Chapter 160

Joshua had been exercising while trying to calm himself down, so he hadn’t noticed Shermaine’s return. Now, hearing her voice, he didn’t look at her but drank the herbal concoction she handed him. It tasted bitter and astringent. He wasn’t sure if it would quench the intense heat within him. His voice was still hoarse as he wiped the sweat from his brow and put his shirt back on, covering his tanned and well-defined abs. “Why did you take so long?” he asked. Shermaine replied, “I took a look at the crystal coffin.” “What did you find?” he inquired. “There were very peculiar symbols on the coffin lid, and the altar’s magnetic field was quite strange,” Shermaine said.

She was always curious about the unknown, but she also knew her limits. With Bianca’s intervention, she hadn’t delved any deeper. ‘I’ll have to study the scrolls Bianca brought back once we get home and see if there are any clues,’ Shermaine thought to herself. The way back was different from the original path. This one had been dug by Bianca when she had come to the tomb before. James tied up Kingston, grabbed the other end of the chain, and dragged him away, regardless of whether he was injured or would get bumped around. After about twenty minutes of walking, they emerged from the tomb. It was already dark outside. Unexpectedly, time had slipped by before they knew it. A cold gust of wind blew, and James, who hadn’t felt the cold inside, shivered instantly. After descending the mountain, they came across a river flowing down from it, with a gentle murmur. James and the others might have felt the cold, but for Joshua, it was just right. He had been smoking the whole time. Shermaine walked ahead. Along the way, Joshua was extremely quiet, speaking very little and not engaging with her at all. After a while, Shermaine couldn’t stand it anymore and turned back to ask, “Aren’t you feeling any better?” Joshua, staring at the murmuring river, seemed lost in thought. Hearing Shermaine’s voice, he shifted his gaze to her, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Sheary, I’m not feeling better.”

Just thinking about Shermaine or catching a glimpse of her was enough to make Joshua’s blood boil, and he couldn’t suppress the intense urges. But he was trying very hard to restrain himself and endure it. He and Shermaine hadn’t reached the point of sex yet. Moreover, Shermaine was under 20 and still in school. He couldn’t take advantage of the situation and think about how to take advantage of her. Shermaine hadn’t expected that the herbal juice she had prepared would have no effect at all. Since it didn’t work, everything that followed would have to rely on Joshua’s willpower to fight it. Even if something went wrong, Shermaine could handle it. However, Shermaine couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Joshua. Seeing him in distress made her heart feel a bit heavy. Shermaine had planned to make more medicine for Joshua once they got back, but he took off his coat and jumped into the river. The night was quite dark, with a faint moon in the sky and twinkling stars. Suddenly, splashes of water and ripples appeared, but after a while, the river surface became calm again, with no sign of movement underwater. The weather is so cold now. Joshua really jumped into the river without warning. He doesn’t seem to care if the water is too cold and might freeze, Shermaine thought. Seeing no movement underwater, Shermaine couldn’t stay calm. She was also a bit angry. She put down her bag and jumped in after him. James, who had heard the splash and turned around to see what was happening, was about to go over when Bianca spoke up. “Why worry about those two? “Save yourself the trouble and hurry back to heat up some water for them. When they get back, they can have a nice, warm bath.” James thought she made sense. After a brief moment of calm on the lake surface, both of them emerged from the river. Under the moonlight, with their hair clinging to their faces, Shermaine’s delicate cheeks had water droplets sliding down. She was indeed angry and slapped Joshua’s chest. “Are you crazy? It’s so cold. Aren’t you afraid of freezing yourself?” Joshua held Shermaine close, his voice deep. “Sheary, if I don’t cool down, I will suffer badly.”