"Are you looking for that male student?" Chen Mo asked.
"Yes. He was still here just now, so how did he disappear?" Liang Huaishan was getting anxious. Although Qin Lixing had plenty of faults, they were classmates after all, and she was naturally worried about his safety.
"While I was treating your classmate, he had already left along the path I came from. You can look over there—you might still be able to see him!" Chen Mo pointed in the direction he had come from as he spoke to Liang Huaishan.
"I see him!..." Following Chen Mo's gesture, Liang Huaishan spotted a distant figure. It was already hard to make out clearly, but she knew it was Qin Lixing. Disappointment, desolation, and resentment all surged into her heart at once. If he had not come begging her, saying that he liked Yang Yantong, and if she had not thought he was a decent guy—rich and handsome—she would never have dragged Tongtong out on this trip. She had never expected that when something really happened, he would turn out to be this kind of person. It was truly beyond disappointing.
"How could he do that?!" Zhang Mei, who was nearby, said angrily.
"I never expected it either. Sigh!" Sun Hongkai sighed as well.
Everyone was thoroughly disappointed in Qin Lixing, while Yang Yantong felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, she had never agreed to be with Qin Lixing. Otherwise... Just thinking about it made her feel lucky.
Chen Mo glanced over them and more or less guessed what had happened. He also found this kind of narrow-minded male student pathetic. A man who got away when his friends needed help the most was selfish to the extreme. You absolutely could not be friends with someone like that.
"Alright, everyone, listen to me! It's already past five in the afternoon, and there isn't much time before dark. If we delay any longer, we may have to spend the night on the mountain. I think everyone should pull themselves together and hurry down the mountain," Chen Mo said.
"Ah! Yes, you're right!" The others all agreed with Chen Mo, including Yang Yantong, who had only just regained some clarity.
But how they were going to leave was a problem. Zhang Mei's foot had not recovered yet, and Yang Yantong still had not fully recovered either. Her body was still weak and limp.
"You twisted your ankle?" Chen Mo asked.
"Yes! I stepped into empty air while crossing a ravine and twisted it," Zhang Mei said. It had been fine when she did not mention it, but once she did, waves of pain shot through her ankle, nearly becoming unbearable.
"Sit here. Let me take a look!" Chen Mo had Zhang Mei sit on a rock, then placed her injured foot on his thigh. He took off her shoe and sock. Her foot was plump and pretty, but her ankle was badly swollen and even somewhat bruised purple.
Chen Mo was a male student, and they were all around the same age. When he held Zhang Mei's foot in his hand, she felt heat rise through her body, and her face flushed red with embarrassment.
Chen Mo did not have many thoughts about it. As he examined her foot, he said, "It's quite serious. I'll massage it to disperse the bruising and ease the pain. But the massage may hurt a little, so you'll have to bear with it!"
Zhang Mei nodded. "Alright, go ahead and massage it. It's fine." As she spoke, she even gritted her teeth to show that she could take it, which Chen Mo found a little amusing. Still, he did not say anything and merely nodded.
Chen Mo covered the swollen area with his hand. As he slowly kneaded it, he used True Essence to disperse the bruising. Zhang Mei felt a warm, itchy sensation in her ankle, and the pain lessened considerably.
Nearly ten minutes later, most of the swelling and redness in Zhang Mei's ankle had disappeared.
"Ah! It's really better! You're amazing!" Liang Huaishan cried out in delight. Sun Hongkai beside her was the same, staring at Chen Mo in astonishment. He had not expected that, despite being the same age, Chen Mo would be so much more capable than them.
"It's about done. You should be able to walk down the mountain. When you get back tonight, soak it in hot water, and by tomorrow there won't be any problem at all," Chen Mo said. He released Zhang Mei's foot and let her try it out.
Zhang Mei was somewhat reluctant for Chen Mo's hand to leave. That numb, tingling feeling, along with the sensation that her heart was about to fly, left her feeling oddly empty once his hand left her ankle. The massage had been so comfortable. It would have been nice if it could continue.
"How does it feel? Is it better? Hurry and walk around a little!" Liang Huaishan stood nervously in front of Zhang Mei and asked. The other two also watched Zhang Mei anxiously.
Zhang Mei slowly stood up and took two tentative steps. To her surprise, she felt extremely comfortable. Her ankle felt as though it had never been injured at all. It was truly astonishing.
"It's better! It's really better! My foot doesn't hurt anymore!" Zhang Mei was so happy she nearly jumped up.
