Chapter 5: The First Encounter with the Beauty

Mo Zining understood their concerns, but she was eager to find her father and truly did not want to descend the mountain. She hesitated. Seeing Shen Cheng like that, Nie Mo thought that if it were him in that cave, he would probably have died many times over.

Zining, Nie Mo thought of the name of this beautiful woman and smiled, saying: "Your name is Zining, it sounds very nice"

Upon hearing this, Shen Chengyi was filled with rage; he despised being called a coward, especially in front of Mo Zining. Just as he was about to explode, Mo Zining unhappily interrupted him, saying: "Xiao Shen, you go over there; I have a few words to say to Nie Mo."

Before Nie Mo could think it through, he heard Mo Mo Zi Ning say: "Let’s go, we still haven’t found my father yet"

"Who is he?" The young man looked at Nie Mo in confusion, noticing his tattered clothes and the gun he held in his hand.

Thank you. The woman lifted her head to glance at him and said as she set the bag down

Nie Mo indeed exerted a great deal of effort; he had always been confident in his strength. However, he did not expect the woman to be so heavy, perhaps she was quite plump, he thought. Before long, the leaves at the cave entrance began to sway more vigorously, and a woman appeared at the entrance, pulling on the vines. He pulled on the vines with all his might and took a few steps back, causing the woman to suddenly fall to the ground with a soft cry.

"What Nine Serpent Mountain? This is Qiwu Mountain." Mo Zining looked at Nie Mo in confusion

Nie Mo was taken aback, unable to believe his ears, and asked again. What was going on? He had only made a few holes, so how had he ended up in another place? Moreover, he did not even know what Qi Wu Mountain was. He inquired further: "Then where is this place? I mean, what is the location of this mountain?"

This is Qiwushan in Xiangxi. Mo Zining did not understand what was happening with the man in front of her, how he suddenly seemed to have lost his soul, and even asked such a question

The woman glanced at him and simply said, "My name is Mo Zining." After speaking, she helped the young man up.

On the way down the mountain, Nie Mo always felt that Mo Zining was acting strangely. She kept holding a gun, which was quite normal since there could be dangers in the deep mountains at any time. However, instead of walking in front of Nie Mo, she deliberately walked behind him, as if she was not only wary of wild beasts but also keeping an eye on Nie Mo.

Nie Mo did not pay attention to Shen Cheng, but said to Mo Zining: "The Nine Serpent Mountain is very dangerous; you should not have come here. I can accompany you and lead you down."

Nie Mo saw a gun beside the man who had fallen, and quickly ran over. He picked up the gun and fired two shots at the bear's head. Remarkably, the bear fell to the ground, gasping a few times before becoming still.

"En," Nie Mo instinctively responded, but did not move; in fact, Mo Zining was not calling for him. After the two of them had walked for a while, he finally followed them. This was not the time to think about that; the key was how to return to the village. His mind was occupied with the thought that his grandfather was still waiting for him.

Nie Mo was aware that something unusual must have occurred in that cave. After encountering those monsters there, he realized that the cave was quite eerie, but he did not expect such strange events to unfold.

Mo Zining's pretty face already showed signs of displeasure as she coldly said: "Don't bring up the issue of men and women. If you're afraid, just say it outright. I didn't ask you to follow me; it was your own choice to come along." Shen Cheng felt quite embarrassed by her words, especially in front of Nie Mo, yet he didn't dare to utter a single word.

Indeed, Shen Cheng's voice trembled slightly as he said, "Ziqing, let's go back first." After a pause, he glanced at Nie Mo and continued to Mo Ziqing, "I'm not afraid, but you are a girl..." He had not finished his sentence.

Nie Mo simply stared at her, momentarily at a loss for words. She was truly beautiful. Having lived in that small mountain village for so long, he had never seen a woman as lovely as her. Her long hair was tied back, now appearing somewhat disheveled, with a few strands falling onto her delicate face. The women's shirt was already soaked with sweat, and the faint outline of her cleavage beneath her pale neck immediately captured his attention, causing him to swallow hard.

