Chapter 22: The Seductress from the Storybook

The past couple of days had been dry and hot, so fewer people were going up the mountain. But actually, once you entered the forest, the shade from the trees blocked the sun, and occasionally a cool breeze would drift in from who knows where, making it much more comfortable than being outside.

Not long after they entered the mountains, Zheng Jiamin scurried over to Fu Mingze and whispered, “Yang Qingqing is behind us again. Why is she still following you?”

Even someone as thick-skinned as Zheng Jiamin had noticed it recently. In the past, Yang Qingqing had only paid attention to Fu Mingze, but lately, she’d been sticking to him constantly—asking after his well-being, hanging around him all the time, going wherever he went. Yet she never said a word about it. Since the road was public and open to all, Fu Mingze couldn’t very well drive her away.

Now, many people at the educated youth settlement suspected that there was something going on between Yang Qingqing and Fu Mingze.

Like that sourpuss Zhang Zhiqiang, who said if Fu Mingze hadn’t given Yang Qingqing some sort of signal, why would a young girl go out of her way to cling to a penniless guy like him?

Fu Mingze didn’t look back at Yang Qingqing. Instead, he instinctively glanced at Shen Mo’er.

Shen Mo’er looked back curiously and, sure enough, saw a figure trailing behind in the distance. Recalling the last time they went to the commune—Yang Qingqing had tried, intentionally or not, to find out why Fu Mingze was going there, and even secretly followed him—she couldn’t help asking, “She’s still following you?”

Before Fu Mingze could reply, Zheng Jiamin darted over to Shen Mo’er and quickly chimed in, “Yes, yes, yes! Always tagging along, and getting worse!”

Fu Mingze shot a cold glance at Zheng Jiamin, who remained oblivious and continued flailing his arms excitedly. “People at the settlement are gossiping that the two of them are dating. Hahaha, it’s hilarious! They don’t even realize it, but ever since Yang Qingqing started hounding him, our Comrade Fu has been walking way faster than before!”

Fu Mingze couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed Zheng Jiamin and dragged him aside. “If you keep talking nonsense, you’re not coming up the mountain anymore.”

Shen Mo’er imagined Fu Mingze being forced to dodge Yang Qingqing every day, even speeding up his walking, and couldn’t help laughing.

Fu Mingze’s face remained stern, but seeing the others laughing so hard they were swaying on their feet—especially Shen Mo’er, whose face had grown fairer recently from not having to work—her cheeks flushed, eyes curved into crescents like a bright and clear half-moon in the night sky. Fu Mingze couldn’t help but feel his ears turn red, and his lips curled up ever so slightly.

Worried that Comrade Fu might feel awkward, Shen Mo’er stopped laughing after a while and said, “Let’s hurry up and go.”

She didn’t want someone following them like that either.

The original host used to come up the mountain often, and Shen Mo’er had followed some of the older women a few times too. So now she was quite familiar with the terrain behind the mountain. The three of them quickened their pace, and under Shen Mo’er’s deliberate zigzagging, they soon left Yang Qingqing behind.

Shen Mo’er led Fu Mingze and Zheng Jiamin straight to Pine Tree Bay.

She had come to the mountain this time with meat in mind. She didn’t know if there was any elsewhere, but at least last time, several rabbits had gotten away here—maybe she’d run into them again?

That’s right—Shen Mo’er silently hoped to continue milking that warren of rabbits.

Maybe it was because this area really did have denser vegetation and damper soil, but they hadn’t seen many mushrooms on the way over. Yet as soon as they arrived here, they quickly found a clump of mushrooms under some dead leaves, and nearby there was a patch of tender wild vegetables.

Shen Mo’er handed her short hoe to Zheng Jiamin. “I’m going to look around nearby.”

Zheng Jiamin looked utterly disappointed. “We really came just to dig mushrooms?”

Fu Mingze wanted to remind Shen Mo’er to be careful, but when he saw her pick up a stick at least a meter and a half long and knock it around as she headed toward a dense patch of underbrush, he realized she was more familiar with the mountain than he was.

So he took a short hoe from the bamboo basket and said to Zheng Jiamin, “Get to work.”

Zheng Jiamin listlessly picked mushrooms, occasionally glancing at Shen Mo’er. He asked curiously, “What’s Comrade Mo’er doing?” He used to call her “Comrade Shen Mo’er” or just “Comrade Shen,” but after this shared mountain adventure, he felt they were closer, so he started calling her “Comrade Mo’er.”

Fu Mingze glanced at him, suddenly regretting bringing this chatterbox along.

He said flatly, “It’s either ‘Comrade Shen Mo’er’ or ‘Comrade Shen.’ Don’t go around calling her other things.”

Zheng Jiamin replied carelessly, “Calling her ‘Comrade Shen Mo’er’ or ‘Comrade Shen’ sounds too formal.”

Fu Mingze glared at him. Zheng Jiamin felt his scalp tingle under the stare and, a flash of insight hitting him, made a zipping motion over his mouth. “Fine, I won’t say it, alright?”

