Valle del Hombre Salvaje de Qingshan

Capítulo 29

At the foot of the cliff. It felt like it got dark exceptionally early. Mo Xibei wandered around for a while, gathered some firewood, and then the sun was nowhere to be seen. Young Master Mu was still sleeping in the same spot, seemingly without moving. Fortunately, it was summer, and it wasn't cold in the mountains. She happily made a bed out of firewood and slept far away on the other side of the fire.

Unexpectedly, the noise didn't stop all night. Mosquitoes and moths took turns attacking him. Finally, when dawn broke, Mo Xibei turned over and got up, only to be startled by the person lying opposite him.

Young Master Mu's undergarment had long been torn into strips and used as bandages by her. His outer garment was also torn and covered in blood, so she had kindly taken it to the stream to wash it yesterday and had been hanging it to dry. The clothes were dry, but because he had been sulking all day, Mo Xibei hadn't bothered with him and hadn't taken them to him. As a result, what Mo Xibei saw now was that Young Master Mu's shoulders and entire back, which had been so fair, beautiful, and muscular yesterday, were now covered in red bumps, the number of which would take quite a while to count.

"Hey, you don't even shoo away the mosquitoes that bite you?" Mo Xibei was both amused and exasperated. He took a few steps over and raised his foot to kick, but then he thought better of it and pulled his leg back. He squatted down and poked Young Master Mu's arm with his finger.

The person on the ground did not react, so Mo Xibei pushed him with his hand. Young Master Mu's skin was icy cold to the touch.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?" Mo Xibei was taken aback, her heart sank, and she gently turned Mu Gongzi's body, only to find the man lying on his back in front of her like a puppet.

She quickly unwrapped the bandage, letting out a long sigh. She just wanted to curse. She'd probably bandaged the wound too tightly yesterday; while the bleeding had stopped, the surrounding skin was showing signs of necrosis due to the lack of blood. Treating wounds was Mo Xibei's worst skill, so she tried to shake the person awake to handle it herself. But no matter how she shook them, they didn't respond. Just as Mo Xibei was about to give up, the person softly uttered, "Water..."

A few large leaves were folded into a small bowl. Mo Xibei brought back the water and was troubled again. Young Master Mu wouldn't open his mouth at all. His mask was hard and stiff. He couldn't pry his mouth open with his fingers. The water could only flow down the corner of his mouth into the mask and then down the mask to his hairline.

In reality, Mo Xibei thought that she had removed the mask to save people. However, Young Master Mu must have his own reasons for not showing his true face. She just hoped that he would not wake up. After she poured water down his throat and checked if he had a fever, she would put the mask back on him immediately.

Thinking this, Mo Xibei felt uneasy, but her hand did not hesitate. She lightly touched the silver metal mask, and the cold touch made her heart skip a beat. Just as she applied a little force with her fingertips, Mu Gongzi suddenly raised his hand and grabbed her pulse point.

"Are you sure you want to take off this mask?" Young Master Mu asked, his voice devoid of warmth.

"You're awake?" Mo Xibei was furious. He quickly and heavily slapped Young Master Mu's shoulder with his other hand. The skin-to-skin contact made a "smack" sound. "You're awake but you're still pretending to be dead. You won't even drink water. Is pretending to be dead fun?"

"I said, couldn't you have gone a little easier?" Young Master Mu hadn't expected Mo Xibei's reaction to be so unique. He quickly let go of her hand and touched his shoulder, where five finger marks had already swelled up.

"Since you're alright, don't try to order people around. Your wound has worsened. Here's some medicine; treat it yourself. If you want water, there's a stream over there; go drink your fill. I'm going to find something to eat." Mo Xibei didn't know why his temper had suddenly become so irritable. He threw the leaves on the ground, slapped the small medicine bottle aside, stood up, and quickly walked away.

There wasn't much to eat at the foot of the cliff. After walking for half a day, Mo Xibei had only caught a pheasant and found a few wild fruits. Slightly disappointed, he walked back to their temporary shelter. Beside the embers of the campfire, he didn't see the people who should have been there.

