Peril in the Cave

Xiao Jin stepped up to the first stone box, gently inserted the key into the hole, and turned it lightly. With a click, the sound confirmed that the key was correct. Xiao Jin quickly retreated a safe distance, then flicked his hand and sent a strand of Dou Qi flying toward the stone box's lid. With a snap, the lid opened. Inside lay a seven-colored scroll. Seeing that nothing had happened, Xiao Jin and Xiao Yi Xian both let out a sigh of relief.

Xiao Jin stepped forward and took out the scroll to examine it. Four large words entered his sight: Seven-Colored Poison Scripture. He instantly lost interest and tossed the scroll to Xiao Yi Xian. "Here, I don't dabble in poison." Xiao Yi Xian caught the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture and began reading it. Its contents filled her with delight. Methods for refining all kinds of deadly poisons and their antidotes appeared before her eyes. As she read further, the descriptions of poisonous herbs and venomous beasts absorbed her completely.

"Hey, can't you read that after we get out?" Xiao Jin's words snapped Xiao Yi Xian back to her senses. Watching him move forward to open the next stone box, she took a few steps back. She understood Xiao Jin's caution. Some Strongman's Cave Mansions were like this. There would be no danger when one first entered the cave mansion. But once those who found it relaxed their guard, believing there was no danger inside, the threat would often lie within the final treasure. Many people who found cave mansions had gone from joy to tragedy, sleeping forever within them alongside their owners.

Using the same method, Xiao Jin opened the other stone box. Inside was another scroll: a high-level Xuan-rank Dou skill, Raging Lion's Roar. Xiao Jin picked it up and glanced at it, but his interest was minimal. It was a spear technique Dou skill and did not suit him. He tossed the Dou skill to Xiao Yi Xian as well. "Here. I use a sword, so this spear technique Dou skill doesn't suit me either." Xiao Yi Xian took it, gave it a glance, then shook her head and tossed the scroll back to Xiao Jin. "It doesn't suit me either. I use a sword too." Xiao Jin was somewhat surprised. Even if one did not cultivate a high-level Xuan-rank Dou skill, it could still be auctioned for hundreds of thousands of gold coins. Yet she had refused it without hesitation, simply to avoid taking advantage of him. "Then we'll divide things after we see what's in the last stone box." Xiao Jin stepped forward, preparing to open the next box.

While Xiao Jin and Xiao Yi Xian happily searched for treasure in the cave mansion, a bloody battle was taking place in the mountaintop basin. Thirty members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had surrounded the dozen or so remaining mercenaries. "Young Master, we searched everywhere, but we didn't find Xiao Yi Xian." Mu Li pondered for a moment. "She's probably already entered the cave mansion." He had learned from Xiao Yi Xian's maid that she had discovered a Strongman's Cave Mansion. The news had delighted him greatly. He had planned to seize both the treasure and the woman while Xiao Yi Xian was out searching for treasure, which was why he had brought thirty members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group to join this herb-gathering party.

"Mu Li, what does your Wolf Head Mercenary Group mean by surrounding us? What are you trying to do?" a middle-aged mercenary demanded loudly.

"What am I trying to do? I want every last one of you dead. Get them! Leave none alive." Mu Li's face was full of cruelty. To ensure that this operation did not become known to the outside world, everyone before him had to disappear. As for Xiao Yi Xian's maid, she had long since vanished.

At Mu Li's command, every member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group charged forward, slaughtering the scattered mercenaries trapped in the encirclement. Before long, the dozen mercenaries had fallen.

The Wolf Head Mercenary Group members began stripping the dead mercenaries of their valuables. "Damn it, what a bunch of poor bastards," one Wolf Head Mercenary Group member cursed. He had searched several corpses without finding even a few gold coins. "Enough. We're all mercenaries. Would you bring your entire fortune with you on a mission?" another Wolf Head Mercenary Group member explained.

"Search around the cliff again. See if there are any ropes or anything like that tied to the nearby rocks or tree trunks," Mu Li ordered once more. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group members began searching along the cliff edge. Before long, they found the rope Xiao Yi Xian had tied to a rock. Mu Li was overjoyed. "Xiao Yi Xian, let's see where you can run this time." Mu Li gave a lecherous grin. He had pursued Xiao Yi Xian for a long time, but she had always ignored him. Relying on the affection so many mercenaries in Qingshan Town had for her and the regard the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's hidden owner held for her, she had never taken him seriously. At last, he had found his chance. He could already imagine Xiao Yi Xian kneeling on the ground and begging him, then helplessly letting him do as he pleased. He had even prepared a special gift for her. Thinking of its effects, the corners of Mu Li's mouth could not help but rise.

"Take ten men and come down with me. The rest of you stay at the top of the cliff. Unless we climb back up, shoot anyone else who comes up on sight." Mu Li led the ten strongest members as they slowly climbed down the cliff.

At that moment, Xiao Jin opened the final stone box in the cave. Inside was another scroll as well: a high-level Xuan-rank flying Dou skill, Eagle's Wings. Xiao Jin took out the scroll. "Is this the flying Dou skill that saved Xiao Huohuo from danger several times?" Of course Xiao Jin knew of Eagle's Wings. In the original work, it had rescued Xiao Huohuo from danger several times and had been his strongest means of escape in the early stages.

"This flying Dou skill is mine. Take that high-level spear technique Dou skill." Xiao Jin once again handed the high-level Xuan-rank Dou skill, Raging Lion's Roar, to Xiao Yi Xian. In his view, this flying Dou skill was far more valuable than the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture and Raging Lion's Roar. Though the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture should have been worth far more than Eagle's Wings, he did not use poison, so it was useless to him. To Xiao Yi Xian, however, it was incomparably useful. It was through the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture that she discovered her constitution, allowing her to soar to greatness. In just a few years, she went from being a mere Dou Zhe to the sect master of the Heavenly Poison Sect, renowned throughout several neighboring empires.

Xiao Yi Xian accepted Raging Lion's Roar and stored it in her Storage Ring. This time, she did not refuse. The two searched the cave mansion again, and after finding no more treasures, they prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Xiao Jin's expression changed. He stopped Xiao Yi Xian, who was about to leave the cave. "Someone's here." Those words made Xiao Yi Xian's face change drastically, and panic rose within her. At a time like this, there was no need to guess who could have come to the cave mansion.

Very soon, Mu Li led ten members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group and surrounded Xiao Jin and Xiao Yi Xian.

"Xiao Yi Xian, never thought you'd fall into my hands this time, did you?" Mu Li's eyes were filled with desire. As for Xiao Jin beside her, he had never regarded him as a threat. What danger could a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy pose to high-level Dou Zhes like them?

"Mu Li, how did you know we were here?" Xiao Yi Xian's voice trembled slightly, but her hand quietly moved behind her back as she took out a packet of medicinal powder from her Storage Ring.

"How did I know? You'll have to ask your little maid. I told her that if she helped me get you, I'd make her my concubine. She actually believed it and told me about you finding this cave mansion. What an idiot." Mu Li's face was full of mockery. "You don't need to be angry, either. I already avenged you. Your little maid really was quite sweet. After having my fun, I couldn't bear to kill her, so I rewarded her to the brothers in the group. Who knew she'd die after only two days? What a pity." Mu Li's face was filled with cruelty.

"Xiao Yi Xian, I'll give you two choices. First, hand over the treasures here and become my woman. Second, end up just like your little maid." Mu Li and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group members behind him broke into lecherous laughter, their heated gazes fixed on Xiao Yi Xian as they waited for her choice.