Chapter 6: The Giant Panda and the Bamboo Shoot

Having a house didn’t just provide shelter from the wind and rain; more importantly, it offered a defense against wild beasts, saving her and Mo Jin from a lot of unnecessary trouble.

She trotted happily over to Mo Jin. “They say there’s a house here! we don’t have to stay outside anymore.”

Mo Jin’s eyelids drooped, and she shifted her gaze away from Lin Mo.

Lin Mo noticed that Mo Jin wasn’t as happy as she had imagined, which left her feeling a tiny bit disappointed.

On the way there, Lin Mo kept silently planning how to arrange the new house. Since it was where she would be living, she had to plan it well.

Once they arrived, she could sweep out a spot for sleeping. If the bed was big enough, Mo Jin could sleep on the outside and she could sleep on the inside. If the bed was small, she’d have to find some wood and pile up more hay mats next to the bed…

But when she arrived in front of the “house” She Qiu had mentioned, she was completely dumbfounded.

The house was a far cry from what she had imagined. Only the exterior vaguely resembled a small wooden cabin—it didn’t even have a roof.

The cabin was surrounded by a wooden fence, but in some places, large trees had grown through it, destroying the structure. Parts of the fence had long since rotted away, looking dilapidated and covered in wood-ear mushrooms.

Wild grass grew everywhere, inside and out. It had clearly been abandoned for a long time.

However, wood-ear mushrooms were food! She could make wood-ear soup, stir-fried wood-ears, or cold wood-ear salad—all very delicious!

A light flashed in Lin Mo’s eyes, and she walked quickly over to pick them.

The mushrooms were soft to the touch and quite large, looking very plump. Lin Mo picked them happily; these would be enough to last her and Mo Jin for three or four days.

Hiss—hiss—

Lin Mo suddenly heard an eerie hissing sound. Her hands didn’t stop picking, and she glanced over casually.

That one glance nearly made her drop the mushrooms in terror.

Less than half a foot away from her, a red snake as thick as a baby’s arm was coiled up. It flicked its tongue, its gaze locked tightly onto her neck. Its mouth was already wide open, revealing cold, venomous fangs.

In the next second, a sharp blade whistled through the air, piercing through the red snake’s mouth and pinning it directly to a tree.

Lin Mo was stunned. Too scared to move, she watched blankly as Mo Jin walked past her and pulled the knife from the snake’s body.

The red snake fell to the ground, red blood flowing from the wound. It didn’t move again.

Without looking up, Mo Jin calmly used the blade to shave off a piece of tree bark and used it to wipe the blood off her knife.

With her exquisite features and slightly pursed red lips, she looked powerful and cool.

Lin Mo screamed internally: Ahhh, this version of Mo Jin is totally Alpha!

She reached out and grabbed the stunned She Qiu, rubbing its little head and forcefully stroking its fur to vent her inner excitement.

The little lynx looked up, nearly losing several strands of fur to Lin Mo’s petting, and roared fiercely: –Awoo!–

Lin Mo softened her touch and pinched the little lynx’s ears. Her eyes remained glued to Mo Jin, and for a moment, she felt too shy to speak.

Mo Jin stopped what she was doing, her brow furrowing slightly as her gaze landed on Lin Mo’s hand. She suddenly found this scene very eyesore.

Lin Mo looked so happy touching another small animal.

Was she not cute enough? Were her ears not round enough?

“Mo Jin,” Lin Mo nervously gripped the edge of her shirt. “Thank you.”

Mo Jin didn’t respond. She walked straight past Lin Mo, not even giving her a single glance. She walked quickly, as if she didn’t intend to give Lin Mo a chance to catch up.

“Mo Jin!”

Lin Mo’s shout quickly came from behind. Mo Jin’s footsteps paused.

Even if Lin Mo cried and begged her to come back now, she wouldn’t return that easily.

“We’re having wood-ear and fish soup for lunch today! Remember to come back early!”

Mo Jin: “…”

Lin Mo watched Mo Jin’s receding figure, lost in thought. Was Mo Jin in a bad mood, or was she intentionally avoiding her?

But why would Mo Jin avoid her? Could it be that Mo Jin had a secret crush on her?

She shook her head. People with crushes shouldn’t act that strange. Or was it that Mo Jin couldn’t control her urge to eat the bamboo shoot on her head but was too embarrassed to say it? After all, making such a request would be very awkward.

Lin Mo had a sudden realization. No wonder Mo Jin was so nice to her yesterday; she wanted to eat her bamboo shoot!

Thinking of this, Lin Mo touched the shoot on her head. It seemed to have grown a bit taller. She wondered if it was enough for one of Mo Jin’s meals.

She had to eat her fill so the bamboo shoot would grow well, then Mo Jin could eat for a longer period of time.

Lin Mo decided to eat a lot at lunch and started by picking all the wood-ear mushrooms.

But before picking them, she had to bury the snake far away, pull up all the weeds, and check the wooden boards of the cabin to see if any were severely rotted. She needed to reinforce it as much as possible so she’d be safer staying inside at night.

After all, she couldn’t rely on Mo Jin to save her every time. Taking basic safety measures would cause Mo Jin less trouble.