He buried his head in the mushrooms and wild vegetables, but before long, he was glancing around again and asked Fu Mingze, “Why is Comrade Shen Mo’er going farther and farther away? Aren’t there plenty of mushrooms and vegetables here? Let’s finish up here and go over together. It’s dangerous for her to be alone.”

Fu Mingze had actually been keeping an eye on her the whole time. Hearing this, he replied, “I think she’s looking for signs of wild rabbits.”

After a pause, he shot Zheng Jiamin a look of disdain. “Let’s move faster. Once we’re done here, we’ll go over.”

He said no more after that, but his hands moved even quicker.

“What?! She’s looking for wild rabbits?!” Zheng Jiamin’s voice rose in pitch. “Don’t tell me… Comrade Shen Mo’er can catch rabbits too?! No way, she looks just like a little bunny herself…”

This time, Fu Mingze ignored all of Zheng Jiamin’s muttering. After a while, Zheng Jiamin suddenly got excited. “Right, right! Let’s hurry up and finish this patch and go see!” Then he finally shut up and started working in earnest.

Fu Mingze gave him a sidelong glance and sighed inwardly.

Zheng Jiamin was great in many ways—simple, generous, cheerful—and that simplicity was especially rare. Basically, whatever Fu Mingze said, he’d believe. The only problem was… he could be really noisy.

About ten minutes later, they had stripped the area of mushrooms and wild vegetables.

Without waiting for Fu Mingze to call him, Zheng Jiamin cheerfully slung the bamboo basket onto his back and rushed off toward Shen Mo’er. Fu Mingze was a bit slower, as he took a moment to organize the basket. When he looked up, Zheng Jiamin had already dashed far ahead. Halfway there, Fu Mingze heard Zheng Jiamin shouting excitedly.

Fu Mingze smiled—seemed like they really did catch some rabbits—and quickened his pace.

When he arrived, he saw Zheng Jiamin proudly holding up two rabbits by their ears, laughing gleefully. “Mingze, look! Big fat rabbits!”

The two rabbits flailed their short legs feebly in his grip. He showed no mercy and blurted out, “Comrade Mo’er said we should come help her out the next few days—she’ll cook meat for us every day!” He was too excited and once again called her “Comrade Mo’er” without thinking.

Besides the two rabbits in his hands, there was another one by Shen Mo’er’s feet.

Fu Mingze gave the rabbits a quick glance, then focused on the small bow in Shen Mo’er’s hand. It looked simple and very new. The wood on the limbs hadn’t even been smoothed down properly and looked rather rough. Besides the bow, she also held a few bamboo arrows. The tips of the arrows seemed to have been carefully sharpened and looked quite sharp.

Fu Mingze guessed that she had used this crude-looking bow—more like a child’s toy—to hunt the rabbits.

Even though last time her method of catching rabbits was rougher, more unbelievable, and seemed like sheer dumb luck, he still couldn’t help but think: What kind of girl is this, really?

Shen Mo’er rubbed the bamboo arrows in the dirt a few times, then used some grass to clean them before getting ready to put them and the bow into her basket. Suddenly, Zheng Jiamin shouted, “Comrade Shen Mo’er, can I try that bow?” It was obvious he was itching to give it a shot after seeing her success.

“Of course you can,” she replied.

Shen Mo’er handed over both the bow and arrows.

Zheng Jiamin immediately put down the rabbit and happily took the bow and arrows to try them out.

As the saying goes, “Knowing is easy, doing is hard.” Seeing how easily Shen Mo’er had caught three rabbits, Zheng Jiamin immediately assumed it wasn’t as difficult as it seemed. If a young girl like Shen Mo’er could do it, then a grown man like him certainly could too.

But in reality, after wandering around with the bow and arrows for quite a while, he hadn’t even seen the shadow of a rabbit. In the end, itching to try something, he took aim at a tree leaf. Not only did he miss the leaf, the arrow didn’t even come close to it.

In the end, he had no choice but to accept the disappointing truth that he simply didn’t have the skill, and resumed his nonstop chatter, showering Shen Mo’er with praise from every angle.

Even Shen Mo’er couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. If this Zheng educated youth were born in the capital of Great Liang, just his flattering skills alone would probably be enough to earn him favor among the city’s nobles.

Fu Mingze picked up a few rabbits from the ground and placed them into Shen Mo’er’s bamboo basket, then covered them with the mushrooms and wild vegetables he had gathered. After that, he switched his basket with Shen Mo’er’s, carrying the one filled with goods himself and handing her the empty one. “That’s about it. Let’s go.”

He gave Zheng Jiamin a little kick. “Let’s go.”

Zheng Jiamin brushed off his pant legs and muttered, “What did I do to offend him again?” Clueless, he shouldered the bamboo basket and followed along.

Since the weather was hot and food wouldn’t keep for long, three wild rabbits were more than enough to last for the next few days. The same logic applied to mushrooms and wild vegetables—they didn’t need to gather too much, just enough for two or three days.

Still, they made another trip to the bamboo grove to dig up some whip bamboo. Whether stewed with meat or stir-fried, it was especially delicious.

