The lion demon opened its mouth wide, revealing its terrifying jagged teeth as it bit towards the villager. Keeping aside its offensive power, just the strength in its jaws could allow it to bite off a huge tree, let alone a person's neck. That person screamed in fear.
Whoosh!
A stone whizzed out of the crowd at a terrible speed, and just like a bullet, it accurately hit the lion demon's head, piercing inside without any obstruction.
The lion demon suddenly twisted its head in pain due to the attack, followed by a roar as its body dropped down from mid-air then slid out a few meters due to the inertial force.
It dropped dead!
"What kind of monster is this?"
The villagers looked at the lion demon on the ground with fear. Its body slowly turned into black smoke, dissipating quite quickly and within half-breath, only its body's outline remained before it completely vanished.
"This is…"
The villagers all looked at each other in shock.
"A monster?"
An old man said, "It's possible. I heard that whenever a calamity happens, there are monsters creating trouble. This should be a monster. Was it killed by the bullet? I can see a hole in its head."
The hunter was stupefied. He had indeed fired the gun, but it was before the lion demon had pounced out.
Of course, the bullet hadn't killed it, it was Jiang Xiu who acted.
At this moment, Jiang Xiu was also feeling astonished about where this monster had come from. He wondered whether it had left the mountain due to the earthquake. This place was close to the mountains, and there were often unknown organisms such as mountain demons inside the mountains which had unique appearances that looked like a beast or a demon and were thus collectively known as monsters.
Mountain demons had a corporeal body while the lion demons didn't. They were part of the demon category who were afraid of sunshine.
"It really scared me."
This matter spread across the entire village. That a monster had appeared and got killed by a hunter. Since they couldn't do anything about the earthquake and as it had already passed, the villagers bragged about the matter with spittle splashing and ran their mouth like a torrent. This was one quirk of Chinese people, they were the first to run over and wherever the crowds went.
Jiang Xiu saw the store's boss, a woman called Aunt Cui there, "Lady boss, is the phone at your place still working?"
Aunt Cui replied, "It's working, go there and use it."
She didn't mind it as they were in the same village. Usually, she kept her store's door open, but no one stole anything.
Jiang Xiu came to the store then called Nangong Kou'er's number. This time, she picked up the call faster and immediately snarled at him, "You still have the face to call me? I almost got killed because of you."
"Aren't you still alive?"
"Bastard, you even have the nerve to speak sarcastically. Do you know a terrible earthquake hit Ha City yesterday? I almost lost my life. If it weren't for you, would I have come to Ha City? Would I have run into an earthquake?"
Jiang Xiu laughed, "It was exciting, right?"
After hearing her curse so much, he guessed she was fine.
Nangong Kou'er was genuinely infuriated by this guy's heartlessness. "I was the one who looked for trouble. Jiang Xiu, I can't come to find you. Think of some means yourself, okay?"
"Don't lie…"
Jiang Xiu said, "Ha City is completely paralyzed right now, so it's impossible to return to the Imperial Capital. You can only go north out of Ha City, and although there's a path to return from there, you'll have to pass through my side."
"I'll treat you to a bowl of bloated noodles at most."
Although Nangong Kou'er had said those words in a moment of anger, in fact, she was already on the road going towards the north and on the way towards Jiang Xiu's location on a jeep she rented at a small town.
"You want to dupe me into acting just for a single bowl of bloated noodles? Do you think I'm a little girl who is inexperienced with the ways of the world?"
"Two bowls then!"
"Jiang Xiu, you're really something. I came to this remote place from the Imperial Capital and even experienced an earthquake mid-way, and all I get for this is bloated noodles?"
"An extra egg as well!"
"Shut up!"
As Nangong Kou'er traveled north, she saw ambulances whistling on the roadside. Planes were flying across the skies towards Ha City. After asking directions from people, she finally reached Qinghe Town.
It was already noon now, and she had begun her journey in the morning. She was quite tired, so she stopped at the town to eat something then asked directions once again. The village Jiang Xiu was in was 1-2 hours away.
Before setting out, she purchased some medicine for the villagers who had helped Jiang Xiu. She wasn't doing this for Jiang Xiu, it was just that as the girl was born of a prestigious house, so she knew how the world worked.
