You Think Too Little of a Dou Emperor

Lin Mu withdrew his aura and was about to leave when he suddenly noticed a concealed presence within the forest below. Its owner was not strong, yet seemed to be using something to hide their aura, nearly escaping Lin Mu's senses.

"Not even a Dou Zhe, yet you dare watch a battle between Dou Emperors here?"

Lin Mu was curious.

At the same time, a figure emerged from below.

"I never expected to encounter such a battle between powerful experts while gathering herbs. Good thing they didn't notice me."

It was a young girl dressed in pale white robes, with a pouch specially meant for storing medicinal herbs tied at her waist. It already held quite a few herbs that were usually rather rare.

"I should leave this place as soon as possible. As for that cave I found this time, I'll come back after making proper preparations when I get the chance."

"With my current strength, it's nearly impossible to claim the treasure inside by myself."

The girl turned, intending to leave.

However, the instant she turned around, a massive ape-like magical beast suddenly appeared behind her.

It was a He Yuan. It seemed to have survived the earlier battle by sheer luck, though it had apparently been frightened. It had been planning to leave, only to happen upon this exquisite young girl.

"Roar... howl!"

The He Yuan let out an excited cry and steadily closed in on the girl.

"He Yuan... How did I run into such a disgusting magical beast?"

The girl's expression changed, and she instinctively stepped back.

At the same time, she scattered a handful of powder from her waist. The powder struck the He Yuan, but instead of putting it to sleep, it made its eyes turn bloodshot and its breathing grow ragged.

The girl had never seen such a situation before. Her face went pale as she turned to flee.

Most of the time, she entered the Monster Beast Mountain Range with mercenary groups. Even when she occasionally gathered herbs alone, she only did so in the outer regions. She had not expected that venturing a little deeper this time would bring her face-to-face with such a disgusting magical beast.

"Roar!"

Seeing the girl run, the He Yuan seemed to grow even more excited. With one great leap, it blocked her path.

The He Yuan immediately pounced at the girl. Startled, she fell to the ground. Just as she was about to be taken by the He Yuan, a burst of Dou Qi suddenly appeared and blasted it into powder.

The girl did not even have time to care how the He Yuan had died. She hurriedly scrambled to her feet, turned, and tried to leave.

Yet the moment she turned, she nearly crashed straight into Lin Mu's chest.

"Ah!"

The girl gave a soft cry. When she saw that the man before her was the powerful expert who had fought the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King earlier, she could not help taking several steps back. A mere Dou Zhe like her could not afford to provoke such an expert.

"You..."

Seeing how wary the girl was, Lin Mu frowned slightly. He had already concealed his aura quite thoroughly; otherwise, the pressure alone would likely have forced the girl before him to the ground.

"You're a woman, and your strength hasn't even reached the Dou Zhe level. How did you venture this deep into the Monster Beast Mountain Range?"

Lin Mu was somewhat curious.

He had clearly recognized the girl before him. Was she not Xiao Yi Xian?

"I... I'm a physician. I usually prepare some medicinal powder that can put magical beasts to sleep."

Xiao Yi Xian spoke truthfully, but her fair fingers had already gripped the powder on her body. Though that stuff might be useless against a powerful expert like Lin Mu, she still had to try.

However, she was also deeply hesitant. If she angered Lin Mu, she would likely find it difficult to stay alive.

"Oh? So next, are you planning to use that powder against me?"

As though he had seen through Xiao Yi Xian's intentions, Lin Mu chuckled.

"..."

Xiao Yi Xian lightly bit her lip before finally releasing the powder in her hand.

"You saved me just now. How could I use that powder on you? Sir, I did not come here intentionally. I merely happened to arrive here while gathering herbs. A powerful expert like you surely wouldn't make things difficult for a weak woman like me, would you?"

Xiao Yi Xian spoke. Her voice was very pleasant, seeming to possess a kind of magic. Any man who already harbored wicked thoughts would surely be utterly captivated by such a voice.

"When did I say I was going to make things difficult for you?"

Lin Mu spread his hands. "I merely saw that you had been targeted by a He Yuan and lent you a hand."

Xiao Yi Xian thought about it carefully, and only then did she gradually calm down.

Lin Mu was right. After all, he had indeed saved her just now.

"My name is Xiao Yi Xian. Thank you for helping me earlier, sir," Xiao Yi Xian said softly.

"Just call me Lin Mu. I heard you mention treasure earlier?"

Lin Mu smiled.

Xiao Yi Xian froze, then shook her head. "Treasure? You must have misheard. I only happened to come here. With my strength, even dealing with a first-tier magical beast is difficult. Where would I find any treasure?"

Lin Mu nodded. "If that's the case, then leave quickly."

"Before coming here, I passed by a cliff and discovered the existence of a Secret Chamber within it. Now, I'm going to retrieve the things inside."

Xiao Yi Xian immediately panicked and blurted out, "Wait, that's mine..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Yi Xian realized something was wrong. Sure enough, when she looked up, she saw Lin Mu's smiling face. "Oh~ So you were the one who found it. Lead the way, Xiao Yi Xian."

"..."

Xiao Yi Xian clenched her fists. This guy had actually chosen such a method to test her.

"I found that Secret Chamber," Xiao Yi Xian said stubbornly. Clearly, she did not want to hand over what was inside the Secret Chamber. She did not think Lin Mu would leave anything behind for her.

Even if Lin Mu truly took everything, she had no way to stop him. After all her hard work, she would only be making a wedding dress for someone else.

"I won't snatch things from a Dou Zhe. I'll only take two items. The rest will be yours."

Lin Mu beckoned, signaling for Xiao Yi Xian to lead the way.

After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Yi Xian followed him.

"You seem to know a lot about what's inside?" Xiao Yi Xian could not help asking.

"Before I came here, someone told me about the things inside. But that person was a charlatan, so I only took it as something to listen to."

Lin Mu spoke casually from the side.

Xiao Yi Xian said nothing more. Instead, she led Lin Mu to a cliff. "It's on this cliff. The vines ahead are very sturdy. Perhaps we can follow the vines..."

Halfway through her sentence, Xiao Yi Xian noticed Lin Mu's strange expression beside her. His gaze made her feel uncomfortable all over.

"What is it?" Xiao Yi Xian asked doubtfully.

"Vines? You think too little of me, a Dou Emperor."