It was a familiar scene.
Zeng Mo suddenly remembered that he and Qing'er seemed to have survived in the wilderness together for several days, though at the time he hadn't brought much to mind...
It had been nearly forty minutes.
Yu Lin and Qing'er emerged from the crowd outside the park.
One wore a golden skirt and a pink blouse, her hair tied back in a bun. She held a wooden sword and walked gracefully, like a martial artist descending from the mountains.
The other wore a pink dress. A long, snow-white fox tail swayed behind her. Her makeup was flawless, and the innocent expression she wore beneath her bangs made her especially charming.
The two walked hand in hand to his room. After knocking, they sat down.
Yu Lin sat on the edge of the bed, looking perfectly composed. "Let's go, dear. Qing'er and I are ready. We've packed everything, so we can head back to the dormitory afterward."
Had she slept well? She'd gotten up so early that she must have been exhausted from playing.
Zeng Mo muttered under his breath, then called out to the guard outside the door. He told him to make way and informed the security team that they were leaving the park.
Less than a month had passed.
Outside the park gates.
Zeng Mo stopped the car and let Yu Lin and Qing'er out. The three walked toward the park entrance, attracting plenty of attention along the way. People took pictures.
"What are you planning to film?"
"Dear, I'm thinking of first filming a short video with Qing'er in the golden skirt. We'll have her run after the little white fox, then reverse it so the fox chases her instead. After that, we can shoot another one where the fox snatches her away and carries her into the grove, as if it wants to eat the little fox spirit."
"That sounds like a lot of work."
"Ah, dear, I'm thinking of a martial-arts background. We'll set it in the park. There's a group of older men who practice there every day. I'll have them play the background characters, then I'll carry a wooden sword and chase Qing'er as she runs past them." Zeng Mo explained.
Qing'er chimed in, "That sounds great. I hope you can edit them into a group of Taoist priests, and then have me appear in front of them with a stunned expression, as if I'm a thousand-year-old fox spirit."
"I'll give it a try."
Zeng Mo wasn't sure how to respond, so he simply led the two women toward the park gates.
It was still early, but the park was much busier than usual.
Inside, the older men were still practicing their martial arts, as they did every day.
One of them kept glancing toward the park entrance. When he saw Zeng Mo approaching, his calm, familiar-looking face took on a slightly pained expression. He said to the old man beside him, "That's enough for today. I've got things to do in the martial arts world. Let's call it a day."
"Dear, look, it's that old man. He's practicing again. Let's hurry over."
Yu Lin was talking as she walked when she saw the old man look over. She gave her companions a quick glance, then pulled the old man beside her along and headed for the park entrance.
In that instant, she was stunned.
"Why did they suddenly stop?"
"Yu Lin, I think he saw us and realized what we were doing, so they called it quits." Qing'er's voice was filled with uncertainty.
The moment he saw the old men, Zeng Mo ran. Yu Lin had no idea why he'd taken off; she just didn't want to be left alone with them, so she ran too.
"Wait here. I'll go talk to them and help out. We can discuss it afterward."
Yu Lin came back to her senses and immediately said, "Go on, dear."
Zeng Mo nodded. With a quick burst of speed, he left the two women behind and ran toward the old men, drawing admiring looks from her companions.
"Hey, young man, why do you run every time you see me?" the old man asked with a smile.
The old man sighed. "I told you I had to go. I need to return to the martial arts world and take care of something."
"About that last contest, you pushed me into a corner. Let's have another one sometime."
"No fighting. Let's do it another day." The old man waved his hand.
Zeng Mo chuckled to himself, then said, "We can do it another day. I actually have something I need your help with today."
"What is it?"
"I want to shoot a video. I was hoping you and your group of old martial-arts fans could practice for me, so I can use you as the background."
"I'm afraid I can't." The old man refused, waving his hand.
"Can't? Then let's just have that contest. I'd like to see how good your martial arts really are." Zeng Mo clenched his fists and slowly approached the old man.
"Hey! Don't, don't come over! With my old legs, how could I possibly beat you?" The old man jumped back, clutched at his leg, and fell to the ground.
[Congratulations, Host. You used the weak to defeat the strong, defeating a Level Three Fire-type deity. Survival Points +100.]
The notification rang in his ear. Zeng Mo paused, then thought, I'll have to make sure we really fight next time. "How would I know I couldn't beat you if I didn't give it a try?"
"Fine! I'll cooperate with you for a bit."
"The old man from before would've agreed right away."
Zeng Mo's lips curled into a smile. He reached out to help the old man, who was sweating on the ground, then headed toward the center of the park.
Yu Lin and Qing'er were standing in the center of the park, surrounded by the old men who had stopped practicing.
"Miss, those clothes look great on you. Are you shooting a video?"
"Yeah, a short video." One of the old men chuckled.
"A short video? That's pretty popular online these days."
"Ha ha!"
Yu Lin and Qing'er exchanged awkward smiles with the old men.
"Hey, why are you back, young man? Oh, the little girl's here too. Are you going to start fighting now?"
One of the old men saw Zeng Mo and the old man approaching and spoke up.
As soon as the old man heard the word "fight," he immediately said, "Let's do it another day. We'll fight another time. I've got something to discuss with you today."
"What is it, old man?" Another old man put an arm around his shoulder.
Just then, Qing'er and Yu Lin turned and saw Zeng Mo walking over with the old man.
The two of them came up to them.
"This is the old man. He agreed to help us," Zeng Mo introduced them.
Yu Lin looked at the old man and said, "Thank you, sir."
"Ah," the old man replied, looking a little displeased. He then put on a straight face and said, "This young man and his girlfriend want to shoot a short video. They'd like me and the other old men to practice martial arts in the background. They hope we can help."
"Oh, with me as the background? Then I'll be famous too."
"Of course."
The group of old men began chattering, but the old man got them organized. They formed up and began setting the stage for the martial-arts video.
Yu Lin and Qing'er quickly got into position. One chased after the other, creating a scene of pursuit in front of the old men.
Zeng Mo picked up his camera and began recording.
When they played it back, they had three videos.
Zeng Mo called the shoot finished, then walked over to the old man and pulled him aside. He whispered, "I've been thinking. How about we put off that contest for now? That way, I won't have to come looking for you every day."
"Hey, didn't you say you weren't going to fight today?"
"I'm saying that since you don't have to return to the martial arts world right away, why don't we keep meeting up?"
"Right, I did say that. I—I have to go back now." The old man sighed, then turned and hurried toward the park exit.
[Congratulations, Host. You used the weak to defeat the strong, defeating a Level Three Fire-type deity. Survival Points +100.]
Hearing the notification, Zeng Mo smiled. He was pleased that those two troublesome girls had entered the park.
At the gathering place.
"I have something to do in the north of the city this afternoon, so I won't be going up for now," Zeng Mo said.
Yu Lin yawned. She leaned against Qing'er and said, "All right, dear. I'll leave the video editing to you. Qing'er and I will go up first and get some rest."
"Okay. I'll finish it tomorrow and show you."
Zeng Mo said this, then suddenly thought of the young woman who'd seemed capable of anything when she'd made the pork cutlets. He turned and said softly,
"Maybe I can show you tonight."
Before you continue