Chapter 81

"Yingjie, what's wrong with you?" The other two, hearing the commotion, turned their heads and saw Yingjie just emerging from the water, drenched and dripping. They were startled. Gong Lei, the man, was the first to ask anxiously.

"Quick! There's someone underwater, come and save him!" Yingjie shouted, her voice filled with urgency. She was usually calm, but now she couldn't help but be anxious, knowing someone was trapped underwater.

Xu Mo, hearing the concern in her usually gentle voice, felt a warmth in his heart. His heart relaxed, thinking: She has such a good heart; now there's hope.

The other two, upon hearing this, changed their expressions and hurriedly put down what they were doing, running over. Xiao Li, the woman, exclaimed in shock, "Heaven! Someone? Where? Where is someone underwater?" She asked several questions in a row, her face full of disbelief.

Yingjie pointed into the pit with her hand, her eyes scanning the surroundings as if looking for something, her expression anxious, and she didn't have time to speak.

The other two took a few steps forward and looked into the pit. Xiao Li cried out, "He's in the pit! Heaven! It's this tree that's pinning him down, he can't get out."

Gong Lei nodded, then asked in confusion, "How did he end up at the bottom of the pit?" As he spoke, he didn't expect an answer, paused, and continued, "He must have been there before we arrived. After so long, is he still alive?"

"He's alive," Yingjie replied, but didn't explain why.

By this time, she had found a long reed by the lake and used a small scissors to trim both ends. She jumped back into the pit again. This time, knowing someone was at the bottom, she was extra careful, afraid of stepping on him, so she clung to the pit wall as she went down.

At the bottom of the pit, she felt Xu Mo's face and then his mouth, inserting the reed into his mouth.

Xu Mo had been underwater for a long time and had just expelled all the air in his stomach to call for help. He was suffocating, but once the reed was in his mouth, he could breathe again, though the air exchange was slow due to the reed's thinness, he felt a great relief.

When Yingjie touched his face, he felt the warmth of her soft palm and couldn't help but have a strange feeling.

Yingjie inserted the reed into his mouth and said, "Bear with it a little longer, we'll get you out soon."

Gong Lei couldn't help but laugh, "Yingjie, underwater, he can't hear us. It's pointless to talk to him."

That was true for ordinary people, but not for Xu Mo, whose hearing was far beyond that of a normal person.

Yingjie replied, "He... he can hear us. Otherwise, he wouldn't know we were here, and he wouldn't have blown bubbles to call for help when we came."

Just as she said this, the reed suddenly moved, and many bubbles emerged from the bottom of the water, indicating that Xu Mo had heard them and was responding.

Yingjie smiled at Gong Lei, "See, he heard your question and is responding to us."

Gong Lei looked astonished, unable to believe it, but had nothing to say.

Xiao Li then asked, "How did he get pinned by the tree? Oh, is he a man or a woman?"

"A man," Yingjie replied. She had felt his beard when touching his face, confirming he was a man. She paused and continued, "As for how he got pinned by the tree, we'll ask him once we get him out."

Gong Lei glanced at the four fallen mango trees, which were extremely thick and lush, and frowned, "It won't be easy to move these four trees with just our three people. We'll have to cut some sturdy branches from the trees to use as levers to try and pry them apart."

As he spoke, he began looking for suitable branches on the four mango trees.

"Xiao Lei," Yingjie called him with a smile, then said softly, "No need to make it so complicated. Look..." She pointed to a few branches extending into the pit and continued, "These branches are what's pinning him down. I have a multi-tool in my bag that can be used as a saw. We can cut these branches to free him."

Xiao Li, upon hearing this, thought it made sense and, without waiting for Gong Lei to respond, smiled, "Yingjie is smart. We shouldn't delay, let's do it right away."

Yingjie then walked back to her bag, retrieved the multi-tool, and the three of them took turns sawing the branches pinning Xu Mo.

Xu Mo had a branch on his chest, waist, and legs, making it difficult for him to move. However, to save him, they didn't need to cut all three branches. Cutting the branch on his chest would give him enough room to free himself.

Even so, it took Yingjie and the others about ten minutes to free him from the pit.

