systems, eventually corroding your bodies, and your deaths would have been very unpleasant," Lin Chen said solemnly.

"Alright, Lin Chen, step aside for a moment. We need to discuss this among ourselves," Lan Xingyue said.

Lin Chen nodded awkwardly and walked away from the riverside.

"We all know the situation now. I believe Lin Chen is telling the truth. No matter what, he saved us, so let's drop the matter here. As long as he doesn't speak of this, we won't pursue it. How does that sound?" Lan Xingyue said to the others.

The other girls expressed their consent one by one. Although Mu Yuqiu was still a bit unhappy, seeing everyone else agree, she said nothing more.

Lin Chen returned to the riverside, and Lan Xingyue gave him a glare. "We'll let today's incident slide, but you must not speak of this to anyone. As far as we're concerned, it never happened."

"Of course, I didn't see anything to begin with!" Lin Chen nodded repeatedly.

Today, Lin Chen had truly gotten the upper hand. Not only did he get a good look at the five girls, but he also had an excuse to touch them all. Of course, it was all for the sake of the massage to detoxify them, but the feeling lingered in his hands, impossible to forget.

"Alright, we've already wasted enough time. Those people are probably closing in on us. Let's keep moving," Lan Xingyue said.

Lin Chen and the others continued forward. The path ahead became much easier to walk, as it was a trail trampled by wild beasts.

The entire path was covered with thick leaves, with no underbrush or thorny branches, allowing the six of them to move faster.

As the six of them moved forward, Yue'er, who was at the front, suddenly felt the ground give way beneath her feet. Half of her body sank into a swamp.

"Xiao Yue!" Lan Xingyue, who was walking behind Yue'er, leaped forward to grab her hand.

But Yue'er was sinking too fast, and Lan Xingyue couldn't reach her in time.

If not for Zhao Xiaohua's quick reflexes, even Lan Xingyue would have fallen in.

"Xiao Yue!" Seeing Yue'er with only her head and one outstretched hand above the swamp, Lan Xingyue's tears began to flow.

At this moment, Lin Chen leaped onto a nearby tree and shot a grappling hook toward the swamp.

"Yue'er, grab it!" Lin Chen shouted at her.

They only had one chance. If Yue'er missed, there would be nothing else he could do.

Everyone held their breath, watching Yue'er's hand intently. As the grappling hook flew past, Yue'er stretched out her hand and grabbed it directly.

Lin Chen exerted all his strength and pulled Yue'er out of the swamp.

"That was close!" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Yue'er pulled out of the mire.

"Xiao Yue!" Lan Xingyue ran over excitedly. Ignoring Yue'er's mud-covered body, she hugged her tightly.

Standing on the tree, Lin Chen also exhaled deeply. No one had expected a swamp beneath a seemingly flat surface.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Lin Chen spotted a shadow flashing past in the distance.

"How is this possible? There's someone else in this secret realm," Lin Chen said, his eyes narrowing.

Looking back at the swamp, a hint of coldness flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. Though there were leaves elsewhere along the path, none were as thick as this. Someone had clearly set up this swamp as a trap.

"Who was that shadow just now, and why did they set up this trap?" Lin Chen fell into deep thought as he stared toward where the figure had disappeared.

"Lin Chen, what are you spacing out for up there? We need to leave immediately. Xiao Di's bird just sent word that the mercenaries have reached the cliff!" Wang Zixuan said anxiously.

Lin Chen nodded, jumped down from the tree, and volunteered, "This time, I'll lead the way."

Behind them were the pursuing mercenaries. Ahead were traps set by a mysterious figure, and within their team, there was even a traitor. Lin Chen couldn't shake the feeling that the road ahead was riddled with dangers and hidden perils at every turn.