And so, starting today, the “Cabin Renovation Project” was officially launched!

Lin Mo pulled weeds with great enthusiasm. She Qiu joined in, and before long, they had cleared all the weeds nearby.

After tidying the cabin, Lin Mo was covered in sweat, but her hard work wasn’t in vain. She had acquired a rusty iron pot, a table with one broken leg, and nearly half a bag of wood-ear mushrooms.

However, there was no small bed like she had hoped for. It looked like she’d be sleeping on hard hay mats again tonight.

But having a house was already very good. She could add other things slowly.

Lin Mo planned to take the iron pot to the stream to wash it, boil a pot of water to drink, catch two fish, and see if there were any spice-like plants along the way to make fish soup for lunch.

Lin Mo nudged She Qiu on the ground. “Let’s go. Let’s head to the stream together.”

A strand of wild grass was still stuck to She Qiu’s fluffy mouth. It flicked its pink tongue and ran ahead of Lin Mo, leading her to the water.

The stream wasn’t far from the cabin. In less than ten minutes, Lin Mo reached the bank. The stream wasn’t wide, only about a meter, but the water was clean and clear, with wild flowers nearby emitting a faint fragrance.

She couldn’t wait to scoop up some water to wash her face, feeling instantly refreshed.

Lin Mo looked up and suddenly spotted a giant panda not far upstream.

The panda was sitting on the grass, its round head turned away from her, revealing two small black ears. It looked exceptionally adorable. On a nearby rock, there were two grass carps that had already been cleaned.

Lin Mo felt a surge of joy. It must be Mo Jin, right?

Changing into a giant panda was just too cute!

She never had the money to go see giant pandas before. Seeing one this close today was just too precious. She really wanted to touch those little ears.

‘Just a quick touch and then I’ll run. Mo Jin probably won’t chase me down and beat me.’

While cheering herself up mentally, Lin Mo slowly approached Mo Jin.

Seeing no reaction from Mo Jin, Lin Mo quietly reached out and gently touched the fluffy ears of the giant panda.

She didn’t get hit?

Then she’d try touching them again.

Ah, so cute! They were so soft. She finally got to touch a national treasure. Even if Mo Jin beat her to death, it would be worth it!

In a fit of excitement, Lin Mo hugged the giant panda from behind.

Leaning against the panda’s broad back, Lin Mo was immensely satisfied. The panda was fragrant and soft, like hugging a fluffy cloud. She was so happy she could cry.

“You’re so cute!” Lin Mo said like a total fangirl.

The panda’s body stiffened, and it slowly turned its head.

Its black pupils were as bright as obsidian, gazing at Lin Mo gloomily.

Lin Mo only thought it looked honest and cute, and she even wanted to pat its head.

Suddenly, a paw landed on Lin Mo’s head. The force wasn’t heavy, but it truly dazed her.

As she stood there stunned, she saw one of the panda’s paws push her away.

“Go away,” Mo Jin’s voice was cold.

This fickle, disloyal “Stinky Bamboo” who goes around touching and hugging any fluffy animal she sees.

Lin Mo was a bit confused and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mo Jin angrily turned her body to the other side, leaving Lin Mo with nothing but a cold back. “I’m not letting you hug me.”

Such a cute panda and she won’t let me hug? How mean!

Lin Mo moved over to sit side-by-side with Mo Jin, a smile on her face as she tried to coax her. “How about I just touch your paws?”

Mo Jin turned her head the other way. “No.”

Lin Mo moved closer again. “Then can I touch your ears?”

Mo Jin stood up. An adult giant panda is quite large, making Lin Mo look very small in front of her.

Lin Mo looked up, wanting to keep asking, when she was suddenly pulled into the giant panda’s arms.

“Don’t move.”

Lin Mo held her breath and stopped struggling.

The panda’s breath fanned over her face, its black pupils intensely focused. Its wet nose approached her forehead, leaving a warm mark that made Lin Mo’s heart soften.

The nose slowly moved upward, the movement very light, making Lin Mo feel a bit flushed.

The bamboo shoot on her head seemed to sense the restlessness inside her body and suddenly shot up quite a bit higher.

She suddenly remembered that Mo Jin liked to eat bamboo shoots. Would she eat her shoot right now?

If Mo Jin got addicted to eating it and nibbled her skin bare, what would she do?

Nervous, Lin Mo raised her hand to protect the shoot on her head, but she unexpectedly touched Mo Jin’s paw.

The fur on the paw was slightly coarser than the fur on the back, but it was still very soft, and the pads felt like sandpaper.

After she touched it twice, Mo Jin wrapped Lin Mo’s hand inside her own paw.

The temperature of the palm was very high, and a layer of sweat soon broke out on Lin Mo’s palm.

She looked up and saw Mo Jin, who had already transformed back into human form. She was leaning over slightly, her nose touching the bamboo leaves on Lin Mo’s head. After a deep sniff, her gaze became a bit blurred.

As if sensing Lin Mo watching her, those blurred, intoxicated eyes quickly regained focus, turning into a layer of frost.

Mo Jin pushed Lin Mo away with one hand, her red lips parting as she let out a slightly restrained breath: “Don’t move. Nowhere is allowed.”