Throughout the journey, the three of them hardly spoke, except for Shen Cheng, who talked more, mostly asking questions about Mo Zining. However, her responses were always brief and cold. Nie Mo learned that their purpose for climbing the mountain was to find Mo Zining's father, a renowned university geography professor. A month ago, her father went to Qiwu Mountain for research and has not returned since. She decided to come here to look for him. Shen Cheng's father and her father are close friends, having grown up together. It was evident to him that Shen Cheng likely had feelings for Mo Zining, but in his view, she did not seem to reciprocate those feelings.

Seeing this situation, Nie Mo almost laughed out loud. However, he could not mock him at this moment; he still had to speak on his behalf. With a serious expression, he said, "Miss Mo, I believe Shen Cheng did not mean it that way. He is most likely concerned about you, as it is indeed very dangerous here at night"

Mo Zining stopped, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said: "There is the sound of water ahead, so let's rest there."

Nie Mo also sat down on the ground, gasping for breath. He glanced at the woman; although he could not see her face clearly, her figure was undoubtedly slender. How could she be so heavy? Then he noticed a large bag she was carrying on her back, and he smiled, realizing the reason.

Upon reaching a small stream, the three of them stopped. Nie Mo, without saying a word, rushed over and took several big gulps of water; if possible, he would have liked to take a bath. Mo Zining and Shen Cheng took out their water bottles to fill them. Nie Mo glanced at the surrounding trees and then looked up at the sky, saying: "Aren't you going down the mountain today? If you go down later, it will be dark, and it is not safe to camp here; there are many wild beasts at night"

Of course, Nie Mo hopes to descend the mountain soon so he can return home. For him, being back by his grandfather's side is more important than anything else. It is also strange that these two individuals did not ask him why he was in this deep mountain, but this also saves him the trouble of fabricating a story. After learning that this place is not Jiu She Mountain, the main reason he chose to follow them is that he believes it would be much faster to go down the mountain with them than to find his own way.

Provincial capital. Nie Mo wanted to laugh but couldn't, feeling that it was indeed a strange name. Mo Zining and the others did not notice Nie Mo's unusual reaction

Shen Cheng seemed to have a dislike for Nie Mo, not answering his question but instead retorting, "Then how did you come here?"

The woman let out a sigh and glanced at Nie Mo, not expecting that this man had saved her once again. However, recalling the scene of him staring at her chest made her feel uneasy. Nevertheless, she walked over and said, "Thank you for saving me again"

Nie Mo smiled and said, "If it weren't for this friend's gun, I truly wouldn't be able to save you." The woman then remembered the man lying on the ground and hurried over to check his injuries, calling out, "Xiao Shen, Xiao Shen," several times, but there was no response; it seemed he had fainted.

The sky had darkened, and Nie Mo looked at the pitch-black night, unsure of his current location. All he could do was follow Mo Zining and the others. After walking along a rugged mountain path for a while, he saw a cluster of lights in the distance. The feeling of encountering the warmth of human life filled Nie Mo with excitement, and he could hardly contain his emotions. He said to Mo Zining, "You are not locals, so where do you live? Can I..."

"Cannot" Shen Cheng suddenly interrupted Nie Mo's words, "Now that we have descended the mountain, we shall part ways"

Nie Mozhen truly wanted to knock him down with a punch. This coward, if I hadn't saved you, you wouldn't even know how you would have died. So, without any courtesy, he said: "Shen, I didn't ask you, you coward."

Mo Zining thought for a moment before saying, "Well, alright, let's go down the mountain first and come back tomorrow"

Mo Zining was about to speak when Nie Mo calmly said, "My name is Nie Mo, and yours?" Deep down, he looked down on this man, thinking he was not even as good as a woman, yet he dared to venture into this deep mountain.