When the car entered the village, it drew the gazes of everyone. She got down the car and came to the store. "Excuse me, is there someone called Jiang Xiu here…"
Aunt Cui was astonished by Nangong Kou'er's appearance, "He's here. You people from the Imperial Capital look quite pretty. That young man was handsome, and you look like a fairy as well."
I can accept it if you praise that I'm pretty, but that guy is just so-so, right? But she held these thoughts back and thanked her. "Where is he?"
"I'll take you there!"
Although the earthquake hadn't affected this place much, many old houses had collapsed, and the villagers were currently repairing them. They had got together and cooked up a big rice pan for everyone. Jiang Xiu had also gathered there to eat.
From a distance, Nangong Kou'er saw a man donned in a fashionable British windbreaker inside the crowd. He indeed looked out of the ordinary. She felt an indescribable feeling when she saw him. "Jiang Xiu!"
Jiang Xiu turned back to look who it was and welcomed her excitedly after seeing it was Young Lady Nangong. She wore a black fur coat which was tied at the waist with a similar colored belt and emphasized her waist's slimness. Her black boots seemed to bring out her leg's slenderness while her pretty face was hidden under the scarf of alternating white and red colors. She looked just like a lily enduring the colds winds. At the moment she appeared in this shabby place, the entire village seemed to brighten up and look like beautiful scenery.
Nangong Kou'er went over with an angry look on her face. Her pace carried a rhythm to itself as she walked over towards him yet he only kept gazing her. She couldn't help but glare at him, "Why are you looking at me so much? It's not like you haven't seen me before."
"I've seen you without clothes before, but this time…"
There were so many people in the surroundings, but this guy really dared to say it out. Nangong Kou'er's face blushed immediately. She was really infuriated and thought she shouldn't have acted softheartedly and come here to help him. "Bah! A filthy mouth like yours indeed can't say anything decent."
Young Lady Nangong also began to counterattack bluntly.
However, the Jiang Xiu before her indeed gave her a dazzling feel. Jiang Xiu was still the same Jiang Xiu, it was just that his face was so pretty that it made others gasp in amazement, just like the face of those legendary gods from the myths, it was a perfect face void of any blemishes.
Was this guy so handsome?
How come I didn't notice it before?!
"Jiang Xiu, is she your girlfriend?" the uncle came over and asked.
Nangong Kou'er rushed to explain, "Uncle, you're mistaken. We're just common friends. No, we're not even friends."
The uncle laughed. If you aren't even a friend, would you come here to pick him up?
"Uncle, these things are for you…"
They are medicine and weren't that expensive, so the uncle accepted them gladly. He didn't ask for anything when he saved Jiang Xiu, but since the other party wanted to repay him, he couldn't refuse as well.
"There's also this 10,000 RMB to thank you for…"
However, the couple refused it.
"Aunt, make two bowls of bloated noodles and add an extra egg in each…" Before Jiang Xiu could even finish speaking, Nangong Kou'er kicked him. This guy was really doing what he said.
"I'll prepare it for you!"
Nangong Kou'er had eaten something just a while ago, but the weather was pretty cold, and she felt hungry again, so she followed behind Jiang Xiu to the couple's home.
The uncle and aunt narrated the events of them saving Jiang Xiu from the river. Nangong Kou'er's eyes grew wide open after hearing this. She hadn't known about it till now.
It grew dark fast in winter, and since Ha City was paralyzed, the couple persuaded Nangong Kou'er to be their guest today.
It was all fine in the beginning, but the problem came when the time to sleep arrived.
The couple's home had two rooms, and since they believed that Jiang Xiu and Nangong Kou'er were a couple, they arranged the same room for both of them, leaving behind both of them with eyes wide open.
Nangong Kou'er turned vigilant, "Sleep on the ground!"
"Do you want me to freeze to death?!" Jiang Xiu retorted.
He occupied the left portion of the heatable brick bed.
Nangong Kou'er felt wronged. How can you act so shamelessly and think of taking advantage? But it was quite cold, and it really wasn't justified to make him sleep on the ground. The brick bed was warm as it retained the heat and she saw that it was huge enough for two people to sleep on it without any problem.
It'll be fine! She thought.