Although Fang Nan had given a rough location, it had been many years, and even Fang Nan's memory was not very clear. Although Fang Nan was supposed to accompany him to search, Ye Mo knew it might take many days to find the place. Moreover, since the Thirteen Tigers had just been wiped out and the interests in Liushe needed to be redistributed, Fang Nan had many matters to attend to. So Ye Mo didn't bring him along; besides, he thought he might be quicker searching alone in the jungle.
Ye Mo had been searching in the boundless jungle for three days but still hadn't found the burial site of the lama Fang Nan mentioned. Instead, he encountered danger many times—once a wild leopard, over twenty encounters with various venomous snakes, and twice with wild wolves.
The key clue Fang Nan gave was about two evergreen trees. After several days, Ye Mo hadn't even seen one such tree, let alone two.
But patience was not something Ye Mo lacked. Though deep in the jungle already, on the fourth day he decided to push further inside and keep searching. Before going deeper, he needed to fill his stomach.
While roasting a wild rabbit, Ye Mo reviewed the areas he had already searched. Suddenly, a few crisp gunshots interrupted his thoughts. Just as he looked up, a rugged man in his thirties staggered toward him, clutching a triangular military dagger.
The man was covered with wounds, his clothes torn and tattered. But to Ye Mo, the gravest wound was a gunshot to the waist. Though the bullet grazed the edge, blood had already soaked his ruined clothes.
The man noticed Ye Mo at the same time Ye Mo saw him. He froze for a moment—he hadn't expected anyone to be calmly roasting rabbit in this wild, primeval forest. Even while on the run, his hungry stomach gave a low growl.
Ye Mo immediately sensed a familiar aura from this wounded man—the aura of cultivation and killing intent was similar to that of Wang Xu, whom he had met at Su Jingwen's birthday party.
They were allies. Ye Mo quickly concluded that this man in his thirties was working with Wang Xu, though he didn't know who was chasing him so desperately. Just as Ye Mo thought of Wang Xu, hurried footsteps sounded again behind them, and three men carrying guns appeared before Ye Mo.
The heavily injured man cast Ye Mo an apologetic look but said nothing.
Seeing that the wounded man did not flee, the three gunmen stopped and looked at Ye Mo with surprise. After all, leisurely roasting rabbit in such a dangerous jungle was not something anyone could do. Even if someone wanted to cook, they would pick a secluded spot—not a place with no cover in any direction.
All five stood silently; the atmosphere became tense and stagnant, broken only by the sound of Ye Mo turning the rabbit and the smell of roasting meat.
The three exchanged glances and nodded. The man with a darker complexion spoke, "Friend, this place has nothing to do with you. Please step aside—we only want to catch the man who just escaped."
His accent was strange, and Ye Mo stared at him puzzled, about to retort, "This isn't your place, why should I step aside?" But suddenly, another man raised his gun and aimed at Ye Mo.
Before he could pull the trigger, a few barely audible whooshing sounds interrupted him. All three men simultaneously clutched their foreheads as blood gushed out. Their eyes widened in disbelief as they stared at Ye Mo, then collapsed—no more than a single breath apart.
Ye Mo disliked killing, but he never spared anyone who threatened his life. The iron nails in his hand were to prevent anyone from aiming a gun at him again.
The badly wounded man's eyes widened, unable to believe that the three men who had chased him for so long were so easily killed by this guy roasting rabbit. No wonder he dared to relax here—he must be an extraordinary person.
"The rabbit's done. Have some," Ye Mo said with a faint smile to the silent man. He had a good impression of him, and since the man was probably connected to Wang Xu, offering food was no problem.
"Ah, thank you! I'm Guo Qi. Thanks for saving my life just now," Guo Qi said, cupping his fists, his expression calming.
Ye Mo waved it off with a smile, "No need to thank me. Meeting you is fate. I'm Ye Mo."
He tore half the rabbit off and took a few herbs from his backpack, crushing them into powder and sprinkling them on the meat. Guo Qi watched, a little puzzled—this didn't look very hygienic.
When finished, Ye Mo did not immediately give Guo Qi the rabbit but said, "Come here, let me check your wound."
Seeing Ye Mo's actions, Guo Qi realized he was preparing herbal medicine to treat his injury and quickly stepped forward.
Ye Mo raised his palm and struck the opposite side of Guo Qi's gunshot wound. A bullet shot out like a meteor and landed far away.
Guo Qi didn't feel pain—he simply found the bullet removed from his waist. He was amazed; he'd never met anyone who could extract a bullet so easily.
Ignoring Guo Qi's astonishment, Ye Mo handed over the half rabbit and two herbs, saying, "Chew the herbs and apply them to the bullet wound. Then eat this rabbit—you should be fine."
Ye Mo then ignored Guo Qi and resumed eating the other half of the rabbit.
To Guo Qi's delight, his wound not only stopped hurting but also felt cool and refreshing. What kind of herb had such an effect? Ye Mo's image became mysterious in Guo Qi's eyes—gratitude mixed with awe.
In this perilous primeval jungle, Ye Mo leisurely roasted rabbit and could effortlessly heal a gunshot wound and remove bullets with a single palm.
With such ability, and having killed the South Ghost special forces without batting an eye, Ye Mo was surely not Vietnamese.
Could he ask Ye Mo for help?
Guo Qi thought this through and said immediately, "Those three men were Vietnamese devils. Our squad was ambushed by them during a mission. Only I escaped here. Two teammates died, and three are trapped in a cave. I want to break through and find help."
Ye Mo frowned but said nothing. He understood Guo Qi's meaning but wasn't a soldier. And he looked down on a squad beaten up by a few South Ghosts.
Though unwilling to help, Ye Mo disliked those Vietnamese devils—he was ambushed by them upon arriving at Liushe and had killed them all in the end. He hated the Vietnamese.
"I want to help, but I have my own business—I'm here searching for something," Ye Mo stood up, preparing to leave. He barely knew Guo Qi and had already saved him once. Helping as a favor was one thing, but making a special trip was a hassle.