"Could he have secretly climbed up there?" Mo Xibei muttered, not even believing it himself. How could someone who was injured and unconscious just moments ago suddenly climb a cliff dozens of feet high? Thinking this, he took another dozen steps toward the stream, rounded two large trees with dense foliage, and sure enough, saw a corner of black clothing. A few steps further, Mo Xibei smiled. The owner of the clothing was now squatting by the stream with equally black hair.

"Are you looking in a mirror? Is the mask really that good?" Mo Xibei wanted to say that the mask was so beautiful that it was worth looking at for so long, but her words caught in her throat when Young Master Mu suddenly turned around.

Chapter Forty-Nine: People Die for Money (Still Incomplete)

“Very good. You are one of the few people who haven’t screamed when they see me like this. You’re not noisy. Very good.” Young Master Mu put his hand on his chest, slowly stood up, and walked over step by step. Finally, he stopped about five steps away from Mo Xibei, his eyes dark, as if waiting for something.

“I’m usually slow to react to things that are too ugly or too scary.” Mo Xibei nodded, trying to look away from the face in front of her because it looked really awkward. She never thought that someone would disguise themselves as a monster with blue faces and fangs. “Um… speaking of which, I think you look better with your metal mask on.”

"Really?" Young Master Mu touched his face, and seeing Mo Xibei's indifferent reaction, he became somewhat disheartened. "I was in a hurry this time, so I only brought this with me. A metal mask would be better, but it's not very convenient for eating. This one is softer, so I'll just have to make do." "Then it's up to you." Mo Xibei nodded, really not wanting to look at the man in front of him any longer. He threw the pheasant in his hand into his arms and turned to instruct, "Plucking all the feathers."

"Why should I do this? I got injured saving you. This is something you should do." Young Master Mu looked disgusted. Before the chicken could even land in his arms, he quickly slapped it away, but the movement aggravated his wound, causing him to cough twice. "Because your appearance is terrible, it affects the city's image, and it also affects my appetite for cooking," Mo Xibei took two steps back, wiped the fruit he was holding on his clothes, took a bite, and his eyes narrowed into slits from the sourness. After a while, he said, "You don't have to deal with that chicken, but I won't go find anything else to eat today. If you're not afraid of going hungry, then go ahead. Of course, if your injury has healed, you can go find something to eat yourself. That's fine too."

"You repay kindness with enmity!" Young Master Mu was furious, and his voice rose considerably.

"You yourself said it. You did it for the map, not to save me. So what have you done for me?" Mo Xibei tossed the sour fruit far away, turned back with a smug smile, and then walked away happily to find a place to sleep.

The midday sun shone warmly on her. Mo Xibei lay on a thick tree branch not far from the ground, thinking how comfortable it would be to have a reclining chair, but it didn't matter if she didn't; she could just imagine it. So, although she heard faint footsteps, she pretended not to notice until something furry tickled her cheek, at which point she suddenly opened her eyes.

"A ghost!" This time, her mouth finally caught her eyes, because right next to the branch she was lying on, hung a human head with a completely black face. A pair of round eyes without pupils were staring at her with a deathly pale look.

Mo Xibei had always been timid, and this sudden fright startled him. He rolled over and fell directly off the tree branch, landing on his bottom with a loud cry of pain.

"Ha..." The black head opened its mouth and laughed. Mo Xibei looked up and realized that the so-called head was actually Young Master Mu's head. He had changed his mask again at some point and was now laughing as he took off the thing covering his eyes. Seeing that Mo Xibei hadn't stood up for a long time, he couldn't help but say with a smug tone, "How about it? When it comes to playing pranks, I might not lose to you."

"Didn't you say you were only wearing a mask?" Mo Xibei asked innocently.

"You believe everything I say? You're really stupid." Young Master Mu shook his head smugly.

"It's not that I'm stupid, it's that you're too cunning." Mo Xibei said angrily, trying to stand up by supporting his body with his hands. But as soon as he moved, he stopped in great pain, groaned, and collapsed to the ground, curling up into a ball.

"Don't try that on me, I'm not falling for it." Young Master Mu stepped back a few paces with his hands behind his back. Seeing that Mo Xibei still wouldn't get up, he said, "If you like rolling around on the ground, then roll around as much as you want. I've already roasted the chicken. If you don't eat it, I'll eat it all."