After walking for a while, the sun began to set, and Nie Mo was indeed very hungry. He knew they should have brought some food, but he felt embarrassed to ask the other party for it. So he said, "How about we take a break first, and I will go find something to eat"

After being spoken to by Mo Zining, Shen Cheng remained silent throughout the journey. Along the way, they had a meal; Mo Zining gave Nie Mo some biscuits and dried beef. Nie Mo, who was already hungry, did not refuse and quickly devoured them. He felt it was too little but was too embarrassed to ask her for more. However, having eaten something helped him regain some strength. They walked for over two hours before reaching the foot of the mountain. They did not encounter any large wild animals on the way, but they did come across quite a few small creatures.

The woman did not hear the other person's response. When she looked up, she found the other person's eyes fixed on her chest. Her brows furrowed, and just as she was about to speak, a sudden scream came from not far away. The woman's expression changed, "It's Xiao Shen's voice." Saying this, she picked up her backpack and ran towards the source of the sound.

Mo Zining glanced at Nie Mo and said: "His name is Shen Cheng"

Seeing this, Nie Mo called out to the woman a couple of times, but she seemed to be oblivious to his calls. He got up, unsure whether he should chase after her. In these deep mountains, there are many wild beasts, and judging by the sounds coming from that person, it was likely that she had encountered a ferocious animal. It was very dangerous for a woman to go there alone. While he was contemplating this, several gunshots rang out. Nie Mo no longer hesitated and ran in the direction of the woman.

Shen Cheng did not expect Nie Mo to help him, which puzzled him a bit. He thought the other party should have seized the opportunity to mock him instead. Perhaps this man also wanted to leave the mountain sooner. With this thought, he felt that he and Nie Mo were, at this moment, on the same path.

How did you come to this deep mountain area? Nie Mo asked

Under a fallen tree, he saw a bear that had been shot dead. However, he did not see the woman; where had she gone? After a few gunshots, Nie Mo quickly assessed that the sound of gunfire was very close to him, so he ran over. He saw the woman holding a gun, shooting at a brown bear. In another clearing, a man seemed to be injured, lying on the ground; strictly speaking, he had fainted from fright. The woman, somewhat flustered, fired several shots but failed to hit the bear's vital points. The bear not only did not fall but also charged at her in a more furious manner.

Seeing the anxious expression on the woman's face, he decided to lend her a hand. Without a word, he delivered several heavy punches to the man's chest. Before the woman could react, a violent coughing sound erupted. The young man woke up, gasping for breath, and upon opening his eyes, he saw the woman in front of him and said, "Zining, are you alright"

Shen Cheng fell silent after hearing Mo Zining's words, but it was evident that he felt uncomfortable. It seems that neither Nie Mo nor Shen Cheng has any fondness for each other.

Nie Mo walked over to take a look; it was a young man, not bad-looking, though somewhat pale and rather thin, clearly not suited for the mountains. He crouched down and saw that the man had no visible injuries, likely having fainted from fright. He thought to himself that the other was truly lacking in resilience, even carrying a hunting rifle, which, in reality, was not a hunting rifle at all, but to Nie Mo, it seemed no different from one.

Upon hearing the words "ferocious beast," Shen Cheng felt an involuntary fear and smiled at Mo Zining, saying, "Zining, let's descend the mountain first. We can ascend again early tomorrow morning."

Mo Zining listened to his tone and felt somewhat displeased. Although Nie Mo's act of peeking at her chest had given her a poor first impression of him, this man before her had saved her twice, for which she was still very grateful. Therefore, she said: "Xiao Shen, it was he who saved me, and also saved you"

Nie Mo began to embellish the story, saying: "The beasts on this mountain at night are far more ferocious than those bears. It is quite possible that some strange monsters might appear as well. For them, your gunshots would feel like mere tickles." He said this, of course, for Shen Cheng's ears, as it seemed that Mo Zining was quite bold and was searching for her father; such familial bonds can be very empowering.