Late autumn was about to end. Even Luo Wangshu himself couldn’t believe he had already stayed in this unfamiliar world for more than three months. After helping him make his clothes, Mo Li returned to his routine of leaving early and coming back late. Normally, as winter approached, Mo Li’s headaches would get worse, but strangely, he hadn’t had an attack for several days in a row. Mo Fang was both happy and puzzled about it.
“Where are you going?”
Half-asleep, Luo Wangshu grabbed Mo Li’s sleeve as he got up. The weather was getting colder and colder, and the quilt that had been used for years wasn’t very warm to begin with. It was only because a gust of cold air suddenly rushed in that Luo Wangshu noticed the man getting out of bed.
Mo Li tucked the blanket around him carefully and whispered beside his ear, “I’m going up the mountain to chop some firewood. Winter’s almost here, and we don’t have enough wood at home, not even enough for charcoal. Go back to sleep for a bit.”
Chopping firewood? Luo Wangshu had just been about to nod when he suddenly remembered that he’d said yesterday he wanted to go up the mountain too. Shaking away his sleepiness, he tightened his grip on Mo Li’s sleeve.
“Wait for me. I’m going too.”
Mo Li sighed helplessly. “Fine, but let’s make this clear first. If you can’t walk anymore up there, don’t expect me to carry you back. I need to chop a lot of wood today. It rained a couple days ago, so the paths are still slippery.”
“Got it, got it! Why are you more naggy than an old granny?” Luo Wangshu immediately sat up, dragged on his shoes, and hurriedly put on his outer robe. He’d dug that robe out of Mo Li’s clothing chest last night anyway. Since it was old, it was perfect for wearing into the mountains.
Watching Luo Wangshu quickly tidy himself up, Mo Li smiled. Only after Luo Wangshu opened the door did he realize the brightness outside came from the autumn moon hanging in the sky, while a few lingering stars blinked at him tiredly.
“You seriously want to go out this early?”
Luo Wangshu’s excited expression instantly crumpled like a steamed bun. No phone, no flashlight—was going up the mountain like this even safe?
Mo Li rubbed his head. “Yeah. You should stay behind and sleep more.”
Frowning, Luo Wangshu slapped his hand away and fixed the hair he’d just combed. Stubbornly, he said, “I’m going.” Then he lifted his chin and went to wash up.
Mo Li shrugged indifferently, hoping he wouldn’t start crying later and beg to come back.
Wearing bamboo hats and carrying baskets, Luo Wangshu followed behind Mo Li. The mountain path before dawn was honestly a bit scary—if one person walked it alone. But with two people…
Moonlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground. The sounds of insects and frogs drifted near and far. Setting aside all the frightening thoughts, what remained was only peaceful beauty.
The soil underfoot was damp. Luo Wangshu spotted many fireflies in the grass. They didn’t seem afraid of people at all, leisurely flying about as if guiding the way.
“This is way better than a flashlight…” Luo Wangshu muttered.
“Hm?” Mo Li turned to look at him.
Only then did Luo Wangshu realize he’d spoken aloud. He hurriedly waved his hands. “Nothing, nothing.”
Mo Li’s eyes clearly showed disbelief, but he didn’t say anything and continued walking.
“Mo Li, are we the only ones in these mountains?” Luo Wangshu asked curiously. Along the way, they hadn’t seen a single person.
Mo Li didn’t answer. Instead, he suddenly stopped, took a deep breath, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, “Hey——!”
His voice was full of energy, startling countless birds into flight. Echoes reverberated through the mountains.
Luo Wangshu nearly jumped out of his skin. “What are you doing?”
Mo Li grinned at him like a child. Soon after, distant replies echoed back. Then several more answered, some near, some far away. Mo Li led him toward the direction with fewer voices. Before Luo Wangshu could ask, he proactively explained, “There aren’t many mountains where people are allowed to cut wood. The safer mountains need to be claimed early. Looks like we came too late today, so we’ll head deeper into the mountains.”
Too late?! Luo Wangshu didn’t even know what to say anymore.
“Why can’t people cut wood on some mountains?”
“Because they’re privately owned. Without the owner’s permission, it counts as theft,” Mo Li answered casually.
As he spoke, they walked farther and farther off the path, eventually following nothing more than a rough trail. The dry yellow grass blocking the way had to be cut aside with a sickle.
Luo Wangshu had never been more grateful for being 178 centimeters tall. If someone shorter came here, they’d probably disappear into the grass in seconds. Thankfully, Mo Li cleared the way ahead, making it much easier for Luo Wangshu to walk behind him.
After who knew how long, Mo Li piled up some dry grass to the side and said to Luo Wangshu, “Wife, sit here for a while. You can even nap if you want. If you get hungry, I brought steamed buns and water…”
“Wait!” Luo Wangshu interrupted him suspiciously. “You seriously don’t need me to do anything?”
He might not know how to chop wood, but he could at least learn slowly. Was Mo Li going to work while he just sat there? Then what was the point of him coming? Just changing locations to sleep? Please! He came here to learn how to survive in this world, okay? No matter what, he was still a man!
Mo Li said, “No need. We only have one chopping knife, and I’ll be faster doing it myself. When it’s time to tie up the wood bundles, I’ll call you, alright?”
The moment Luo Wangshu heard there was only one knife, he wilted. So it really was just changing locations to sleep.
“But if you really want something to do, you can use the rake to gather the pine grass on the ground.” As he spoke, Mo Li handed him a tool.
Luo Wangshu happily accepted it. The rake was woven from bamboo strips. It was called a “grabber” because it looked like a hand clawing at something, and it felt surprisingly light in his hand.
