The high-speed train was going to take eight hours to reach Chuan Province.
Lin Qingrou forwent the silver mask and instead opted for something more fashionable, a medical mask and a pair of black sunglasses. And since she was going alone, no one bothered her.
Liu Chuanshu and Zheng Huahu sat together, chatting away, while Li Mo was on his phone.
Li Mo was texting the panda. It may not talk, yet, but it picked up things like a sponge. It now knew how to type on the phone, and quite fast too.
The panda was feeling down lately. Its cultivation was too darn slow. It did reach the fifth level with the God Fruit, but Hundred Beast King Fist was still in infancy after all this time.
With an incomplete trait of the strongest race, with the Hundred Beast King Fist mostly unlearned, it could not reveal the true power of its fifth level. Anyone would be depressed at this point.
“Oh, the horror. A bear’s life is fraught with difficulty.”
“Cultivation is a slow path. Don’t be greedy and take one king fist at a time. Train the first to completion then move on to the next.”
“I’ll try.”
“How’s the girl in white?” Li Mo typed.
“Quiet. All she does is read. From the Classic of Mountains and Seas(T/N: compilation of mythic geography and beasts.) to the Spring and Autumn Annals(T/N: 722-481 BC). And now she’s on the Book of Changes(T/N: ancient divination texts, 1000-750 BC).”
“She understands them?”
“How should I know? But that’s all she does every single day. She sometimes smiles, so I believe she does understand something.
“Whitey has been quiet as of late, sighing constantly. Qingyi has got an ID card and can now go out in the world. I’m so jealous. When will I get to change my form as well? Ah, it’s hard being a bear.
“Mite and Millie Snow are ever diligent and attentive. With them around, we don’t have to worry about clothes or food.
“Ye Xiaolu is having a breakdown, wailing all day long.”
Li Mo chuckled.
“Big brother, can you help me find my mom? I’m lost.”
A twin-tailed and cute five-year-old girl stopped before Li Mo. She was so adorable and pure that would stir pity in the coldest of hearts.
The wee lass in checkered clothing was so cute that anyone would want to pat her.
Li Mo looked around, “Where did your mom go?”
“She’s gone, waah~” The girl bawled her eyes out.
“Shh, don’t cry. Let’s find your mom together.”
Li Mo just stood up and the girl stabbed her hand at him.
Li Mo was completely off guard, never believing a five-year-old girl would mount a sneak attack on him.
But Li Mo’s reaction couldn’t be denied as he grabbed her wrist.
The girl was holding a needle flashing an eerie green.
Li Mo’s squinted.
“Help, help, he is picking on me!” The girl wailed. Her acting was first class before and the same now.
Ten people in the train cart jumped at the injustice and started rebuking Li Mo.
“How can a grown man like you pick on a small girl? Have you no shame?”
“Look at him still holding her. He is scum!”
“Being so vile to a little girl. And you call yourself a man?”
“Let go of her, pervert! Right now!”
“He deserves to die!”
They all watched Li Mo like a criminal. The situation was degenerating fast.
The girl showed Li Mo a smug grin of victory, then started wailing harder.
“That’s it!”
The mob was about to pounce Li Mo when his shout shocked everyone. They witnessed how Li Mo hold her still and started raining slaps on her fanny.
“What are you looking at? She is my bratty sister who always likes to mess around. See how I’ll knock some sense into you!”
“Waah~, I’m not. I don’t know him. I don’t know him. Help me!” The girl wailed as her wrist was still in Li Mo’s grip. She was going nowhere.
“What’s going on here?”
The conductor passed through the crowd.
“Nothing really. Will you listen now? Will you behave?”
Li Mo slapped a few times more. The girl was simply vicious to aim for his life. He never saw her in his life, but from her remorseless action, there was no reason to spare her.
“I don’t know him. Save me! Waaah~” The girl shrieked.
‘This kid isn’t normal.’ There was no way an average girl would even have the voice to speak after receiving such tanning. While this one, still tried to get out.
“You, stop with the beating. You, enough crying. Now talk!”
The conductor broke away the ‘siblings’ to get a grasp on who they were.
With Li Mo was easy, since he had a ticket. But that couldn’t be said the same about the girl.
Li Mo said, “It’s normal for one her age to not buy a ticket.”
The conducted asked her, “You say you don’t know him, then who did you go on the train with?”
“I-I…” The girl couldn’t answer.
“You brat, you need to be taught a lesson!”
Li Mo went even further this time, throwing her over his legs, yanked her pants down, and tanned her ass till she resumed wailing.
“Sir, please stop. She was a bit rude, but you can’t use force.”
“Yeah, don’t hurt her. She’s just a child.”
“Look how pitiful she is.”
“Her cheeks are red. Please stop.”
Only when the crowd urged did Li Mo halted.
“I’m not excessive. Try and think back what would happen if I didn’t speak out immediately. Wouldn’t you all be beating me to death by now?”
Li Mo’s words cut them to the quick, making them all lower their heads in shame.
And that was the truth of it. If Li Mo was but one second late, he’d be laying in blood on the floor.
“A brat can’t be spoiled.”
“Uh, I see.”
“But you can’t be too hard on her either. Look at her, she is so listless.”
“Yeah, next time berate her.”
“Forget it. Words won’t work on her.”
“This kid is a scamp. If we had jumped the gun earlier, not only her brother would’ve suffered, but us as well.”
“Let’s stop here. She is after all only a child.”
The girl stopped crying and the crowd dispersed. The conductor also left after giving a few words.
Li Mo held the girl’s hand tight.
“Speak. Who are you and why do you want to kill me?”
Li Mo pinched her nose hard and made her open her eyes.
Li Mo shouted at her knowing she was more than she seemed. Just think, what child in this world carried around a deadly weapon? Even if one did, she’d at least be with her parents on the train, no?
Since she had no identity, slinking away after she killed her target would’ve been so much easier.
The girl glared at him in silence. Her twisted and vicious glare was far sharper than even an adult’s.
“Silent treatment, is it? Sit tight then, I’ll take my time asking you once we get off.”
The girl’s expression cracked.