As they were walking down the mountain, they unexpectedly ran into Yang Qingqing again.

It seemed that after being shaken off by them, she hadn’t dared to venture deeper into the forest. Yang Qingqing was sitting on a rock by the mountain path, and when she saw them coming, she immediately called out in a soft voice, “Comrade Fu—”

Fu Mingze didn’t even slow his pace. He looked like he was about to walk right past her, so Yang Qingqing quickly added, “Comrade Fu, I twisted my ankle and can’t walk. We’re all from the same educated youth spot. Can you please help me?”

Looking at her, Shen Mo’er was inexplicably reminded of the demonesses she had read about in old storybooks. They often appeared mysteriously in strange places, either having lost something, gotten separated from family, or become injured—always some excuse to seek the help of a handsome young scholar. After various twists and turns, it would all end in a romantic tale.

At the time, she had wondered: those demonesses sure were clever. Otherwise, why didn’t they ever ask for help from old, ugly scholars?

Now looking at Yang Qingqing, Shen Mo’er couldn’t help but feel she was cut from the same cloth as those storybook demonesses.

Unfortunately for her, Fu Mingze wasn’t the type of gentle, sympathetic scholar. He merely glanced at Yang Qingqing, paused for just a moment, then continued walking.

Yang Qingqing grew anxious. “I really am injured! I can’t walk down the mountain. It’s dangerous to stay here alone. You can’t just leave me like this, can you?”

Zheng Jiamin, out of curiosity, asked, “So how do you want us to help you?”

Yang Qingqing replied righteously, “Just have Comrade Fu carry me down the mountain.”

Fu Mingze didn’t even respond and quickly walked far ahead. Zheng Jiamin looked at Fu Mingze’s back, then at Yang Qingqing. In the end, he felt they were all fellow educated youth, and if she was truly injured, it wouldn’t be right to leave her behind. So he said, “Fu Mingze definitely won’t carry you. If it really comes to that, I can carry you down.”

But even as he said it, he glanced at the mountain path and wasn’t too confident—he didn’t have much strength, and carrying Yang Qingqing down the mountain would be a bit of a stretch.

Yang Qingqing immediately declined politely, “Thank you for the kind offer, Comrade Zheng, but I’m actually quite heavy. I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to manage it. If we end up falling on the mountain path, it’ll just make things worse. Also, you’re a male comrade. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to carry me.”

So apparently it would be appropriate for Comrade Fu to carry her?

Shen Mo’er narrowed her eyes and thought, “Poor Comrade Zheng. His good intentions were dismissed just because he’s seen as the old, ugly scholar type.” So she said, “Comrade Yang, I’ve been climbing mountains since I was a child and have quite a bit of strength. I’ll carry you down.”

Yang Qingqing paused, then forced a smile. “Thank you too, Comrade Shen. But no matter how strong a female comrade is, she can’t compare to a male comrade. If you carry me, I’m afraid we might end up falling again.”

Well then—male comrades are inappropriate, female comrades aren’t strong enough. Sounds like the only suitable person is Fu Mingze.

Shen Mo’er raised an eyebrow and said to Zheng Jiamin, “Since we’re not of any help, let’s go.” With that, she turned and walked off briskly.

Zheng Jiamin looked at Yang Qingqing, then back at Shen Mo’er, and without saying anything else, followed.

Yang Qingqing couldn’t believe they were actually leaving. She immediately cried out, “How can you just leave like this? There are wild animals in the mountains! There could even be bad people! What if something happens to me? Won’t you feel guilty? How can you be so heartless, so—”

Shen Mo’er’s voice floated leisurely back from the path, “Don’t worry, Comrade Yang. We’re not far from the base of the mountain. There won’t be any wild animals. And if a pheasant or wild rabbit jumps out, you can just try catching it for nourishment. Oh, and I’d suggest you stop shouting. If you stay quiet, no bad people will target you in broad daylight. But if you keep yelling like that… well, who knows.”

Yang Qingqing immediately went silent.

After they turned a corner, Zheng Jiamin glanced back. Yang Qingqing was no longer in sight, and he couldn’t help asking, “Are we really just going to leave her there?”

Shen Mo’er smiled sweetly, “Didn’t you see how fast Comrade Fu walked? He must’ve gone back to the brigade to get help.”

Whether Yang Qingqing was really injured or just pretending, it didn’t matter. Just treat it as real. Go tell the village chief and have him send two sturdier women up the mountain to carry her down—problem solved.

Shen Mo’er’s guess was spot on. Fu Mingze had indeed gone straight down the mountain to find the brigade leader, who then sent two hefty women up the mountain to help.

But halfway there, the two women ran into Yang Qingqing, who was hobbling down the mountain on her own.

Yang Qingqing had indeed twisted her ankle, but not badly enough to prevent her from walking. After Shen Mo’er and the others left, she waited a while and, seeing no one returning, began cursing under her breath and made her way down on her own.

Seeing this, the two women immediately scowled and snapped, “Are you kidding us?!”

With that, they turned around and left in a huff.