The Cave (Seeking First Subscription)

At this moment, Little Fairy Doctor and the others also saw Xiao Ling walking toward them. Aside from Little Fairy Doctor, the rest of the group bowed respectfully and said.

"Greetings, Young Master Ling..."

"Mm."

To everyone's greetings, Xiao Ling merely nodded indifferently before looking at the pure and alluring young woman trotting over from behind, saying.

"Since everyone is here, let's set off immediately."

Although this was phrased as a question, it carried an unquestionable air of dominance.

Yao Wan'er rolled her eyes at him, then spoke softly to the group.

"I will have to trouble you all this time. For this herb-gathering trip, Young Master Ling's word is final... Let us enter the mountain now."

Once the pleasantries were finished, the dozen or so mercenaries surrounded Xiao Ling and his group, heading toward the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

Along the way, the team constantly changed their route, eventually heading toward a path that was blurry in Xiao Ling's memory, which made his eyes light up.

He calmly glanced at the two women following beside him. He saw Little Fairy Doctor communicating with Xiao Zi, who was holding Xiao Ba, and a glimmer of intrigue occasionally flickered in her gentle, water-like eyes.

Yao Wan'er, however, was not as relaxed. Even with Xiao Ling present, she remained fully focused, not daring to let her guard down for a second. Seeing him look over, she offered a faint smile before turning her gaze elsewhere.

Perhaps due to the presence of Xiao Zi, the group rarely encountered attacks from magic beasts along the way. Only a few stray first-rank magic beasts appeared, but they were easily dealt with by the group, causing no casualties—only one unlucky fellow sprained his ankle.

Xiao Ling spent the entire time seemingly wandering around, occasionally having the group stop while he strolled nearby, pretending to observe some low-grade herbs that caught his eye.

In reality, he was using his soul power to probe nearby caves. Yao Wan'er had no suspicions about this and simply arranged for the Wanyao Pavilion members to gather herbs.

After all, this was a great opportunity for her Wanyao Pavilion to get a free ride, and someone as shrewd as her would never miss it.

Although she had been taken advantage of by a certain someone, it was nothing serious. Besides, the other party hadn't made any further moves, and... even if he had, she might not necessarily have refused.

Thinking of this, Yao Wan'er's pure and alluring face flushed red, though she masked it well enough that no one else noticed.

However, Xiao Ling, who was scanning the surrounding terrain with his soul power not far away, happened to catch this scene. Not knowing what was going through this woman's mind, he didn't pay it any mind, though a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

He had now scanned the entire area with his soul power. Although he hadn't found the cave yet, he had an intuition that he was not far from his destination.

Soon, as the group continued forward, a sunset appeared on the horizon, and the expressions of the group gradually tightened. After all, the nights in the Magic Beast Mountain Range were extremely dangerous, and they could not afford to be careless.

Even that Young Master Ling might not be able to protect them all.

Xiao Ling was unaware of what the others were thinking; he simply looked at a basin before him, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, there was a cliff face around here, which meant this was the final herb-gathering spot, and his target was somewhere in the vicinity.

Sure enough, his thoughts were spot on, as a crisp voice came from behind him.

"Young Master, I have already arranged for the camp to be set up. This is the final herb-gathering spot for my Wanyao Pavilion. After you take a look tomorrow, we will head back."

Yao Wan'er looked at the young man in white standing under the sunset and said softly.

Hearing this, Xiao Ling turned to look at the pure and alluring young woman staring at him with such tenderness. He felt a bit overwhelmed and could only pretend to nod indifferently, saying.

"Good, I understand. Go and attend to your business."

"Alright, then Wan'er will head over first. If you need anything, Young Master, just call me..."

Yao Wan'er gave him a resentful look before turning to walk toward the camp.

Watching her slender figure retreat, Xiao Ling shook his head helplessly. He understood what this woman was thinking, but he was not the stallion protagonist from the novels of his past life. While he liked beautiful women, it was out of appreciation, never containing any ulterior motives.

Moreover, this woman's intentions were not pure; she was too utilitarian. He had always kept people like that at arm's length.

Shaking his head, Xiao Ling walked toward the camp. Along the way, he happened to see Xiao Zi following beside Little Fairy Doctor. Seeing him look over, the little creature immediately sprinted toward him, grabbing his hem to show its loyalty.

Seeing this, Xiao Ling looked at Little Fairy Doctor in surprise, his appreciation for this gentle little angel in white rising to another level.

Seeing him look over, Little Fairy Doctor also revealed a gentle smile.

"Brother Ling Xiao, it seems you are very popular with little animals. Xiao Zi will definitely live a good life following you."

Hearing this, Xiao Ling's old face flushed, but upon closer reflection, he realized he hadn't treated it poorly, so he accepted his Xian'er's praise with peace of mind...

"Ji ji..."

Xiao Zi quickly chimed in from the side, indicating that it was very well-behaved. It swore that it absolutely did not compromise for the sake of the Earth Core Life Pulse Marrow, absolutely not...

At this moment, Little Fairy Doctor said gently: "By the way, Brother Ling Xiao, you haven't eaten yet, right? Why not join Xian'er for a bite?"

"Then I shall respectfully accept your invitation," Xiao Ling smiled.

He did not refuse Little Fairy Doctor's hospitality.

Of course, it was also possible that he still had other thoughts about the little angel in white before him?

The two had a very relaxed dinner. After the meal, Xiao Ling took his leave and returned to his tent to wait for the right moment.

Soon, it was deep into the night. Inside the camp, aside from the two mercenaries on duty, everything was very quiet, with only the roars of magic beasts foraging in the night echoing from far away.

At this moment, a white shadow flashed out of the tent and disappeared into the night, without attracting anyone's attention.

After a few blinks, Xiao Ling revealed his figure at the edge of a cliff. He was not accompanied by Xiao Zi; to prevent anyone from discovering he was gone, he had left Xiao Zi in the camp.

Staring at the cliff before him, he could see no trace of a cave by the moonlight, forcing him to sweep the area with his soul perception, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Nothing?"

"Could I have looked in the wrong place?"

Xiao Ling muttered to himself before his figure vanished, heading off to search the surrounding area... He searched for an hour, and with dawn fast approaching, he began to lose hope.

Resigned to the idea of returning tomorrow if he failed, he arrived at the final cliffside. By the dim moonlight, he spotted a plant rooted in a crevice of the rock, its pale leaves bearing a single red fruit.

"Yes!"

Xiao Ling was overjoyed; he reached out, plucked the red fruit, and tucked it away inside a wooden box.

Only then did he look down toward the base of the cliff, where he noticed a layer of vines obscuring the rock face about a dozen meters below. Upon closer inspection, he could just make out the entrance to a cave.

Seeing this, Xiao Ling let out a sigh of relief, for judging by the surroundings of the cave, it appeared that no one had beaten him to it—which meant Little Fairy Doctor had not yet discovered this place.