Chapter 234 Lizard 4
Yu Mo's lips curled up briefly before quickly returning to her expressionless demeanor. Trapped on a deserted island with an uncertain future, she couldn't truly feel happy no matter what.
Min Xi, standing next to her, was infected by her fleeting smile. He imitated her and twisted his lips, then suddenly realized his fangs were exposed. He covered his mouth in an attempt to hide his fangs, then curled up and squatted beside her.
Yu Mo thought he might have a speech impediment. Physical fitness was crucial for survival on a deserted island. Although he looked strong and robust, crouching beside her like a silent mountain, he must have stood over two meters tall. But with his somewhat slow and naive appearance, he probably wouldn't be valued by the leader...
Thinking about how he was abandoned by his tribe because of his disability and lived alone in the mountains, his high guard was reduced.
While sorting the bamboo poles, Yu Mo quietly observed Min Xi. He was dressed in Western-style clothing, his hands covered in gloves, but he was shoeless. Despite the dim light, Yu Mo still noticed his unusually large feet, with thick, sharp hook-shaped toes.
She wasn't terribly surprised, nor did she think much about it. Yu Mo had seen people like Min Xi in villages deep in the mountains. They often hunted for food, so their broad feet and palms, along with their sharp nails, helped them climb trees and even sometimes wrestle with prey. Their sharp nails helped them fight wild beasts.
Although Min Xi's feet were frighteningly broad and thick, and his toes were so sharp that they seemed capable of ripping her apart, Yu Mo still did not consider him inhuman. She just thought that he might have been abandoned at a very young age and developed this savage-like body while living alone on a deserted island.
The bamboo pole had been uprooted. He was surprisingly strong. Thinking of the strangely severed tail found in the bamboo forest, Yu Mo warned, "There seem to be wild animals in the bamboo forest. Have you encountered any?"
When Yu Mo spoke, Min Xi kept staring at her mouth, watching her upper lip touch her lower lip, without any reaction. Yu Mo repeated it, and Min Xi seemed to understand. His expression became blank, and his throat made a gurgling sound, as if he was confused.
Yu Mo said, "The bamboo forest is dangerous, don't go there anymore."
She was just reminding him, and whether he obeyed or not was his problem. Yu Mo stopped talking and took out her sickle to continue cutting the bamboo. However, both the sickle and the saber at her waist, which could cut through iron like mud, only left a mark on the surface of the bamboo.
When Yu Mo was thinking of a solution, Min Xi suddenly snatched the bamboo from her hand and turned his back to her. Yu Mo saw him take off his white gloves, then scratched the surface of the bamboo with his fingers twice, and the bamboo that was bothering her was easily broken into two halves by Min Xi.
If the backpack was still with her, Yu Mo would definitely take out some food to thank him, but Yu Mo had nothing to give him at the moment, so she could only shamelessly accept Min Xi's help.
Min Xi cut the bamboo according to Yu Mo's instructions. Although his palms were visible to Yu Mo, he still turned his back to her. Yu Mo could only pretend not to see it. She picked up a wooden stick and drew a picture of a bamboo raft on the ground based on her memory.
The bamboo raft she wanted to build was undoubtedly time-consuming and labor-intensive. Simple fences surrounded the raft, and the movement was controlled by hand-cranked bamboo poles on either side. This saved time and effort when entering the sea, but the downside was that it required considerable physical effort. With Min Xi's help, Yu Mo felt this wasn't a problem.
Min Xi also brought the ropes used to bind the bamboo poles. The vines wrapped into the ropes were soft and strong, so Min Xi tied the bottom of the bamboo raft himself. Yu Mo noticed the muscles in his arms flexing, and his obviously ill-fitting suit finally broke apart, revealing his muscular arms, tanned to a honey-colored hue by the sun.
She looked away. Naturally, she didn't notice the scales bulging from the tight fabric. The brown scales covered his upper arms so densely that they looked like sunburned skin without a closer look. But in fact, it wasn't skin at all.
"Drink some water." Unsure of what would happen tomorrow, Yu Mo wanted to finish building the raft tonight. But she couldn't repay Min Xi for his help, and she kept him awake until midnight. Feeling bad, she could only go inside and pour him a glass of water.
The bamboo raft was quickly completed. Yu Mo hid it in the grass near the sea. She needed to use her time on the island to store some food, or find a way to retrieve her backpack. Inside were compressed biscuits and bread, which she noticed were right next to the stone pot. Perhaps because the food wasn't very good, the islanders didn't eat much of it.
Just as she was about to lie down for sleep, there was a knock on the door. Her first instinct was to jump out the window and escape, but then she realized that if anyone else on the island had knocked, the knock would have been deafening, but Min Xi's knock was very gentle, as if he didn't want to disturb her. He knocked twice, paused, knocked twice more, paused, and then stopped.
Yu Mo sat up from the bed, just in time to meet the face that was sticking out of the window. There was no glass on the island, and Min Xi's head was sticking directly through the glass. Yu Mo held back the curse words in her heart, calmed her heartbeat, and then she noticed Min Xi's eyes again.
Their pupils were round and clear, like the dense, vibrant forests of a deserted island, lush and verdant, their emerald green like a rare gem. Yet, the surroundings were shrouded in blood-red impurities and rust, faintly revealing the bloodthirsty simplicity of a beast. No matter how innocent their eyes seemed, their ferocity in the hunt was enough to shatter the heart and tremble.