"The chicken leg smells delicious, are you really not going to eat it?" Recalling Mo Xibei's behavior yesterday, Young Master Mu was still angry. He followed suit and tore off a chicken leg, eating it with relish in front of Mo Xibei. However, although Mo Xibei was no longer rolling on the ground, he did not get up, and did not even look at him.

"The chicken wing meat is even more delicious, mmm, the bones are so tender," he said, tearing off another chicken wing. Mo Xibei remained motionless, still curled up on the ground.

"Are you really hurt?" Young Master Mu finally couldn't help but stand up, pressing his chest as he slowly walked over. Looking down, he saw a fine layer of sweat on Mo Xibei's forehead, which was half-buried under her arm. He then realized that the branch Mo Xibei had fallen from was quite a distance from the ground, and she must have fallen hard. Feeling a little annoyed, he quickly squatted down to help her up.

Because of his injury, bending over was very inconvenient. He barely managed to bend down when Mo Xibei moved. His foot seemed to "accidentally" stretch out and kick the pressure point on his ankle. A wave of soreness and numbness hit him, and his body involuntarily went limp. Mo Xibei had already rolled away to avoid it, leaving him headfirst in the ground.

“You’re right. When it comes to playing pranks, neither of us is necessarily worse than the other.” Mo Xibei stood to the side, patting the dirt off his clothes. “So this time, we’re even.”

Young Master Mu slowly turned over. His clothes had been torn when he was injured, and now they were barely hanging on his body. Turning over revealed the wound wrapped around his chest. The bleeding had stopped after being treated, but the fall tore the wound open again, and blood gushed out, a glaring red that quickly spread.

"Oh no, your wound has reopened." This time it was Mo Xibei's turn to regret it. She didn't have much medicine with her, and Young Master Mu's wound was very large. With the injury recurring, when would they be able to climb out? She couldn't even imagine that if Murong Lianyun on the mountain was determined to die, he would have died several times over by now.

"Excuse me, I've put the medicine over there." Young Master Mu's lips were pale as he spoke softly, pointing slightly to the spot where he had slept the night before.

Mo Xibei quickly and obediently went to get the medicine. There was only a few pills left in the bottle. He quickly handed it over after getting it back, but Young Master Mu's hand was trembling. When she stepped aside, he couldn't even grab the bottle.

"Are you alright?" With a sigh, Mo Xibei had no choice but to squat down, get closer, and hand the bottle over. "I'm really not feeling well." Young Master Mu nodded, reaching out to take the bottle, but in the next moment he suddenly grabbed Mo Xibei's wrist, pulling her forcefully into his arms.

Mo Xibei was prepared. She elbowed him in the injured area and heard Young Master Mu groan. She knew she had hit him in the right spot. She was about to push him away when the world around her suddenly turned upside down. In the blink of an eye, she was pressed to the ground, and Young Master Mu's heavy body was on top of her.

"Is it fun to play with your life?" Young Master Mu's strange face was only centimeters from her nose, his eyes dark and deep as the sea, making it impossible to tell what he was going to do. So Mo Xibei didn't struggle. The difference in physical strength between men and women was an objective fact, and she didn't think she could break free immediately. Besides, there were many ways to deal with an injured man, and one that was seriously injured at that.

“You’ve forgotten, I’m not like you. I risk my life every day.” Young Master Mu’s voice was still very soft. “Besides, there’s nothing more effective than this when dealing with a stubborn person like you.”

"What a pity," Mo Xibei shook his head slightly and sighed.

"Stop trying to pull any tricks. I won't fall for it again." Young Master Mu shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. Just as he said, this strange mask was softer than a metal mask and didn't affect the transmission of facial expressions at all.

“I don’t want to play tricks, I’ll just state the facts,” Mo Xibei smiled, his eyes sparkling, his smile somewhat sweet. “If you could change to a more stunning mask, I wouldn’t mind looking up at you from this position.”

"You?" Young Master Mu was taken aback. He was about to say something when he suddenly stopped. At the same time, Mo Xibei also heard a sound coming from the bushes. The sound was clearly the sound of footsteps.

Chapter Forty-Nine: People Die for Money (End of Chapter)