Cave Treasure Hunt

In the silent forest, a large group moved quietly. Vigilant eyes constantly swept the dark spaces among the surrounding trees, hands tightly gripping the weapons at their waists, ready to deal with any sudden situation.

As a battle-hardened mercenary, Mu Li kept watch over the surroundings at all times. If he discovered anything, he would be the first to ensure everyone's safety.

Of course, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group could not make a move against the Myriad Medicine Pavilion for now, but that did not mean they could not target the others. Given the chance, they naturally did not want these people leaving the Monster Mountain Range alive.

Xiao Yi Xian looked around. When she spotted what she wanted, she hurried beneath a tree. She unceremoniously plucked the medicinal herb growing there, wiped the dirt from it, and placed it in the medicine basket she carried.

"Earth Crystal Fruit. Ground into medicinal powder, it can stop bleeding and disperse bruising. It's quite suitable for physicians like you."

"You know about it too?" Xiao Yi Xian chuckled. "Why don't you study medicine with me? In the future, we can open a clinic in Qingshan Town, heal the sick and save the dying. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"I'm not particularly interested in becoming a physician. Besides, physicians have limited strength. At most, they can treat people below the Da Dou Shi level."

"Then have you never considered becoming an alchemist?"

Xiao Yi Xian gave a bitter smile. As a physician, she naturally wanted to become an outstanding alchemist as well. However, because of her body, any pills she refined would inevitably be filled with deadly poison, harming others and herself alike.

She might as well honestly become a qualified physician and heal the sick and save the dying.

Lin Che smiled softly. Still, this was fine too.

The Dou Qi Continent had always been a place where the weak were prey to the strong. Though Qingshan Town was not as exciting as the outside world, it was peaceful and free from conflict, a place where one could live out a stable life.

Xiao Yi Xian stayed close to Lin Che at all times. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's young leader, Mu Li, had a terrible reputation, and in a place surrounded by tigers and wolves, she needed someone capable of protecting her.

Otherwise, Mu Li would never let such a good opportunity pass.

Xiao Yi Xian was clever and shrewd. She could naturally tell that Lin Che was no ordinary person, especially from his clothes. He had to be a disciple of some great clan. Relying on Lin Che for protection was therefore a wise choice.

After an unknown amount of time passed, Mu Li, the young leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, decided to rest here for a while.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yi Xian quietly slipped away from the group and began feeling her way toward the mountain, as though searching for marks she had left behind long ago.

Lin Che glanced at the departing Xiao Yi Xian and knew where the girl wanted to go. It seemed she could no longer wait to explore the cave.

With a flicker of light and shadow, Lin Che vanished from where he stood, as though he had never been there at all.

Within the quiet mountain forest, Xiao Yi Xian searched for medicinal herbs as she made her way toward a distant mountaintop. At the same time, she watched behind her from the corner of her eye. Whenever someone passed by, she pretended to be gathering herbs.

Only after that person had left would Xiao Yi Xian continue onward.

Xiao Yi Xian set her medicine basket beneath a large tree some distance away, then came to the cliff's edge. She selected a fairly sturdy vine, tied it around her waist, and carefully lowered herself down.

Lin Che had already arrived. Watching Xiao Yi Xian descend, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Between the steep cliff walls, the rocky surface was covered with broken stones, strangely twisted trees growing at random, and some bone-like objects.

Lin Che sniffed the lingering scent in the air and murmured, "It really is here. It seems the Fragment of the Netherworld Flame Map is inside this cave dwelling."

What interested him was not the Flying Dou Skill inside, nor those precious crystal stones. Other than the Fragment of the Netherworld Flame Map, nothing else was of any use to him.

After waiting for a while, rustling sounds rose from beneath the cliff. Then, a pair of slender jade hands broke the stillness.

Xiao Yi Xian poked her head out. When she saw Lin Che standing before her, her delicate face suddenly flushed red.

"Um... can you give me a hand?"

Xiao Yi Xian was the first to break the awkward silence, her voice soft and gentle.

Lin Che grasped Xiao Yi Xian's wrist and pulled lightly. She leaped up from below the cliff, her graceful body tracing a beautiful arc through the air before landing nimbly atop the mountain.

Xiao Yi Xian brushed the dust from her clothes and said somewhat deliberately, "I came here to gather herbs. Some medicinal herbs grow on rocky cliff faces, but unfortunately, there's nothing here."

Lin Che smiled. "Is that so? Then I'll go down and take a look."

Xiao Yi Xian immediately panicked upon hearing this. She quickly grabbed Lin Che's wrist. "You'd better not go down. It's very high here."

Lin Che ignored Xiao Yi Xian's warning and instead strode toward the cliff edge. Just as he was about to descend, he sensed a cloud of silvery-white powder drifting toward him from behind.

Xiao Yi Xian patted the remaining dust from her palms, bit her red lips with pearly teeth, and sighed. "I told you to leave, but you refused to listen. Now you're suffering for it, aren't you?"

Yet after waiting for some time, she did not see Lin Che faint. Xiao Yi Xian could not help feeling a trace of surprise. She walked over curiously, only to discover that the powder she had scattered earlier had completely dispersed.

"Ah..."

Xiao Yi Xian took half a step back, her expression frozen. "You're actually fine."

"It might be somewhat useful against a Dou Zhe, but it's useless against me." Lin Che flexed his fingers slightly, and Xiao Yi Xian immediately felt as though some force had wrapped around her body, leaving her unable to move.

Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face turned pale. Putting on a pitiful expression, she said, "Senior, I didn't do it on purpose... I was only helping you drive away mosquitoes. There are lots of insects in the Monster Mountain Range. Your skin is so delicate—I didn't want you getting bitten."

Lin Che shook his head. This girl truly was calculating. He grabbed her by the collar and jumped straight down from the cliff.

As they plummeted at high speed, Xiao Yi Xian shut her eyes in terror and let out a piercing scream. "Ah... We're going to die... We're going to die..."

"Stop yelling. You're still alive." Lin Che placed Xiao Yi Xian from his arms onto a protruding rock and surveyed the surroundings.

Xiao Yi Xian cautiously opened her eyes. Once she saw that she was still alive, her pounding heart finally settled, though she remained deeply unsettled by what had just happened.

"Do you know how dangerous that was? If anything had gone wrong, we would both have fallen to our deaths here."

A faint scraping sound echoed across the steep rock wall.

Both their gazes settled on the enormous python coiled upon the rocks.

"A Rock Snake?! What do we do?" Xiao Yi Xian's delicate body trembled as she hurriedly asked. She had heard of this magical beast before.