The air became progressively thinner and the speed was agonizing to Gu Mengmeng. She gripped tightly to Gregory’s feathers as her face grew increasingly pale and grim from the lack of oxygen.
Her consciousness gradually faded away until blackness descended completely. Gu Mengmeng fainted.
Her body started to slide off and the moment Gregory felt that movement, he instinctively made a sharp turn and shot downwards to catch Gu Mengmeng.
So as to not hurt her with his sharp claws, he had no choice but to fly horizontally and use his broad back to catch her.
Flying straight up was the simplest and quickest way, but now that she had fainted and was unable to firmly grasp onto his feathers, Gregory had no choice but to ascend the mountain via a circulatory route. This type of flight was much harder than just flying directly upwards. The extended flying distance and harsh weather conditions substantially increased the danger and effort required.
But Gregory would rather clench his jaws and brace himself against the harsh winds than use his claws to grip Gu Mengmeng and fly upwards.
This was because if he did so, she would get injured if he exerted the slightest pressure with his claws. In addition, she would not be protected by his feathers and be exposed to the cold winds.
Even he felt pain when stung by the blade-like wind. If she was exposed to it… he didn’t dare to imagine that.
So this was what it felt like to be unwilling to let another person suffer.
He would rather be torn apart than let her lose a single strand of hair.
It didn’t matter that she was already unconscious and completely oblivious to the pain and hardship he was suffering.
As Gregory said before, bird beasts had their own pride. He would present his most powerful self to her, to convince her to accept him because he was an exceptional male. He would not put on a miserable front to make her accept him out of pity.
He would spread his own wings to shield her from all that wind and snow. To let there only be clear skies in her world.
It was already evening time when Gu Mengmeng woke up. They had taken shelter in a spacious cave and Gregory was just using an ice cup to feed some water to Gu Mengmeng.
Gregory heaved a secret sigh of relief on seeing Gu Mengmeng open her eyes. “How do you feel? Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?”
Gu Mengmeng shook her head. But she was actually still feeling very weak.
There was a throbbing pain at her forehead and the two sides of her temples. She also felt fatigued and had difficulty breathing. These were the classic signs of altitude sickness.
She was in this condition as she was not used to such high altitudes. Most people would need three to 10 days to recover, but she possessed Snakel’s power and could adapt within a couple of days.
But Elvis and Lea were not around, and faced with Gregory… Gu Mengmeng was unable to fuss and simper.
How to put it? Gregory might be part of the family now but Gu Mengmeng was truly unable to look at him as a partner.
There were some coy behaviors that could only be done in front of Elvis and Lea.
Let’s put it this way. When Elvis and Lea were around, Gu Mengmeng was a “frail lady” who couldn’t even twist open the cap of a mineral water bottle. But if they were absent, Gu Mengmeng could carry a pail full of water up three flights of stairs, without gasping for air or feeling any aches.
There were females in the Motou mountains, but as the tribe leader with a marriage contract, Gregory more or less didn’t have any experience interacting with females. He had fell for Gu Mengmeng the very first time he descended the mountains, and so his experience with love was as good as nil.
He didn’t possess any ancestral memories like that of Snakel. He didn’t even have the common practices and societal norms which Elvis and Lea were exposed to. Hence, he had no idea how to please a female. But he knew one thing… Gu Mengmeng was unwilling to rely on him.