Carrying the Girl Down the Mountain

"Are you looking for that guy?" Chen Mo asked.

"Yeah, he was just here, where did he go?" Liang Huaishan was a bit anxious. Despite Qin Lixing's many flaws, he was still a classmate, and she was naturally worried about his safety.

"While I was treating your classmate, he already left the way I came. You can look in that direction, you might still see him!" Chen Mo pointed to the path he had taken and said to Liang Huaishan.

"I see him!..." Following Chen Mo's guidance, Liang Huaishan spotted a figure in the distance. It was already hard to make out, but she knew it was Qin Lixing. Disappointment, dejection, and resentment surged through her. If he hadn't begged her, saying he liked Yang Yantong, and if she hadn't thought he was a decent person, rich and handsome, she wouldn't have brought Tongtong here for a trip. She never expected him to be this kind of person when trouble struck. It was truly disappointing.

"Why is he like this!" Zhang Mei, who was nearby, exclaimed angrily.

"I didn't expect this, sigh!" Sun Hongkai also sighed.

Everyone was utterly disappointed in Qin Lixing. Yang Yantong, on the other hand, felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, she had never agreed to Qin Lixing's advances. Thinking about it, she felt quite lucky.

Chen Mo swept his gaze over them and roughly guessed what had happened. He felt pity for the narrow-mindedness of such guys. A man who abandons his friends when they need help the most could be described as extremely selfish. One should never be friends with such a person.

"Alright, everyone listen to me! It's already past 5 PM, and there isn't much time before dark. If we delay any further, we might 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!" Several people echoed Chen Mo, even Yang Yantong, who had just regained some clarity, agreed.

However, how to proceed was a problem. Zhang Mei's foot was still injured, and Yang Yantong hadn't fully recovered; her body was still weak.

"Did you sprain your ankle?" Chen Mo asked.

"Yes! I stepped wrong while crossing the ravine and sprained it," Zhang Mei said. The mention of it made the pain in her ankle unbearable.

"Sit here, let me take a look!" Chen Mo had Zhang Mei sit on a rock, then placed her injured foot on his lap. He removed her shoe and sock. Her foot was plump and attractive, but her ankle was severely swollen and had turned a purplish-black.

Since Chen Mo was a male and not much older than them, being in the same age group, Zhang Mei felt a warmth spread through her body and her face turned red with embarrassment when he held her foot.

Chen Mo didn't seem to have many thoughts about it. He examined it and said, "The situation is quite serious. I'll give you a massage to reduce the swelling, which will alleviate the pain. However, the massage might be painful, so you'll have to bear with it!"

Zhang Mei nodded and said, "Okay, just massage it, it's fine." She gritted her teeth as she said it, which Chen Mo found a bit amusing, but he just nodded.

Chen Mo placed his hands on the swollen area and began to gently knead it, using his True Essence to disperse the swelling. Zhang Mei felt a warm, tingling sensation in her ankle, and the pain significantly decreased.

After nearly ten minutes, the swelling in Zhang Mei's ankle had almost completely subsided.

"Wow! It's really better, you're amazing!" Liang Huaishan exclaimed in surprise. Sun Hongkai, standing beside her, looked at Chen Mo with astonishment. They couldn't believe that at the same age, he was so much more capable than them.

"It's much better. You should be able to walk down the mountain now. After we get back, soak it in hot water tonight, and it should be completely fine by tomorrow," Chen Mo said, releasing Zhang Mei's foot and letting her test it.

Zhang Mei was somewhat reluctant to let go of Chen Mo's hand. The tingling sensation, and a feeling as if her heart was about to fly, left her feeling a sense of loss after his hand left her ankle. The massage had been so comfortable; she wished it could continue.

"How does it feel? Better? Walk around and see!" Liang Huaishan asked, standing nervously in front of Zhang Mei. The other two also looked at Zhang Mei anxiously.

She slowly stood up and took a couple of steps. To her surprise, it felt incredibly comfortable, as if her ankle had no injury at all.

"It's really better! My foot doesn't hurt anymore!" Zhang Mei was so happy she wanted to jump.

