Chapter 59: The Challenge of the Adolescent Girl

No matter what, life must go on after sadness, and Mo Yu had to resolutely set out toward her dreams! After crying, she no longer lingered on her sorrow; after venting, her heart felt much lighter. Energized, Mo Yu threw herself into her tasks with unprecedented vigor and finished everything she needed to do in less than two hours.

"Phew~" Mo Yu leaned on the long wooden handle of the rake with her left hand, using her right to wipe the thin sweat from her brow. Tidying up, it was time to cultivate!

If you asked Mo Yu what she enjoyed most, she would answer without hesitation: cultivation.

Why?

Mo Yu: "Because I can soak in a bath, sleep, relax, blabla..."

After gathering all the farming tools and miscellaneous items, Mo Yu went up to the second floor, quietly entering the room where Dan Dan stayed. She watched in silence for a while, left a few crystal cores, and closed the door again. Standing in the center of the upstairs living room, she was inexplicably drawn toward the study.

Since the disaster of the apocalypse, Mo Yu had relied on zombie crystal cores for cultivation, both in this life and her previous one. The process was slow and lengthy. She had never heard of any shortcut to advance her training, so when she saw the layers of tattered books and scrolls in the study, she was utterly shocked. She had never paid much attention to the books here, assuming they were ancient tomes like "Records of the Historian," or perhaps novels collected by her ancestors for amusement. But as she carefully turned the corner of a damaged book, she was overjoyed by what she found inside! These were true treasures.

Mo Yu now held a book titled "Eight Abstinences." Yes, the Eight Abstinences. But this was not the lazy, gluttonous Second Brother Pig; these were the genuine Eight Abstinences.

The Buddha says: people suffer eight hardships—birth, aging, sickness, death, encountering those they hate, parting from loved ones, unfulfilled longing, and the flourishing of the five aggregates. The Eight Abstinences are to cast off all mortal desires. Only now did Mo Yu realize that these books were all about immortal cultivation. The one in her hands, "Eight Abstinences," was the introductory guide. Her mood plummeted from joy to gloom. She had never considered seeking immortality; such thoughts belonged only in myth and legend, yet now they appeared in her own life. Having just vented her grief, she fell into another bout of melancholy. If she claimed she didn't want immortality, it would be a lie. Even without it, practicing these would bring great progress. But if, after cultivating, she had to watch her loved ones grow old and die while she lingered alone in the world, what meaning would life have?

Frustrated, she placed the book face-down on the table, wanting to calm herself and think things through.

"Hiss!" A surge of external force nudged her nerves.

Someone was trying to enter her tent! Mo Yu had no time to ponder or cultivate, and with a swift move, she left the space.

As Mo Yu steadied herself, she saw the tent flap lifted. "Eh? Why isn't it the man in black who left?" She saw the same question in Li Jun's eyes. Mo Yu shook her head, indicating she didn't know either.

"Hey! You!" An unfamiliar girl threw her bag into the corner of the tent with a "thud." Unhappy with Mo Yu's indifference, she called out angrily, "Are you the woman who refused my brother?!"

Mo Yu: "....." Must you make it sound so ambiguous?

Girl: "And you even threw my brother out of the tent!"

Mo Yu: "....." It was nothing, really (╯▽╰).

---

The girl: "....." (#‵′)凸

Words failed between them, and seeing Mo Yu stand blankly without responding, the girl felt scorned and stopped talking, launching straight into attack. Mo Yu felt a sharp gust slicing toward her cheek—the force was fierce! She bent her left leg, ducked, and narrowly avoided it. Before the girl could react, Mo Yu pivoted ninety degrees, exposing the girl's arm. She reached forward, grabbed it, and tossed her out. The girl spun through the air, crashed through the tent, and landed outside. She kicked off the ground and jumped up, launching another challenge at Mo Yu!

Mo Yu had no desire for a prolonged scuffle, but she was no pushover. Since someone provoked her, she’d respond in kind—it was the perfect chance to test her skills.

Mo Yu waited in place for the girl's second attack.

