"Mo Mo!" Xia Miaomiao's delighted voice rang out.
It was only then that Wu Ying released Su Mo.
Su Mo turned her head, and saw Xia Miaomiao and Hua Wuyou walking up the stairs hand in hand.
Xia Miaomiao immediately let go of Hua Wuyou's hand and ran over, embracing Su Mo.
"When did you get back?"
Su Mo smiled, "I just got back. How are you? Are you alright?"
Xia Miaomiao released her, "I'm fine..."
Su Mo looked towards Hua Wuyou behind Xia Miaomiao, smiling meaningfully, "It seems a lot has happened while I was away?"
Xia Miaomiao blushed slightly, biting her lip, "Mo Mo, stop teasing me..."
Hua Wuyou took Xia Miaomiao's hand, smiling, "What is it, little bunny? Am I so embarrassing?"
Xia Miaomiao glared at him, "I didn't mean that!"
Su Mo looked at them, smiling, "Alright, let's go inside and talk."
The four of them went inside and discussed their plans for what was next.
They had heard that the base of the cliff was probably not far from Lianhua Village, so they would go there together once they found Xiao Han.
Early the next morning, Wu Ying bid them farewell and returned to the dark pavilion.
Watching his departing figure, Su Mo couldn't help feeling reluctant.
With this parting, who knew when they would meet again?
The mountain was clear and the waters pristine, under the clear skies stretching for thousands of miles, with birds and insects calling.
As Xiao Han swam up from the river and collapsed panting on the bank, she was utterly exhausted.
"It's fortunate this old lady can swim, otherwise I'd really be done for!"
At the time, the man in black had caught up to her and was about to kill her. She had no way to escape, and with the cliff edge at her back, she felt that jumping into the river below held the only glimmer of hope for survival, while not jumping meant certain death.
After resting for a while, Xiao Han crawled up from the riverbank.
Her clothes and hair were soaked through, but looking at the weather, they should dry quite soon.
She took off her outer garments and wrung out the water, complaining as she did, "Women's clothes are such a bother! If I'd known, I would have worn men's clothing!"
She wrung the water from her skirt, glancing left and right to survey her surroundings. She discovered that while desolate, the scenery here was actually quite pleasant.
"Ah whatever, rather than complain pointlessly, I might as well accept what comes! Complaining won't change anything anyway!"
After all, Xiao Han was not one to be overly concerned with sorrow and sentiment. Her mentality remained strong as ever!
Once her clothes had half dried and were not so heavy, Xiao Han left the riverside.
She walked for a good while through the wilderness before seeing what could be called a road.
"What kind of place is this? I need to find someone and ask how far it is from Chu City."
After walking for nearly half a shichen along the path, she spotted a man hunting, carrying several wild rabbits in hand.
Xiao Han was overjoyed and immediately ran over.
"Brother, excuse me brother, could you tell me what place this is?"
The man turned to look at Xiao Han, clearly surprised to encounter such a young and beautiful maiden in the middle of nowhere.
He looked Xiao Han up and down several times, the corners of his mouth turning up in an ambiguous smile. "Miss, whatever are you doing alone out here in the wilderness?"
Xiao Han waved her hand, "Please don't mention it. I got lost around here and wanted to ask what place this is and how far it is from Chu City."
"Miss, this is the border between Chu City and Yue City territories, quite far from both cities."
"Ah? Then how long would it take me to reach the city?" Xiao Han cried out.
Seeing her, a predatory light flashed through the man's eyes. "Miss, if you want to go to the city, I can take you there."
"Truly?" Xiao Han didn't notice anything amiss and cupped her hands towards him, "Thank you brother!"
"I can take you there, but... you'll have to make me happy first!"
The man tossed aside the rabbits in his hand, a lewd smile spreading across his face. He walked towards Xiao Han, reaching out a hand to grab hers.
Before he could touch Xiao Han, she slapped his hand away, looking at him warily, "What are you doing?!"
"What am I doing? Miss, wandering the wilderness alone, throwing yourself at my door... can't blame me. It's been too long since I last touched a woman!"
The man let out a vulgar laugh as he lunged at Xiao Han.
Xiao Han dodged to the side, cursing under her breath, "F*ck, perverts are everywhere!"
"If you behave, I may still pity and cherish you. If not, I'll f*ck you dead!"
The man pounced again, knocking Xiao Han directly to the ground.
Yet Xiao Han didn't struggle, simply watching him and taunting, "Hey, f*ck me dead? You think you can? Drop your pants, let me see what you're packing."
The man's brain short-circuited hearing Xiao Han's words.
Were these words coming out of a young girl's mouth???
Taking advantage of his shock, Xiao Han flicked her wrist, driving a silver needle into an acupoint on the man's back.
A sharp pain shot through him and the man realized something was wrong. He raised a hand, trying to grab Xiao Han's neck, when another silver needle pierced his throat.
Now the man had truly lost all strength.
Xiao Han laughed, disdainfully shoving him to the ground before getting up and dusting off her hands.
"I'm your daddy! You dare to touch me?!" Xiao Han scolded as she delivered a fierce kick.
"You...what did you do to me?" The man looked at her incredulously.
Xiao Han took out a scalpel, crouching to tap his cheek with the flat of the blade. "Don't worry...you won't die. Just because you saw a girl alone out here you thought you could get away with assault? You really think all girls are that easy to bully?!"
"You...what are you trying to do?"
"What am I trying to do? A test subject that wandered in and delivered itself...don't blame me."
Xiao Han smiled sinisterly, echoing the man's earlier words as she brought the scalpel down towards his crotch.
"Might as well get some practice for a physical castration procedure."
Xiao Han's threat scared the man senseless. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he pleaded "No, please, I was blind not to recognize Mount Tai. Miss, I beg you, let me go!"
Xiao Han glanced at him, a thought suddenly occurring to her. She undid the man's belt and started stripping his clothes.
The man had no idea what Xiao Han intended, begging for mercy all the while.
"So noisy! Keep it up and I really will castrate you!"
The man promptly shut his mouth.
After a moment, Xiao Han slapped her thighs and sauntered off, boldly taking the rabbits the man had caught.
Meanwhile not far behind her on the road, the man lay unconscious and stark naked, with several large words scribbled on his body: [I AM A PERVERT DOG!]