"It's not completely healed yet. You should still apply a hot compress tonight and then rub in some liniment. You'll definitely be fine tomorrow," Chen Mo said with a smile. He had actually done some experimenting just now, thinking that since it was a sprained ankle, he'd try using his True Essence. He hadn't expected it to work so well, which gave him a new understanding of True Essence and also a new perspective on traditional Chinese medicine. From treating these two injuries, he felt how lacking his knowledge of TCM was and realized he needed to study it more in the future so he wouldn't be so flustered when needed.

"Since everyone is mostly recovered, let's head out! It'll be dark if we don't go soon!" Chen Mo said.

"My foot is fine, but Tongtong isn't quite there yet. Look, she still hasn't recovered," Zhang Mei said.

"I can manage," Yang Yantong said weakly. However, the danger from the snake venom earlier had drained a lot of her energy, and the wound on the inner side of her leg was still aching.

"How about this, Miss... oh, Tongtong, let me carry you down the mountain. You three follow me. It'll be dark in a little over an hour, but if we stay here overnight, no one can guarantee there won't be any accidents. It's better to hurry down," Chen Mo said. He himself was fine; he was a child who grew up accustomed to the mountains and didn't feel afraid of the wilderness. Moreover, he was a Cultivator, so self-preservation was no problem.

But now he had three girls and one boy acting as dead weight. For safety's sake, it was better to go down the mountain. He couldn't drag it out until tomorrow.

"Then..." Liang Huaishan hesitated. Chen Mo was right, but she thought about him carrying Tongtong and felt uncertain.

"Let's do as you say. I haven't asked your name yet?" Yang Yantong, though usually appearing somewhat delicate, was quite decisive when needed.

"My name is Chen Mo. My home is nearby," Chen Mo said, giving a general overview of himself and his family. He wasn't being verbose; he wanted to put the four of them at ease. As a stranger, he felt it was best to clarify some things to avoid misunderstandings.

Liang Huaishan and the others had nothing else to say. They could only thank Chen Mo and do as he suggested. They packed up their belongings, and after Chen Mo carried Yang Yantong, the others followed him, and they all started walking down the mountain.

Yang Yantong wasn't heavy. Although she was about 1.6 meters tall, she only weighed around 50 kilograms. She was the type of girl who had a good figure, with curves in the right places 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 while walking, setting a precedent and giving him a different feeling.

On the way, Chen Mo gave them a general introduction to himself and his home, and they followed the route home. By the time they crossed several Mountain Ridges, it was already Moonlit and Starry, and the night had descended. Fortunately, they all had flashlights, so they could see the path under their feet.

It was past 8 PM when they returned to Chen Mo's home. His Parents saw the group and, after hearing Chen Mo's explanation, immediately started preparing dinner, letting the four who were starving have a good meal.

Because the house was still under renovation, with floor tiles being laid, etc., although it was almost finished, his Parents hadn't moved back in yet. It would take at least a few more days. His mother, Fu Huili, cleaned up Chen Mo's younger brother's house and let the three girls stay there. Sun Hongkai had to share a room with Chen Mo for the night. Chen Mo went to the village clinic to get some medicine. After explaining the usage of the medicine to the three girls, he withdrew from the room.

"Tongtong, why didn't you keep Chen Mo back just now? Your wound needs to be bandaged," Liang Huaishan playfully acted like a Rogue, saying to Yang Yantong.

"Get lost! You're talking nonsense!" Yang Yantong said somewhat Shy.

"Tongtong, I think this Chen Mo is quite good. Why don't you just go for him?" Zhang Mei said with a smile.

"Meimei, he treated your foot today too. How does it feel? Why don't you go for him?" Liang Huaishan said with a giggle.

"Sigh! I'd like to, but it depends on whether he's willing or not!" Zhang Mei felt a bit sentimental. While rubbing her ankle with the arnica oil Chen Mo had bought, she spoke with a touch of wistfulness. Thinking about Chen Mo holding her ankle and massaging it freely earlier, she felt a strange sensation.

The three girls chatted and joked around, but soon they went to rest. Mainly, they had climbed mountain paths all day, and their energy was completely depleted. As soon as they lay down, they all fell asleep. Even Sun Hongkai in the next room was snoring loudly. That fellow was certainly carefree; after eating, he got into bed and fell asleep.

Chen Mo could only go to the Backyard to cultivate and also check the situation within the Universe Bead.