“You mean these?” Luo Wangshu pointed at the dark brown dried grass on the ground.
Mo Li glanced at it and nodded. “Just gather them into piles. I’ll handle the rest.”
Rolling up his sleeves, Luo Wangshu waved to show he understood. He set his basket aside and got to work.
Mo Li found a large tree and began chopping off the dead branches below. The two worked separately as the sun slowly rose. In the end, it was Luo Wangshu’s delicate body that gave out first.
Setting down the rake, Luo Wangshu looked proudly at the results of nearly four hours of labor. Wiping away sweat, he drank a huge gulp of water and smiled. See? He wasn’t completely useless after all.
His stomach growled loudly. Licking his dry lips, Luo Wangshu shouted toward wherever Mo Li had wandered off to chop wood.
“Mo Li! Time to eat——!”
“Wife, you eat first. I’m not hungry.”
After a long while, that response finally drifted back. Luo Wangshu didn’t stand on ceremony. He pulled out a steamed bun and took a huge bite. Finally, not another wowotou.
Maybe because he’d actually helped out a little today, this steamed bun tasted especially satisfying.
The sunlight at the end of autumn was the most comfortable kind. The green leaves in the mountains blocked most of the heat, and even the breeze was cool, carrying the faint scent of wet earth after rain.
As Luo Wangshu sat on the pile of grass, his eyes casually swept past a cluster of bushes—and several round umbrella-shaped things caught his attention.
Were those… mushrooms?
Luo Wangshu set down the half-eaten bun and picked up the bamboo basket beside him before walking over. He remembered reading in novels that mushroom soup tasted amazing…
Regardless of whether they’d eventually become chicken mushroom soup or not, those little round shapes were silently tempting him.
Carefully brushing aside the bushes, Luo Wangshu plucked out the small mushrooms one by one and placed them into the basket. An indescribable sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
Huh? There seem to be a lot over there too?
While Luo Wangshu wandered off with his basket, Mo Li remained focused on chopping wood. Thinking Luo Wangshu wouldn’t go too far, he didn’t bother worrying about it.
The sun climbed higher and higher. Looking at the bundles of firewood piling up, Mo Li finally let out a long breath. This should be enough for one trip back.
Speaking of which, his wife should’ve had enough fun by now, right? He could drop him off at home along the way.
Thinking this, Mo Li dragged the bundled firewood back. The pine grass was still there. The rake was still there. The steamed buns and water were still there.
Only the person was gone.
Mo Li frowned and shouted, “Wife——!”
His voice carried far away, echoes rolling through the mountains, but there was no response from Luo Wangshu.
Only then did Mo Li panic slightly.
This mountain connected to Yunfeng Mountain, a forbidden area even the best hunters didn’t dare enter. Could his wife really have wandered that far alone?
Logically speaking, Luo Wangshu wasn’t a child anymore. He should know the seriousness of wandering into deep mountains, right?
Mo Li hesitated between two possibilities—either Luo Wangshu ran off on purpose, or he accidentally wandered into the deeper mountains. In the end, he chose the latter.
After piling the firewood together, he grabbed the buns and water and plunged into the bushes that had been slightly pushed aside by someone passing through.
Meanwhile, Luo Wangshu had simply been gathering mushrooms. As he gradually filled an entire basket, he unknowingly wandered farther and farther away. By the time exhaustion set in and he finally straightened up, all he could see around him were lush green trees.
The trunks everywhere were so large that it would take two or three people to wrap their arms around one. They were nothing like the smaller trees from before.
Luo Wangshu froze.
Was he… lost?
After a brief moment of mental blankness, he calmly hugged the basket and sat beneath a tree. Clearing his throat, he took a deep breath and shouted:
“Moooo Li——!”
The only answer was the cries of startled birds taking flight. His voice echoed through the mountains.
After waiting a while without hearing anything, Luo Wangshu’s eyelid twitched.
No way, right?
Sound traveled quickly, especially in mountains where echoes carried far. If Mo Li still couldn’t hear him after that, how far apart were they?
Luo Wangshu shouted a few more times, but there was still no response. Suppressing the trace of panic in his heart, he comforted himself that Mo Li would definitely come soon. It was best not to wander around randomly, or he might get even more lost.
Out of boredom, he dumped all the different-sized mushrooms from the basket and counted them one by one.
After counting them three times, even the last bit of excitement from finding mushrooms had been worn away by time, yet Mo Li still hadn’t arrived. The sun even seemed to be drifting westward…
Irritated, Luo Wangshu grabbed his hair and smacked his own hand.
Serves you right! Now you’re lost.
Who knew whether Mo Li had even realized he was missing yet? If he hadn’t—or if he thought Luo Wangshu had already gone home—then he was completely doomed.
After sitting long enough for his butt to hurt and still seeing no one arrive, Luo Wangshu finally started wandering around nearby. In a deep forest like this, maybe there’d be wild ginseng or lingzhi mushrooms or something?
Having something to distract himself with made the aimless waiting much less unbearable.
And maybe it really was some kind of protagonist halo unique to transmigrators, because he actually found three large lingzhi mushrooms growing together in an inconspicuous clump of weeds.
Together, they were nearly two-thirds the size of a wooden washbasin.
Luo Wangshu rubbed his eyes hard.
The lingzhi mushrooms were still there.
He carefully picked them as if handling the softest tofu. He didn’t dare stuff them into the already crowded bamboo basket, so after thinking for a moment, he directly stored them in his space.
Such huge lingzhi mushrooms had to be incredibly nourishing. What if he needed them someday?
Just as Luo Wangshu finished putting away the lingzhi and came back out of the space, he heard an urgent shout:
“Wife!”