Little Li Mo did not know that the madman in Shenhe's house was her father. But the moment he saw that middle-aged man, he sensed that something was terribly wrong.
He rushed to the back mountain. Following the madman's mutterings, he searched for a cave. As he searched, he murmured to himself:
"Little Shenhe, wait for me. You have to wait for me. I'm coming."
It was his first time on this mountain. He could not find the cave immediately. He could only keep running, keep searching.
...
While Li Mo searched for the cave and for Shenhe, inside the cave, after a prolonged standoff, Shenhe had lost too much blood. She grew weaker and weaker.
The monster, smelling her blood, grew even more excited, attacking her more frantically. Claws. Fangs. It used every means to attack the little girl.
Under normal circumstances, a single blow from this monster could kill an adult, let alone a child. But little Shenhe was different. The exorcism dagger in her hand was the bane of all monsters. It made the creature cower.
So it could only look for openings, striking Shenhe again and again, worsening her wounds.
After the long ordeal, Shenhe had lost so much blood that she was dizzy. She could barely stand, let alone fight back. She could fall at any moment.
And then, during another attack, Shenhe was too slow to block with her dagger. With a thud, the monster's claws struck her, sending her flying several meters. Her injuries worsened.
Still, Shenhe clutched the exorcism dagger, refusing to give up hope. But she was too weak to stand. She could only turn her head and watch the monster approach step by step.
Was this how it ended? She was so unwilling.
There were so many things Crane hadn't done yet. The clothes her mother had sewn—Crane hadn't even worn them.
Scenes from her past flashed through Shenhe's mind like smoke. Her father, who had abandoned her. Her mother, who had loved her most. The kind old neighbor.
And little Li Mo, who had done commissions with her and helped her time and again.
She remembered Li Mo's words: If you're in trouble, call my name. Call Li Mo's name, and he will come.
Shenhe knew it was just a boast. Even if she called his name, how could he possibly appear?
But as the monster drew closer, and her body was too broken to move, she could no longer fight back.
As her consciousness faded, Shenhe looked at the faint light through the cracks in the cave entrance. She opened her mouth to call Li Mo's name, but her voice would not come.
Then, in her blurry vision, she saw the massive boulder sealing the cave entrance begin to move.
A sliver of sunlight. More sunlight. The boulder moved aside, and light flooded the cave.
And in that blinding light, Shenhe saw a small, familiar figure. Though her vision was blurred, she knew.
The small figure in the sunlight was the hero she had called.
Li Mo.
She wanted to call his name, but the pain, the fading consciousness, the ebbing strength—she nearly blacked out.
She didn't want to die. She wanted to do more commissions with Li Mo, to search for Lady Ganyu in the haystacks on Tianheng Mountain.
But she knew that once she closed her eyes, she might never wake up.
She fought to keep them open, but a heavy drowsiness overtook her. She lost all feeling in her body.
Slowly, little Shenhe closed her eyes, waiting for death.
...
At the cave entrance, little Li Mo, born with extraordinary strength, used all his power to move the boulder aside.
Inside, he saw the terrifying monster. And on the ground, he saw little Shenhe, her eyes closed.
He did not know if she was alive or dead.
Rage surged through him. Though he was just a child, and the monster terrified him, seeing it about to devour Shenhe made him forget his fear.
He charged into the cave, leaped, and kicked the monster's head.
With a crash, his kick actually pushed the monster back. But it also enraged the creature.
Once one of the most powerful monsters in this land, it had been toyed with by two children. Furious, it decided to make them its first meal after breaking the seal to regain its lost power.
It attacked Li Mo directly. Claws. Fangs. It used every weapon it had, without mercy, without underestimating him because he was a child.
Li Mo had to protect the unconscious Shenhe. He had no exorcism dagger. He could only meet the attacks head-on.
Blow after blow landed on his small body.
In moments, he was covered in blood. An ordinary child would have died. But Li Mo did not.
He managed to grab the exorcism dagger from Shenhe's hand. His eyes fixed on the monster, teeth clenched, ready to counterattack.
He could not die. He would use this dagger to kill the monster and carry the dying Shenhe out of the cave.
When the monster attacked again, Li Mo did not just defend. He raised the dagger high and charged.
He swung at the monster's body.
But before this, he had been gravely wounded protecting Shenhe. His speed had suffered. The swing missed.