"Minxi...minxi." Min Xi's head was stuck in the window. He was not in a hurry to get his head out, but stared straight at Yu Mo, repeating the two sounds of minxi in his mouth.
Yu Mo didn't understand what Min Xi meant at first, but later she saw him put his arm in the window. His hand, which looked particularly large in the white gloves, pointed at her, and his eyes revealed a strong desire for knowledge.
Yu Mo understood what he meant. In fact, when they were making the bamboo raft together, Yu Mo tried to talk to him, but he was a slow learner, making gurgling sounds from his throat from time to time. Yu Mo guessed that this was a way of communication he had learned from some wild animal after living away from the group for a long time.
Yu Mo pointed at herself and said, "Yu Mo."
Unexpectedly, he learned quickly, his voice, which seemed sharpened by rough stone, uttered clear words: "yumo!"
Yu Mo had grown accustomed to his occasional childish and irrational behavior. But she hadn't anticipated the moment, as they stared into each other's eyes for about five minutes, she keenly noticed the hesitation in Min Xi's eyes gradually fading as they met. She had a bad feeling, and then there was a "crackling" sound from the window, like bones breaking. Min Xi had already slipped through.
He seemed to be aware of Yu Mo's shock, and the first thing he did after entering the house was to curl up on the ground. To call him curled up wasn't quite right, it was more like he was lying down, with his limbs pressed against the ground and his back slightly arched. This was more like the posture of someone about to attack. But the next moment, he was lying flat on the ground, flipping over, facing up, his copper-green eyes fixed on Yu Mo intently.
His action is more like a show of goodwill between animals. The belly is the softest and most vulnerable part of an animal. If an animal exposes its belly, it means it is showing weakness or trusting the other party and trying to please the other party.
Yu Mo didn't think Min Xi was showing weakness. After all, even crouching on the ground, he looked like a ferocious beast, and she was a lamb to be slaughtered. Although she didn't think she was someone who would wait for death, she couldn't deny Min Xi's toughness.
Is that a gesture of goodwill?
She ignored Min Xi, who was lying on his back. Perhaps because he didn't wait for Yu Mo's reaction, Min Xi turned over and lay on the ground again. He remained on the ground for two or three seconds, then squatted up again. He looked at her innocently and pitifully, and uttered a hoarse word in his throat: "Yumo!"
Then Yu Mo understood why he suddenly climbed through the window. He pointed in the direction of the bamboo forest and kept repeating the word "danger". He meant that Yu Mo had said there were wild animals there and it was dangerous. He took this as an invitation, an invitation for him to enter her territory. Yu Mo was at a loss for words and asked him, "Do you understand?"
Min Xi nodded. But after that, most of the questions Yu Mo asked him were ones he didn't understand. Whenever Yu Mo said a long sentence, he would stare at her with his confused eyes, staring at her lips, which made Yu Mo very uncomfortable.
Yu Mo concluded that Min Xi could only understand simple sentences. If she had enough time, she would be happy to teach him to speak, but at the moment she was struggling to take care of herself and had no interest in doing so.
Because of his contributions to the bamboo boat, Yu Mo didn't kick him out. The price she paid was a poor sleep. She wasn't used to strangers around, especially those with cognitive behavioral disorders. She kept her knife in her hand the entire time. When she opened her eyes, the sky outside the window was bright, and she was glad she hadn't used the knife the night before.
But then she was stunned by the scene before her! The empty wooden house was now adorned with colorful flowers, hanging from vines and dangling before her eyes. The fragrance was rich. She lifted her coat, and the flowers fell to the ground, petals covering her hair and clothes.
She knew who had done it. But she hadn't expected Min Xi to be hanging from the beam. A man dressed in the attire of a 20th-century Western aristocrat, clinging to the wall of the bamboo house in a strange position. His arms, thighs, and even his back were cracked to varying degrees, his honey-colored skin faintly visible through the cracks. Yu Mo stared at the slightly strange color, but before she could see clearly, Min Xi leaped from the wall.
Yu Mo was frightened by him and screamed.
"What are you doing up there?"
Min Xi tilted his head, seemingly not understanding what she meant. If it were important, Yu Mo would have repeated it several times until he understood. But she only said it once, proving it wasn't a big deal. Min Xi ignored the words and held the flowers in front of Yu Mo. The petals of the vibrantly blooming flowers were condensed with morning dew, and the vibrantly colored blossoms were huddled together. Yu Mo could see the emerald eyes obscured by the flowers.
Yu Mo didn't understand his behavior. She pushed the flowers that were held in front of her away. Breakfast consisted of sweet potatoes she had dug up from behind the cabin. They must have been grown by the owner, Minxi. If it weren't for these sweet potatoes, she might have had to consider catching mice to eat.
She shared the cooked sweet potatoes with Min Xi, but Min Xi didn't take any. He curled up beside the bed, holding the flowers. This time, he really curled up, his broad shoulders hunched, his two strong arms drooping to the ground.
The falling petals perfectly resembled his expression at that moment. He felt the same emotions he had felt a few days ago. He watched helplessly as she handed away the fish he had caught with her own hands. The fish, stained with her scent, was swallowed by someone else. He resisted the urge to rush over and rip it open.
Then, she rejected him again.
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