Xu Mo, now free, sat up and felt a sudden brightness as he saw the outside world again. Before he could get out, he felt a pair of soft hands helping him up.

Turning his head, he saw the owner of the hands and couldn't help but be startled: She... she must be 'Yingjie.'

She was about his age, perhaps a year or two older, also wet and dripping. Though not exceptionally beautiful, her expression and demeanor were incredibly gentle, exuding a quiet calm.

"Thank you!" Xu Mo couldn't help but say, his voice soft, specifically to Yingjie.

Yingjie smiled gently, her eyes scanning him, then asked with concern, "Are you hurt anywhere?" Her expression was full of care.

"Fine," Xu Mo replied calmly, then looked at the other two. Gong Lei was in his mid-twenties, wearing glasses, with a scholarly air and an ordinary appearance.

Xiao Li was in her early twenties, with a round face and a few faint freckles, and was quite attractive. She stood close to Gong Lei, looking intimate, suggesting they were a couple.

"Thank you!" Xu Mo said again, this time to all three of them.

Xiao Li looked at Xu Mo with a strange expression and, after a moment, gathered the courage to ask, "How long have you been living here?"

Xu Mo, still wearing only a pair of shorts, with long, messy hair and beard, looked so disheveled that Xiao Li almost mistook him for a wild man.

Xu Mo thought for a moment and answered honestly, "About two and a half years."

"Two and a half years?" Gong Lei exclaimed in disbelief, then asked, "Just you? You've been living here alone for two and a half years?"

When they arrived, they had come from the edge of the valley and hadn't seen Xu Mo's dwelling, hence the question.

Xu Mo nodded calmly.

Gong Lei, curious, asked again, "Strange, why did you come to live here?"

Xu Mo smiled but didn't answer.

Seeing he wasn't speaking, Yingjie knew there must be a reason and quickly changed the subject, "By the way, what's your name? I'm Han Ying. These two are Gong Lei and Geng Yanli."

"Xu Mo, Xun Wu Xu, Mo as in 'indifferent' without the water radical," Xu Mo said clearly.

"Xu Mo, Xu Mo..." Han Ying repeated his name a few times, then smiled, "What an interesting name."

Xu Mo guessed what she meant and explained, "My mother's surname is Mo."

"Oh!" Han Ying understood, nodded, and looked at Xu Mo again, smiling, "Your eyes are so bright and beautiful."

Xu Mo, hearing her compliment, smiled faintly but didn't say much.

Han Ying's praise was genuine. With his heightened senses, his vision, hearing, taste, and smell had all improved. His eyes were much brighter than those of ordinary people.

As for Han Ying saying his eyes were beautiful, it was because his powerful vision made various emotions and feelings visible in his eyes, making them seem to convey messages and speak.

Geng Yanli glanced at Xu Mo, then frowned, clearly finding his attire inappropriate, and asked, "Don't you have any clothes?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned to Gong Lei, "Gong Lei, give him a set of your clothes."

"Sure!" Gong Lei nodded and said to Xu Mo, "Buddy, we're about the same height. I'll give you a set of my clothes. They're old, so don't mind."

Xu Mo also felt it was inconvenient to be dressed like this and didn't care if the clothes were new or old. He thanked Gong Lei and, seeing himself covered in mud and water, added, "I'll rinse off first."

He handed the car keys back to Han Ying and walked toward the lake, quickly submerging and swimming to a secluded spot to clean himself.

"Hey! Hey!" Geng Yanli tried to stop him, but Xu Mo was already far away, and she stomped her foot in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Han Ying looked at her, puzzled.

Geng Yanli, unhappy, said, "We're going to use the lake water to cook soon. If he bathes in the lake, how can we use the water? Are we supposed to cook with his bathwater? Really!"

Han Ying smiled gently, "What's the problem? The lake is so big. One bath won't pollute the entire lake. Even if there are some dirty things, they'll settle soon. Besides, he's been living here for so long and has probably bathed many times before we arrived. It's not a big deal."

Geng Yanli, though she knew Han Ying was right, still couldn't get over it, muttering, "Out of sight, out of mind. It's fine if he bathed before, but now that we know, how can we use the water?"

——

PS: Thank you to Long Jian Tian Xia Xing for the support.