"It's not completely healed yet. When you get back tonight, you should still apply a hot compress and rub on some medicine to relax the muscles and promote circulation. Then it'll definitely be fine tomorrow," Chen Mo said with a smile. In truth, he had been experimenting just now. Since it was a sprained ankle, he had wanted to try using his True Essence, and he had not expected it to work so well. It gave him a new understanding of True Essence, as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine. From treating these two cases of injury and illness, he had realized how lacking his knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine was. He would have to study it properly in the future so that he would not be caught scrambling when it was needed.
"Since everyone is more or less alright now, let's set off! If we don't leave soon, it'll get dark!" Chen Mo said.
"My foot is fine now, but Tongtong still can't do it. Look, she still hasn't fully recovered!" Zhang Mei said.
"I can do it," Yang Yantong said weakly. However, the danger from the Snake Venom earlier had drained much of her strength, and the wound on the inner side of her lower body was still hurting.
"How about this... this Miss... oh, Tongtong. I'll carry you down the mountain. The three of you can follow me. It may get dark in a little over an hour, and no one can guarantee that nothing will happen if we spend the night here. We should hurry down the mountain," Chen Mo said. He himself had no problem with it. He had grown up running wild in the mountains and had never found the wilderness particularly frightening. Besides, he was a Cultivation of Immortality practitioner, so protecting himself would not be a problem at all.
But now he had three girls and one guy weighing him down. To be safe, it was better to head down the mountain. They could not drag this out on the mountain until tomorrow.
"Then..." Liang Huaishan hesitated. Chen Mo was right, but when she thought of him carrying Tongtong on his back, she felt somewhat reluctant.
"Let's do as you say. I still haven't asked what your name is?" Although Yang Yantong usually seemed somewhat delicate and weak, she was truly decisive when it mattered.
"My name is Chen Mo. My home is nearby as well." Chen Mo briefly explained his situation and that of his family. He was not being long-winded; he just wanted to reassure the four of them. As a stranger, it was better to make some things clear so there would not be any misunderstandings.
Liang Huaishan and the others had nothing more to say. They could only thank Chen Mo and do as he suggested. After packing up their things, they had Chen Mo carry Yang Yantong on his back while the others followed him down the mountain.
Yang Yantong was not very heavy. Though she was around one meter sixty tall, she only weighed about a hundred pounds. She was the kind of girl with a good figure—curvy where she should be and slim where she should be—so Chen Mo carried her with ease. In over twenty years, this was the first time he had carried a girl on his back while walking. It was a first for him, and it gave him a rather different feeling.
Along the way, Chen Mo roughly introduced himself and told them about his home, so they headed straight along the route back to his house. By the time they crossed several mountain ridges, it was moonlit and starry, with night spreading all around them. Fortunately, they all had flashlights, so they could see the path beneath their feet.
By the time they returned to Chen Mo's home, it was already past eight at night. When Chen Mo's parents saw them and heard his explanation, they immediately busied themselves making dinner, letting the four fellows, who were starving, have a good meal.
The house was still being renovated, with floor tiles and other things being laid. Although it was nearly finished, his parents had not moved back in yet and would have to wait a few more days. His mother, Fu Huili, cleaned up Chen Mo's younger brother's room and let the three girls stay there. Sun Hongkai could only make do by sharing a room with Chen Mo for the night. Chen Mo went to the village clinic to get some medicine. After explaining how the three girls should use it, he finally left the room.
"Tongtong, why didn't you keep Chen Mo here just now? Your wound needs to be bandaged," Liang Huaishan said to Yang Yantong, turning into a female hooligan.
"Get lost! You're just talking nonsense!" Yang Yantong said shyly.
"Tongtong, I think this Chen Mo is pretty good. Why don't you just go for him?" Zhang Mei said with a smile.
"Meimei, he treated your foot today too. How did that feel? Why don't you go for him instead?" Liang Huaishan giggled.
"Sigh! I'd like to, but that depends on whether he's willing!" Zhang Mei felt somewhat sentimental. As she rubbed the safflower oil Chen Mo had bought onto her ankle, she spoke wistfully. Thinking of how Chen Mo had held her ankle today and kneaded it so freely, she suddenly felt an unusual sensation.
The three of them chatted and joked around, but they soon went to rest. They had spent the entire day climbing mountain paths, and their strength had been completely exhausted. As soon as they lay down, they all fell asleep. Even Sun Hongkai next door had long been snoring like thunder. That fellow was truly carefree—after eating, he had climbed into bed and promptly fell asleep.
Chen Mo could only go to the backyard to cultivate, and he also needed to check the situation Inside Universe Bead.
Before you continue