"Ha!" The girl shouted, darting toward Mo Yu. As she neared, she suddenly vanished. Mo Yu, tense with excitement, performed a somersault on the spot and, after landing, swept her leg in a roundhouse kick.

"Cough, cough!" The girl reappeared, clutching her chest, her eyes burning with excitement as she looked at Mo Yu. She stopped hiding, engaging Mo Yu with full force—left fist, Mo Yu dodged low; right palm, right leg, the girl leapt and counterattacked. In an instant, the battle between the two girls was so intense that the onlookers’ blood raced, cheering them on.

Minute by minute, neither showed signs of stopping; instead, the fight grew fiercer and more spirited.

"Poof!" A sound of blood sprayed from one of them, and the crowd outside anxiously scanned their faces, trying to see who had lost.

"Cough, cough, enough, enough." The girl stepped back from Mo Yu, wiping the blood from her lips with her sleeve, her eyes full of admiration and joy. "My name is Ye Zuo Nan. Remember me—I’ll come back for you!" With that, she turned and vanished outside the tent.

Seeing the fight end, Li Jun hurried to Mo Yu's side, concern written all over his face as if checking for injuries. Mo Yu smiled, bent slightly, rubbed his round little head, then turned and left the tent.

The crowd outside, seeing both main characters depart, gradually dispersed from around the tent. Even those who had wanted to "bully" the girl or the child now quietly gave up, knowing this girl’s destructive power was no joke!

Mo Yu left the tent and headed straight for the trading area in the base. She needed a needle and some thread, since they still had to live in the tent—hopefully she’d find some in the market.

"Miss, need socks or a jacket? Only three apples! It’s a steal!"

"Computer! Phone! Crazy deals on iPhones! Just one meal! Come buy!"

Mo Yu twisted and turned through the winding paths of the trading area, wary of people trying to pull her aside to buy their wares.

"Hey! We meet again!" Mo Yu sidestepped, and the person behind her grabbed at empty air. Turning to look, she recognized him as the base worker who had guided her earlier. "Hello," she nodded, then resumed browsing.

The man's gaze was soft, even passionate, making Mo Yu uncomfortable even though she had already turned away.

"Do you need something?" Mo Yu turned back.

"No, no," he waved his hands, but still followed behind her.

---

"....." Mo Yu shot him a sharp look and turned away.

The man, seeing Mo Yu didn’t chase him off, was filled with joy, his face and eyes unconsciously lit with smiles. He followed Mo Yu all the way, trailing behind as she finished her shopping and returned to the tent.

Mo Yu finally lost all patience. Had she run into a creep? What was with this man! She spun around unexpectedly and kicked at him, only to halt just short of his chest.

"Why didn’t you dodge?" Mo Yu was caught between kicking and not kicking. The man said nothing, just smiled and shook his head before leaving. Mo Yu was left with a head full of confusion. What on earth was he up to?

"I’m back..." There she was.

Mo Yu looked at the girl sprawled on her blanket, a smile flashing in her eyes before fading. "Why are you here?"

Originally, Mo Yu thought that with so many people witnessing her fight with the girl, no one would dare covet anything inside her tent, so she hadn’t set up a psychic barrier. She hadn’t expected the girl to slip in.

"Mo Jie!" Li Jun ran to Mo Yu. "She stole my food!"

"Hey! Tattling isn’t cool, kid! Are you really a man?" The girl stopped her game, shifted to sit upright. "I only ate your tomato. There’s tasty stuff in my bag—help yourself." Li Jun just snorted and buried his head in Mo Yu’s arms, ignoring her.

Ye Zuo Nan, seeing Li Jun ignore her, turned to Mo Yu.

"You threw my brother out, so he threw me out, so here I am at your place."

Mo Yu: "....."

Alright, she’d originally evicted the man to make room for a woman anyway. She comforted Li Jun in her arms and turned to repair the tent.

"Hey, what’s your name?" The girl’s crisp voice came from behind.

"Mo Yu."

Author’s note: To all the girls reading, mwah!